by Reid Cherner, USA TODAY

When you are trying to become part of the pack you listen when the lead dog barks.

So Dwight Howard took no offense when Kobe Bryant said he needed to become meaner and more of a jerk. Although that wasn’t exactly what Bryant said.

“I heard about what he said,” Howard told Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN Los Angeles. “People might take that the wrong way. He’s not saying be a jerk or an a-hole to people, he’s basically saying, ‘On the court. He loves the way I play, but I can be more of one of those people.’ ”

Bryant said earlier in the week that “to be a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, you’ve got to have a little of that dog in you. It’s just a matter of him digging deep and just pulling it out. But it’s already there. It’s just a matter of him having it become habit.”

… [For more on Dwight Howard not offended by Kobe Bryant comments, click here.]