Kobe Bryant: The Lakers’ Cancer or the Cure?
By Evan Massey
ESPN’s Henry Abbott made it very clear in his column that he believes the Los Angeles Lakers’ franchise is suffering now due to having Kobe Bryant in town.
While some of the points that he brought up might in fact be true, there are other points that are purely ridiculous. Bryant does have a very strong voice in the locker room and has been known to put players in their place, and he has also established a certain way that he wants to win basketball games. Those things can turn players off, but the fact simply remains that Bryant is one of the most successful players of all time.
Abbott claims that Dwight Howard didn’t return to the Lakers due to Bryant telling him how to win basketball games.
"But Bryant showed up, according to a person in the room, in “hoops shorts, a T-shirt and a gold chain.” He had also packed an attitude.When Howard asked why his teammates let the injured center take all the flak when the Lakers’ season went south, Nash said he didn’t know that Howard had felt that way and that had he known, he would have acted differently. Bryant, on the other hand, offered a crash course in developing thick skin and a mini lecture on learning how to win."
Perhaps that is something that Howard didn’t want to hear, but is sharing that type of knowledge something that is Bryant’s fault? Howard was a walking drama story with the Orlando Magic towards the end of his tenure there, and has always lacked thick skin. Is Bryant to blame for trying to help Howard take the next step forward and offering him the spot of winning beside him in the same position that Shaq played?
“I think it’d be nice to find a middle ground where he does his thing but the ball still can move for great parts of the game. … But I knew it wasn’t going to be the same. When you play with Kobe Bryant, the ball is gonna be with him most of the time.” – Steve Nash
Those comments from Nash can be taken one of two ways. He could either be complaining that Bryant is taking the ball out of his hands, which is a bit ironic, or he could simply be saying that he is getting used to things being different.
Another one of Abbott’s points is complaining about Bryant taking too many shots, but were those complaints alive when the Lakers were winning championships? No. Bryant does take quite a few shot attempts, but he’s a superstar, franchise player, and has earned those looks. Also, who else is going to step up and take more shots while giving the Lakers as good of a chance to win? Nobody.
Phil Jackson leaving the Lakers is the main reason for the teams fall from dominance. Having to switch from Jackson to Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni is a huge hit, and hasn’t been talked about as much as Bryant has. Losing one of the best head coaches of all time is the reason for the Lakers’ fall.
As usual, Bryant was asked about what he thought on the matter and gave a very honest response.
“It’s not the first one and it won’t be the last one. One thing I’ve come to understand over the years is that you’ll have a bad story that comes out on a Monday and it seems like it’s the end of the world and it seems like everybody’s taking shots at you. But time goes by and then you look back on it and it was just a Monday. Stay focused on the bigger picture and things are never as bleak as they seem at the time. I just roll with it. – Kobe Bryant
Abbott asks the question, did Bryant deserve the latest two-year, $48.5 million deal that the Lakers gave him? Quite simply, yes, he did. He may not be the Bryant that scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, but he is still one of the most dominant players and finishers in the entire league. The Lakers still have one of the best players in the league and he is worth being paid like one.
Allowing Bryant to walk would have been viewed as an even worse move, and would have caused an uproar among Lakers’ fans. He has been the franchise player there too long to not give him a contract, and would have been extremely disrespectful to someone who has dedicated his entire career to one team.
So is it fair to criticize Bryant for trying to mold his team into the type of team that it takes to win in the NBA? Is it fair to criticize him for the Lakers being unable to sign free agents and lack of wins? Should he be blamed for the Lakers’ downfall over the past couple of season? Is Kobe Bryant the Lakers’ cancer at this point in time?
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Absolutely not.
Bryant is still one of the NBA’s best players, and he certainly knows how to win championships. He’s the type of leader that some love and some hate, due to his pure honesty and willingness to tell players what they need to do to improve. Michael Jordan was the same type of leader, but played in an era where thin skin wasn’t something that was everywhere across the league.
Every player has their flaws and Bryant does as well, but Abbott’s column on Bryant being a cancer in L.A. is completely ludicrous. He is still one of the best players in the NBA, and is not to blame for the Lakers’ recent downfall.