Earlier in the season, there was a report swirling around which suggested that players didn’t want to sign with the Lakers because they didn’t want to play with Kobe Bryant. Kobe seems like he can be a tough teammate at times, so the report didn’t sound too crazy on the surface.
But Paul George shot down that notion and Kevin Durant is doing the same thing. These guys say they would love to play with a winner like Kobe. (Superstars will say yes all day long, but role players? Probably not as convincingly).
While Durant wasn’t specifically addressing his own uncertain future, he insisted that the player perspective relating to Bryant shouldn’t be a hindrance as the 8-17 Lakers continue their laborious turnaround.
“Excuse my language, but that’s (expletive),” said Durant, who congratulated Bryant via text message after he surpassed Jordan on Sunday. “I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I’d want to play with a guy like that every day. … (His style) may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think (the accusation) is BS.” …
H/T: USA Today