Kobe Bryant remains loyal to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Many are waiting for all hell to break loose in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are 0-4 and continuing their downward spiral. Kobe doesn’t like losing. There will come a point when he explodes, making waves in all the wrong ways, feeding a rumor mill that needs very little fodder before it morphs into a headline-dominating cancer that inflicts even more damage upon the plummeting Lakers.
Or maybe there won’t.
Seizing the opportunity to quell chatter before it starts, Kobe put the kibosh on the idea that he would leave the war-torn Lakers to go championship-chasing elsewhere, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
With the Los Angeles Lakers still searching for their first victory of the season, Kobe Bryant’s quest for a sixth NBA championship has never appeared more difficult. Bryant, however, isn’t ready to start issuing trade demands.
“I hear the chatter of Kobe should ask out and he should go and play for a contender in this latter stage of his career,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports. “But that’s not what I do. I’m extremely loyal to the Lakers.
“I believe in fighting through the tough times as well as enjoying the good times. It’s my responsibility to get us to be the best that we can be. It’s important that we approach that on a day-to-day basis.”
…”We can’t get discouraged by it,” Bryant said. “It’s a very long season. You just have to stay the course. Keep on looking to improve, keep on looking to get better and things will eventually break.
“I’ve enjoyed a great amount of success here. You can’t just enjoy the successful times and then run away from the bad ones. No, I don’t even think about [departing]. I’m a Laker.”
This comes as good news to any Lakers fan worried that Kobe might demand a trade in the wake of all this losing. Never mind that it would be tough to move that 36-year-old body of his. Or that his contract, which makes him the highest paid NBA player through next season, could prove impossible to swap. Kobe merely wreaking havoc internally and perpetuating rumors of displeasure would be enough to incite far-flung chaos.
That he’s willing to stick this out, however long it lasts, is huge. Truth told, it’s also not surprising. The Lakers showed their loyalty by signing him to that two-year extension, now he’s showing his by trying to survive and carry them through this disastrous stretch.
The only thing the Lakers really have going for them right now, besides Kobe’s encouraging, albeit inefficient, performance is that their hellhole doesn’t have to live on past this season. They’ll have plenty of cap space this summer, and if they can lock up a star or two, it changes their dynamic considerably.
Instantly transforming into a contender may be out of the question, but this year—especially after losing Steve Nash and Julius Randle—doesn’t have to repeat itself. Kobe and the Lakers are one joint—and therefore uncharacteristic—sales pitch away from leaving a time of ruin behind.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
