L.A. Lakers: Kobe Bryant Can Not Be Focus of Coach Mike Brown's Offense

With the NBA lockout looming, there's only offseason chitter-chatter to talk about. Of course, one heavily debated topic includes (who else?) the Los Angeles Lakers' future under a new head coach.

And all eyes are on Kobe Bryant.

That's because Kobe had his worst statistical season in 2010-11 since 2004, when Shaquille O'Neal was a Laker and George Bush was campaigning against John Kerry.  

That's a long while, and though Kobe didn't have a terrible season, it's not the standard that we expect from the Lakers' franchise player.  

Let me first say this: I am not a "Kobe Bryant hater." I address this directly because, well, damn near half of you will slam me in the comments—bring it on!—claiming that I can't stand Kobe. Let's not subscribe to that, here, OK?

We got that out of the way? Good. Phew.

Kobe Bryant isn't the franchise player he was in 2008. Unfortunately, 14 long years of exploding to the rim, making ridiculously-contested jump shots and playing some of the best defense we've ever seen has taken a toll on his knees and has robbed him of athleticism.

With the hiring of coach Mike Brown, the Lakers have scrapped the triangle offense that brought five titles to Southern California. While no one is sure the kind of offense Brown will implement, one of the obvious frameworks would include running isolation-heavy sets with Kobe Bryant starting the possession at the top of the key.

Big mistake.

Last season, Kobe Bryant strayed from the triple post offense, something that is a no-no for the triangle to succeed; the offensive structure thrives off of constant ball movement. 

And to the demise of the Lakers, Kobe Bryant was eating up possessions at a dangerous rate—he used up 35.1 percent of the Lakers' possessions, his highest percentage since the 2005-06 season. And while that wouldn't be a problem if this were 2007, it's a huge problem now.

There's no way in hell a team is going to win games by relying on a Hall of Fame guard past his prime; it requires athleticism for a player to dominate the ball and be successful. Athleticism would allow the ball-handler to take defenders off the dribble, stop on a dime when necessary to pull up for a high-rising jump-shot or go straight to the rim and elevate above bigs to lay the ball in.

And in case you didn't know, Kobe's knees are bone-on-bone. And poof, there goes athleticism. 

Kobe Bryant doesn't have the ability to use up that much of his team's possessions. That was compounded by the fact that the Lakers' offense thrived on constant ball movement, back-door cuts, entry passes and tosses among the bigs down low.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol didn't get the touches they needed for the Lakers to utilize their strength, and the ball wasn't moving. The Lakers' postseason was ended by 1) great ball movement from the Dallas Mavericks, and 2) lack of ball movement on the offensive end.

Kobe Bryant cannot do whatever he wants on offense, as much as he'd like to have that kind of control. 

The ball domination won't work in LA with a player past his prime, no matter how good he still is on the perimeter. And with a league that's dominated by athleticism, ball movement is key to keep the Miami Heats of the world on their toes.

Sadly, Kobe can't do what he did last season and hope for his team to be successful; the team needs to focus around the length inside should the two big be brought back by the Lakers' offense.

If Coach Mike Brown is smart, he'll focus on working with two legitimate "Twin Towers" just as he had during his tenure with the Spurs when San Antonio championed the combination of Hall of Famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Because, let's be honest, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are just as good of a combo as Robinson and Duncan were.

Although Pau Gasol crapped out in the NBA playoffs, it's not as if he had hit his ceiling at that moment—clearly, Gasol wasn't in a competitive state, because his playoff performance saw a monumental drop in his regular season play.

No, Gasol should be the first option on coach Mike Brown's offense. And though dominant, finesse power forwards aren't generally the kind of players who win games (Dirk Nowitzki is the exception, not the rule), the fact that there's enough talent for a near-egalitarian spread of the Lakers' offensive possessions should land the Lakers another title run, even without Phil Jackson.

But having Kobe Bryant isolate, attempt to drive (almost feebly, unfortunately) and settle for a contested jumpshot? That isn't going to fly with defenders who are now far more athletic than Kobe. That's not to say Coach Brown is going to discard Kobe's talents and reserve him almost entirely for the postseason as Gregg Popovich did with Tim Duncan this past season.

But what Brown should consider is using Kobe Bryant as a true wing player. If Kobe still has solid perimeter shooting, why not force the ball inside to free up Kobe for top-of-the-key jumpshots? If Kobe's post-up game is one of the best at the guard position, why not play Bynum and Gasol further out for Kobe to have as relief on the offensive end? There's a plethora of options that could work well in Los Angeles, and that's awesome for Mike Brown.

But Kobe cannot be the center of the Lakers' offense. The talent around him would be wasted, and optimizing Kobe's offensive contributions is key for him to be completely paced for an entire season that—if things go the Lakers' way—could extend into June.

Here's to hoping coach Mike Brown figures it out.

Carlos Sandoval is on Twitter. Follow him, because why not?