Kobe Bryant Unfollows Dwight Howard After Center Decides to Sign with Rockets

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Not long after Dwight Howard spurned the Los Angeles Lakers and announced he would be signing with the Houston Rockets, Kobe Bryant decided to take to Instagram for his reaction. 

He posted this picture with the caption  “#vamos #juntos #lakercorazon #vino." The Spanish words translate to "we go, together, Laker heart, wine.”

In addition to serving as a goodbye to D12, it also served as a telling reminder of Bryant and Pau Gasol's complicated relationship.

Bryant didn't stop there. ESPN's Darren Rovell noticed another social media interaction from the future Hall of Famer:

It appeared that Gasol, in true teammate fashion, had followed suit. But that may have been premature:

There is no word yet about whether or not the Lakers teammates will unfriend Howard on Facebook or take him out of their "Top 8" on MySpace.

In all seriousness, though, this is just another example of how much of a role social media plays in our lives. Although this entire situation seems comical, Twitter and Instagram serve as an avenue for everyone—famous athletes included—to express themselves. 

Kobe, however, may just be a little better at the subtle "you're dead to me" actions than the rest of us. 

Moreover, this is early proof that the games between the Rockets and Lakers next season are going to be quite heated.

Bryant and Howard never meshed well together last season, and this public, high-profile separation clearly won't improve the relationship between the two. 

According to Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan, Howard said that "Kobe did not factor into my decision whatsoever." The Howard free-agency saga may be over, but it appears it has opened a brand-new rivalry with his former teammates.