The Los Angeles Lakers did not lose out on any free agents due to Kobe Bryant over the past summer. Sure, that narrative exists, but it does not entirely match up with reality.
The Lakers’ biggest free agent target, Carmelo Anthony, did not go to the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat or even the Cleveland Cavaliers. He went back home to the one place that could offer him the most money. Had he left New York and chosen a different destination that LA, the narrative would have more legs. But he went back to New York.
Chris Bosh opted to return to Miami for more money rather than join a potential contender in Houston. Shockingly, no one is saying Bosh made the decision because he didn’t want to play with Dwight Howard and James Harden, as both those guys are bad teammates. Bosh made his decision based on family and finances, the basis of most adult decisions.
The Lakers did, however, lose Pau Gasol for less money to the Chicago Bulls. That had less to do with Bryant than it did to do with the overall situation in Los Angeles. True, the Lakers would have been able to offer Gasol more money to stay put if Bryant had taken a lighter contract, but Gasol took less than the Lakers’ offer to go to Chicago anyhow.
Anyone who has ever spoken to Gasol about Bryant understands his love and respect for no. 24. Heck, Bryant wrote one of the two forewards in Gasol's book, and Bryant’s foreward was titled: “If I Could Choose My Brother.” In turn, Gasol dedicated a full chapter to his relationship with Bryant titled “Kobe.”
Even Marc Gasol, Pau Gasol’s brother, did not get his own chapter.
Gasol left for basketball reasons and because his last few years in Los Angeles had not been pleasant. Trade rumors didn’t just swirl around Gasol; they reached level five tornado status.
The other marquee free agent the Lakers missed on was LeBron James. For his family and his personal reasons, James returned home to the city where he grew up and to the team that brought him into the NBA. Added cap space or the allure of Los Angeles would have had little to do with his decision, and Bryant’s difficult demeanor would have played an equally insignificant role. James chose family and home over money.
So, with all that said, Lakers president Jeanie Buss took the airwaves to call out anyone who rejected the Lakers out of fear of playing alongside Bryant.
“Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team,” Buss said during an ESPN SportsCenter interview Thursday.
Already being misconstrued, Buss did not attack the likes of Gasol, Anthony or James for making their decisions based on family, finances or personal reasons. She is referring strictly to those players, whether they truly exist or not, whom turned down the Lakers in fear of playing with Bryant. “Afraid” is the operative word in Buss’ statement, not "Loser."
Of course, the one giant example of a player who left LA for less money is Howard. Bryant’s influence on that decision was widely documented. Ask fans of the team, and a strong majority of the fan base claims it was never sold on Howard wearing purple and gold. Whether it was his headband, his jovial attitude in defeat or his locker room skirmishes with Bryant, Howard did not live up to the hype during his time in Los Angeles.
To be fair to Howard, he was returning from a major back surgery, and his lone season in Los Angeles was one of his worst seasons as a professional. Bryant didn’t help matters, but many inside and outside the Lakers’ facility were happy to see Howard go.
Is a 36-year-old Bryant a deterrent to attracting top free agents? Maybe. Is Bryant the sole reason the Lakers have fallen to the depths of the NBA? No.
Bad coaching hires, an unprecedented veto of a trade, the passing of the Lakers’ patriarch, an inexplicable spat with injuries, Steve Nash’s broken leg and Bryant’s aging have all played parts. Injuries are a part of the game. Nash, presumably, is in his final season, so that nightmare is almost over. For its part, the Buss family has reorganized and appears to be back in control, which explains the Lakers’ president publicly defending the franchise's star player.
Bryant, for his part, remains an unrelenting competitor, but he appears to have accepted a role as mentor that requires him to be more nurturing to the youth that surrounds him. Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson, the Lakers’ rookies, have both portrayed Bryant as a leader helping and challenging them, rather than abusing and crushing them.
As is seemingly always the case, the truth is likely somewhere in between. Bryant is not the best teammate in the world, but he’s also not so bad that no one wants to play with him. Obviously, a great deal of this conversation derives from Henry Abbott’s ESPN piece.
In his piece, Abbott points to, among others, Paul George as a potential free agent the Lakers missed out on because the Indiana Pacers' star opted to sign an extension. Ignoring the finances for a moment, George, who grew up in Los Angeles, wore the no. 24 in honor of his childhood hero. While wearing no. 24 with the Indiana Pacers, how believable is it that George would be turned off by the opportunity to play alongside the player he grew up idolizing?
Vilifying Bryant has long been a hobby of NBA writers because it generates interest and feeds a select segment of the basketball watching population that detests Bryant. Also, it rouses emotions and draws reactions from the strongest fan base in the sport, Lakers' fans.
Sadly, the misguided discussion will only reinforce Abbott and writers like him, as this is likely the most “successful” piece he has ever written.
