Dwight Howard Under Too Much Pressure, Says Metta World Peace


After the Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs, Dwight Howard posted a message on Twitter. In his tweet, Howard typed:

“I hope I get the chance to make it up to you! Thank u la.”

That tweet along with other comments made by Howard following his lousy playoff performance led to speculation about the NBA All-Stars future with the Lakers.

Howard becomes a free agent on July 1 and is up for a five-year $118 million contract extension.

Following his comments and rampant speculation, teammate Metta World Peace stepped in to defend Howard’s comments:

“I think we put a little too much pressure on Dwight and as responsible leaders, we gave him a little too much responsibility.”

Metta then added:

Kobe (Bryant), Pau (Gasol) and myself, we weren’t responsible enough. We should have been louder voices. So, I take a lot of responsibility and I’m sure Kobe and Pau do also. So next year, we definitely will. We have to be the voice in the locker room consistently.”

Metta World Peace has a $7.7 million option for next season, which means he may or may not have the ability to live up to his promise to Lakers fans.

World Peace says he isn’t sure about his future with the Lakers and is leaving those talks up to agent Sam Cornstein.

Metta isn’t the only player hoping for Dwight Howard’s return. Steve Nash said of his fellow players future:

“I’m very hopeful that Dwight will be back. I think this is the place for him. He’s in the prime of his career. He’s got his best years ahead of him. He can play for one of the greatest franchises in sports and an amazing city. This has got to be the place for him and I’m hopeful that he sees it that way.”

With Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and plenty of other veterans supporting the Los Angeles Lakers, another year or two could be just what Dwight Howard needs to fully take control of a team that is still lead by quickly aging legacy players.

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