Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe’s Impact On Young Trio

Kobe Bryant started his farewell tour against Philadelphia Dec. 1 and while he deserves every bit of the attention, his play is going to impact the Los Angeles Lakers future in a negative way.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in one of the most awkward positions a franchise can be in (besides the Sixers waiting for the process). At 3-15 and dead last in the Western Conference, there would normally be outraged chaos occurring in Hollywood.

But as most people know by now, Kobe Bryant made the announcement that this will be his last season, so their below average play seems to be getting a pass because of Bryant’s value to the game over the period of his career.

Let’s face it, the farewell tour, the gifts given to him from opposing teams (even though he requested for this to stop), and the cheers of “Kobe! Kobe!” from other arenas are all the least the NBA and its fans can do to thank Kobe for what he has done and accomplished playing this game.

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Sure, there are a good portion of fans that love tuning in to a Lakers game now to see Kobe try to imitate the moves that he pulled off back before his multiple surgeries, but that’s exactly what it is: imitation. Kobe isn’t what he used to be and he will be the first to tell you, though it doesn’t seem like he cares by looking at his shot selection.

Kobe is shooting a career-worst 31.1 percent from the field and a dreadful 22.2 percent from three on an average of 18 field goal attempts per game. This isn’t the same “farewell tour” as Michael Jordan had when he finished with the Washington Wizards. Jordan averaged 20 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting to go along with 6.1 rebounds. He actually helped the Wizards to a 37-45 record — not good enough for a playoff seed, but respectable nonetheless.

So as we go on with this season honoring Kobe and his greatness, what comes after the ride is over? The logical situation is to allow the trio of D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle to become the foundation of this Lakers franchise. The three seem to offer a bright future in Hollywood that will have the Lakers back in playoff contention sooner rather than later.

With Kobe’s erratic play that is assumed to continue for the rest of this season, how much will it hurt the development of Russell, Clarkson, and Randle?

It already has started stunting their growth. Whether the young guys want to admit it or not, having Kobe playing the way he is will surely delay their overall development.

It wouldn’t be any issue if Kobe was shooting 40+ percent from the field and shooting around 14 shots per game, but his 30.4 field goal percentage almost makes you feel uncomfortable to watch. The only game this season that had multiple flashbacks of Kobe being Kobe happened last Wednesday in Washington D.C. when he finished the game with 31 points on 10-of-24 shooting.

This particular game was used as a learning experience for the young trio in a positive way. Watching Kobe take over during crunch time allows them to see first-hand how they will have to approach those situations in their future. Jordan Clarkson was asked how he balances staying focused on continuing to blossom into one of the league’s best young shooting guards while Kobe is going to dominate the ball for the majority of the game:

"“He definitely has earned it.” Clarkson said. “We are all confident he can make the shots, but for me I’m just a fan as well trying to watch and learn as much as I can.”"

While Clarkson respects what Kobe is doing and admires being around him on a daily basis, it puts him in a hard position knowing that some of those shots that Kobe is forcing should belong to him.

Fast forward to the next game against the Atlanta Hawks. Kobe finished the game going 4-for-19 from the field with 15 points. Clarkson only had eight shot attempts, making five of them. In another performance that Kobe tried taking the game over from the beginning, it failed once again and the Lakers lost by 13. After the game, Clarkson let his frustrations be known about the lack of ball movement:

"“I think we should have moved the ball a little bit more earlier in the game, we should have tried to get easier shots, we ran a lot of (isolation).”"

This will continue to be the theme in Los Angeles until the season is over unfortunately. And while Kobe has the “right” to take as many shots as he wants out of respect, the thought pops into mind of why he would want to do that to these young players that will carry on after he is finished.

The shame of it all is this is just a waste of a season for the Lakers franchise. The future could very well be delayed because Clarkson, Randle and Russell will have to cater to Kobe’s game.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 6

While this “farewell tour” is well-deserved on the behalf of Kobe, it’s time to view the situation for what it really is: a detriment to the Lakers’ future.