Kobe Bryant: Lakers, LeBron James Building Physical Team to Challenge Warriors

Count Kobe Bryant among the fans of the moves the Los Angeles Lakers have made this offseason.

Not counting the obvious home run in LeBron James, Bryant said on Extra that he believes the Lakers are building "smartly" with their signings of Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley:

"I think they're building the team smartly. They're building strong, physical players that play the game with pace. They have basketball players. What I mean by that is they don't have players that are one-dimensional—they have players that can handle the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, defend the ball.

"So when you're building a team with that kind of versatility and physicality, that's something that can challenge Golden State. You can't beat Golden State by playing Golden State-style—it's just not going to happen."

The Lakers' moves post-LeBron have drawn their fair share of skeptics, with critics wondering about the basketball and personality fits of the veterans. Rondo in particular was a peculiar signing, given the presence of Lonzo Ball as the team's franchise point guard. Ball was a starter his entire rookie year, while Rondo has been a regular starter for more than a decade.

McGee and Beasley are essentially dice rolls because they're minimum contract guys. But there's a reason some have taken to calling the new Lakers the Meme Team; the mix of personalities will be something to behold at the very least.

As for Bryant's assertion that the Lakers could defeat Golden State by being more physical, that seems like wishful thinking. While it's true LeBron's Cavs did their best against the Warriors when slowing the game down and pounding things in the halfcourt, this Lakers roster isn't equipped to do that. LeBron will likely spend minutes playing center this season due to the roster construction, and the Lakers played at one of the league's highest paces in 2017-18.

Plus, the Warriors signed DeMarcus Cousins. This is a bit of a punt year for the Lakers, and nearly everyone knows it. What their roster looks like a year from now will be a better representation of how they plan on building around LeBron.