Los Angeles Lakers Failing to Give Kobe Bryant What He Needs Most
The Los Angeles Lakers organization has failed to give Kobe Bryant the resources and support needed to succeed at this stage of his career.
It rode an aging superstar to exhaustion as the team headed down the up staircase. It filled in the gaps with some useful role players but neglected to sign the type of talent that puts a team over the top.
And, it hired a veteran coach in Byron Scott—a man whose purple and gold pedigree, and relationship with an aging superstar, was supposed to be beneficial and a harbinger of brighter times ahead.
That hasn't worked either.
At his introductory press conference, per Lakers.com, Scott said: “I know Kobe's will and determination. I think we're on the same page on how we think about this game and how it should be played.”
But as the season progressed, that “same page” allowed Bryant’s Icarus-like flight toward the sun as he piled up points, proved he was still fiercely competitive and then plummeted back to earth—his wings thoroughly scorched.
Now he has to rise from the ashes once again, like the reborn Phoenix.
This is no way to put together a winning season. When it came time for Scott to lead, he seemed either blinded by allegiance to an old friend, or simply star-struck. He built an homage to Kobe, not a team.
The issue of playing time has been especially puzzling. Before training camp even began, Scott told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: “We have a set amount of minutes. I’m going to stick to my guns if I think that’s going to be in his best interest. One thing I’ll never do is sacrifice a players’ health for a basketball game. I won’t do it.”
But by the time Bryant’s coach actually implemented that plan, it seemed like closing the barn door long after the horse had already limped out the door.
On Dec. 21, the Lakers lost a close game on the road to the Sacramento Kings, with Bryant launching 30 shots while making only eight in a team-high 38 minutes. He also had nine turnovers and looked on the verge of disintegration in the fourth quarter as he tried and failed to single-handedly save a win.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe compared the game to a “vaudeville freak show,” adding: “No one in NBA history has faced so little accountability. It is absurd on its face. Bryant has hijacked the entire organization.”
But is this really the case, or has the organization actually failed its enduring star? Darius Soriano for Form Blue and Gold subsequently offered a counterpoint to Lowe’s argument, putting the onus on both the front office and Bryant’s coach:
"Now is the time to stop enabling a player to fail and start putting him in better positions to succeed. This doesn’t have to be done callously or publicly. But it needs to happen. Not only for the player’s sake, but for the rest of the team’s, the coaches, the organization at large, and the fans. No one wants to see this continue like this.
"
When a decision was made to rest the 36-year-old Bryant against the Golden State Warriors, the unexpected happened—the Lakers dominated the team with the best record in the NBA.
This fueled the debate about L.A.’s efficacy with or without the Mamba, even if it was after a comical one-game sample size. Per Baxter Holmes of ESPN LA, Scott responding by saying: “Anybody that really insinuated that we were better without him, they're just ridiculous. We're a much better team when he's on the floor, period."
Bryant also missed a marquee Christmas Day appearance against the Chicago Bulls, explaining it as a matter of “old age,” per TWC SportsNet: “My knees are sore at this stage of the season. My Achilles are sore, both of them. Metatarsals are tight. Back’s tight. I need to kind of hit the reset button.”
The Lakers were beaten by a team that now includes a rejuvenated Pau Gasol—Bryant’s teammate for six seasons and two championship runs. And then they lost the next one as well against the Dallas Mavericks, marking yet another night of rest for Bryant and underscoring two essential points—a player in his 19th NBA season should not have been leading his team in minutes, and this current roster won’t pile up wins without him.
The better franchises in the league succeed by finding a balance. Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs doesn’t wait until his veteran players are headed for a breakdown before resting them—he manages their minutes like a miser hoarding a fortune from day one of the regular season.
And, the Spurs don't count on lottery draft picks or splashy free-agent signings to build a roster—they actively obtain and develop players that are off the mainstream radar, often scouring the international ranks for talent.
The same holds true for Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle, who have reloaded around Dirk Nowitzki in the final years of his career. Just two seasons ago, it looked as if Nowitzki would ride into the sunset with a mediocre team. Instead, the Mavs are in contention again.
Part of that rebuild was the recent trade for Rajon Rondo—beating out the Lakers in the process.
After six days rest, Bryant made his return Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns in a game that was about discipline and getting his teammates involved, with 10 points, eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists in 32 minutes.
In fact, he was so unselfish that he only took one shot in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers lost 116-107, falling to a record of 9-22 for the season.
After the game, Byron Scott offered measured praise for the usage-friendly performance, per the team’s official Twitter account: “For not playing for a week, obviously he’s going to be a little rusty. But I thought he played pretty well.”
For Bryant, it was one more game in another losing season, doing what he can with the team he has and the time he has left.
Los Angeles as an organization can’t be accused of inexperience or lack of a track record. Bryant, Scott and general manager Mitch Kupchak have a combined 88 years in the NBA, along with an astonishing amount of championship hardware.
Adapting and evolving with the times should not be out of reach for any of them. But, it has to be a collective effort.
Bryant is a smart enough player to know that he can no longer score at will at any moment of a game. But those who have watched him over the years recognize his body language at critical junctures, when instinct and habit take over and reason goes out the window.
In those instances, trust in fellow teammates becomes either a fine line or nonexistent. And at this point in his career, the wear and tear on his body can turn an improbable shot into an impossible one.
Management has failed Bryant by not surrounding him with sufficient talent. His teammates fail by not showing consistency in their actions and play, and therefore not earning the level of trust that can overcome those fine lines.
And his coach has failed to show effective in-game adjustments or strong leadership overall.
There are always the tanking advocates—those who reason that a downward slide into next year’s draft is a solution. But lottery picks rarely turn a team’s fortunes around quickly, and a slow rebuild will do little to give Bryant what he needs most—real help, right now.
If he wasn’t able to carry a subpar team on his shoulders eight years ago during the Smush Parker and Kwame Brown era, why on earth should he be able to now during his final dance on the hardwood with Father Time?
The clock is ticking on one of the game’s fiercest warriors. Kobe Bryant can still do a lot of things, but he can’t carry a team on his own.
And, he shouldn’t have to. It's time for the Lakers to realize it.
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