Hey! You know how everyone who’s anyone believes that the Los Angeles Lakers will trade Kobe Bryant? Well, they’re all wrong.
Craaaaazy, right?
Not really. Obviously.
In an age where anyone can post something on the Internet and a premium is placed on rumors that aren’t actually rumors but are instead forced musings intended to generate clicks and storylines and attention, Kobe’s future in and out of Los Angeles has been a hot-button topic. That’s not to be confused with issue. Because it’s not an issue. He isn’t going anywhere, and he said as much himself to USA Today‘s Sam Amick:
“It’s not going to happen,” Bryant told USA TODAY Sports when asked if the temptation to change teams might still grow from here. “It’s not going to happen. You go through the good times, you’ve got to go through the bad times.”
Never, not even if these next two seasons in which he’ll be paid a combined (and controversial) $48 million are nothing short of miserable?
“It’s not going to happen,” he continued after finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Hornets,. “I have a no-trade clause. (Lakers governor) Jeanie (Buss) and (Lakers executive vice president of basketball operations) Jimmie (Buss) aren’t sending me anywhere.”
…
“Nah, not really,” he said with a grin and a shake of the head when asked if he can envision playing beyond his current contract. “But I’m so loyal to this organization, there’s not a chance (of him leaving)…I’ve been really fortunate to win a lot of games here, a lot of championships here. You can’t (expletive) with (that).”
If Kobe plans on winning anything else with the Lakers, he better also plan on playing beyond his current contract. They aren’t winning anything in the next two years, even if they strike free-agency gold. But that, admittedly, isn’t the point. His loyalty is the point.
This isn’t 2004 when he and Shaquille O’Neal could barely stand the thought of playing alongside one another. This isn’t 2007 when he was almost traded to the Detroit Pistons. Kobe isn’t a brash kid anymore. He can still be brash, no doubt, but five championships and 19 years later, he isn’t leaving. No way, no how. Not even in free agency in 2016 if he decides to keep playing. He’ll remain with the Lakers through and through, no matter how long he plays. He is the Lakers. He is their brand. And even if he wanted to leave, he really shouldn’t.
What would leaving really mean for his legacy? Any championships won elsewhere come with asterisks. If he loses, he’s a failure and trader and hanger-on. None of that describes Kobe. Not a failure, not a trader, not a hanger-on. He will win a sixth title his way, with the Lakers, or not at all.
For better or worse, that’s who he is. And whether or not you loathe him is irrelevant. He’s loyal. That’s what this is. His allegiance to the city of Los Angeles may have wavered a few times during his prime, but not here.
Not now.
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.
