The Los Angeles Lakers were not able to land a big free agent this summer, and a lot of the blame seems to be placed on Kobe Bryant. The Lakers had their worst season in a very long time last year, and 2014-15 doesn’t look much better. Is it really fair to blame Kobe Bryant though for what’s happened? These are franchise issues, should they fall at the feet of Kobe?
Yes, he is a franchise player, but he’s still just one guy. ABC/ESPN Analysts Doug Collins and Jalen Rose were on media conference call to preview the upcoming NBA season.
“I’m not going to put any blame on Kobe Bryant,” said Collins.
“That guy has played for almost 20 years now. He’s played over 50,000 career minutes. When he’s healthy, he’s been the best player at his position throughout his time in the NBA.”
“Success is cyclical in this league. How did the Celtics do after they lost Bird, McHale and Parrish? How did the Lakers do after they lost Magic and Kareem and Worthy and that group of guys? How did the Bulls do after they lost Michael, Scottie and Phil and that group of guys?”
“The league has changed a lot, where super teams are put together to last for a while with each other. Look at the Boston Celtics right now. They had the run with Doc and Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Look where they are. It’s a cyclical part of the NBA, and what’s changed, when is the last time the Boston Celtics signed a big-time free agent? The Philadelphia 76ers? The New York Knicks?”
“The days of those teams automatically signing those guys isn’t happening. Guys are going and playing other places. They understand that you don’t have to play in the biggest markets to have success as well as get endorsements and all. Look at Kevin Durant in Oklahoma City; look at the team down in San Antonio.”
“To put that on Kobe, I’m not buying it. The guy is one of the all-time great competitors. I think he’s an easy target right now because Kobe is not a warm and fuzzy guy, and he’ll step up to the plate and compete every night, but I just think that’s wrong to put all this on his plate.”
“Great teams in today’s era, the elite teams have three guys playing at All-Star levels; the contending teams have two; playoff caliber teams, especially in the East, can have one,” said Jalen Rose.
“Kobe Bryant was great when he had Shaq. He was a champion when he had Gasol.”
“I look back at one decision that changed the Lakers’ fortune that probably is going to put Kobe in a position not to get a sixth ring. It was the decision to hire Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson. Now, for a guy that’s won five championships with your franchise, and we know about the personal relationship he has with Jeanie Buss, but just professionally, when they decided to go to Mike D’Antoni, well, who else was in tow with Mike D’Antoni? Steve Nash. Well, Steve Nash we all know is already out for the season and Mike D’Antoni has been fired.”
“Those were the two catalyst decisions to me that put Kobe in a position to now say, of course I’m going to ask for maximum dollars. I see the team that’s probably a shell of itself taking me into my twilight, so of course, who am I going to leave money on the table for?”
“So he looks at a young team and he looks at a situation that’s in flux, and he says, I’m going to be a pro, I’m going to get healthy, I’m going to show the world I can come back and average 25 points. But when he does that, he’s coming back to a Western Conference that 32 wins won’t get you in the playoffs, and I think that’s what they’re looking at.”
Then there was a follow-up question about why free agents don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant. (transcript: ESPN Media Zone)
COLLINS: “I think that’s really unfair to say guys don’t want to go play with Kobe.”
“I think there’s a lot of chatter and all that kind of stuff or whatever, but I don’t buy that at all. I’m sorry, but I don’t buy that.”
ROSE: “It relates to one All Star caliber player who’s listed around a top 10, top 15 player, and that’s about Dwight Howard, and since they didn’t click initially and Dwight didn’t stay, that was the other domino that I talked about with the other scenarios. Then all of a sudden you lose an All-Star guy to Houston and you don’t get anything in return.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2