Steve Nash on Dwight Howard in L.A.: He 'didn't want to be here'

Steve Nash says Dwight Howard never wanted to be in Los Angeles. (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBA/Getty Images)

Dwight Howard spent an unfulfilling, injury-plagued season with the Los Angeles Lakers, ultimately spurning the team's recruitment of trying to keep him in L.A. for the next couple of seasons, instead verbally agreeing to a four-year, $88 million deal with their Western Conference foe, the Houston Rockets.

Lakers guard Steve Nash said that Howard didn't want to be with the team in the first place.

Nash was brought in to try to persuade Howard to remain with the Lakers but said "we didn't really have a chance and I'd like to think that after the meeting we had a chance."

"Ultimately, I think Dwight wasn't comfortable here and didn't want to be here and I think if he didn't want to be here, there's no point for anyone in him being here," Nash told ESPN Radio on Tuesday. "So, we wish him the best and move on."

Injuries plagued the Lakers for most of the season and they were swept out of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs after barely making the postseason.

"Dwight had some issues with the season," Nash said. "I think it kind of basically goes with what he said to the media that he never quite felt embraced in L.A. He never quite felt supported. That's basically it. I think in some ways you can read into that what you will, but I think he never quite felt comfortable at home and I don't know if that's anybody's fault."