Jameer Nelson responded Wednesday to Dwight Howard’s disparaging comments about the Orlando Magic, calling the center “unprofessional” for his remarks.
In a recent interview with KCAL/CBSLA, Howard said he took a team in Orlando “full of people nobody wanted” and led them to the NBA Finals. Howard was probably exaggerating for effect because he was trying to remind everyone of what he’s accomplished in his career, but his negative portrayal of his former teammates is not going over well.
Nelson and Howard both began their NBA careers in the 2004-2005 season with the Magic and were teammates their entire careers until Howard was traded to the Lakers in the offseason. Though they were extremely close in Orlando, the relationship appeared to become strained last year when the two reportedly got in a fight. It looks like they still have some tension.
“At some point, when are you [Dwight] gonna as a man, when are you going to take ownership and stay out of the media in a professional manner?” Nelson said of Howard Wednesday, per the Orlando Sentinel.
“I would be less of a man to comment on certain things that people comment on about me and my teammates. We had a great run as a group, as core guys, and he was a part of it (reaching the 2009 Finals) and for him to say things about anybody in a negative manner, that’s up to him.
“That’s his opinion. If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels.”
Like I said, I really don’t think Dwight thought carefully about his comments. I think he just said them to prop himself up. If he really thinks about them, he’ll probably realize how wrong he was. GM Otis Smith did a great job drafting or bringing in lesser-known players like Marcin Gortat and Courtney Lee, but don’t even try to tell me that nobody wanted Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu, or that nobody would have wanted Nelson at the time.
Howard tries to present himself as a jovial fella everyone should love, but that reputation keeps disintegrating because of his actions.
Photo credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
