Lakers Rumors: Is Kobe Bryant's Leadership Being Questioned?
For the first time in several years, the Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the regular season with some pretty sour vibes.
First of all, this Lakers team is coming off an embarrassing exit in last season's playoffs at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks. A couple weeks ago, there was the failed Chris Paul trade, which led to the baffling jettisoning of Lamar Odom.
To make matters worse, the Clippers are now the darlings of Los Angeles after acquiring CP3 last week.
If the Lakers want everyone to remember that they're the only team in LA that matters, they're going to need somebody to step up.
If you believe Lakers legend Magic Johnson, that somebody has to be Kobe Bryant.
Johnson spoke with reporters on a conference call on Tuesday, among them being Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, and he had some rather honest things to say about what kind of role Kobe is going to have to take on with the Lakers this year:
""I think he's going to have to be more of an emotional leader. Not just a game-time leader to score points and play defense. He’s going to have to be a locker-room leader. He’s going to have to really pick guys up and probably do stuff he’s never really done before, and that’s really in practice get these guys going, in the locker room get these guys going because the one guy that did that is now gone, and that’s Lamar Odom.
You’re going to miss him in the practices and in the locker room and on the airplane and on the buses. Who’s going to replace him being that leader? The way I see it, it has to be Kobe."
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Johnson has a point. Kobe has become more and more of a leader as his career has gone along, but he's never been, as Johnson put it, an "emotional leader."
That's just not Kobe's style. His M.O. has been to lead by example, letting his teammates feed off his competitive fire. But whenever he's had a message he's needed to get across, he's gotten it across with stern yelling and general displays of frustration.
This approach has worked, but only to a degree. The Lakers have been successful in recent seasons because the guys around Kobe have allowed him to do his thing without screwing it all up. It would be a stretch to say they've rallied around him.
That's what needs to change. If the Lakers are to make another run at the finals, they can't get there on Kobe's back. Johnson called out Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in particular, saying both of them have to have "banner years." This is largely because the Lakers can't expect an older Kobe to "carry the load the way he used to."
Though he ended up having a fine season, the Lakers got an early glimpse at Kobe's diminishing abilities last season. Playing in a lockout-shortened season will help, but Kobe is far from being the player he once was. Going forward, the only way he's going to remain the most important player on the Lakers is if he trades actions for words.
The Lakers are going to be good this year no matter what role Kobe plays. But if they want to be great, he's going to have to try something new.
