Jim Buss admitted Dwight Howard let the Los Angeles Lakers know that he did not want to play with Kobe Bryant for multiple years, if the All-Star center elected to re-sign with them.

"Dwight didn't want to play with Kobe for 2-3 more years," Buss said. "I'm going to stand behind Kobe because of his history with the franchise."

Howard also reportedly was adamant he did not want to play for Mike D'Antoni.

Howard signed a four-year deal with the Houston Rockets in free agency.