Kobe Bryant is disliked by most everyone who is not a fan of the Purple and Gold. His ability, swagger and intensity is enough to give any defense a fit on a given night. My girlfriend Stephanie puts it best when Kobe is brought up:
Chad: "Wow, Kobe went for 26 points, 10 rebounds tonight."
Stephanie: "I HATE him."
Chad: "Why?"
Stephanie: "Because he is too good at basketball!"
He really is 'too good', but you could probably never convince him of that. The man is an athletic freak who only has one thing on is mind at all times: Winning championships.
I imagine Kobe completely understands where his legacy is at right now and knows that if he retired today, he would be one of the best basketball players of all time. That is simply not how he is wired and he will probably play until his legs give out.
With that being said, it is starting to get easy to see that Bryant's days are numbered. He is not creating opportunities to score like he used to and it has shown in his stats. Another huge blow to Bryant's overall game is the departure of Lakers' legend and head coach Phil Jackson. Jackson has been in LA ever since 1999 and Bryant has rarely had to play huge minutes without him. The only year Jackson was not in Los Angeles (2004, Jackson resigns and rehired next season) Bryant had a career high four turnovers per game and the Lakers record was 34-48. (2004 is the only year Kobe Bryant has not been apart of the playoffs in his career.)
All signs point to a decline. After the Dallas Mavericks swept past the Lake Show in the second round of this year's playoffs, it looks as if Kobe might not ever get his sixth title which would tie him up with the great Michael Jordan.
I don't buy it. I am not a huge Kobe fan, but I think there is a way that he could get himself one more championship with the Lakers, as a player-coach. Call me crazy, but I think this could work and here are some reasons why:
1. First off, who is better at Phil Jackson's offensive system than Kobe?
The answer is no one. Kobe has the keys to the triangle offense and Phil would always be a call away. The team would suffer without some wisdom from Jackson, who is often called "The Zen Master", but who is saying Kobe has not embodied some of the wisdom himself over the years? We all know who Kobe will thank right after his parents in his Hall of Fame speech, it will be Phil Jackson. If Kobe has learned a lot from Phil over the years, it could be enough to push his team over the hump for one more shot at a championship.
2. Kobe could push for trades because of his urgent need to win a championship.
The Lakers have some really good players (Gasol, Bynum and Odom) that cannot really all play together at once due to their positions. Rumors of Dwight Howard joining the team in trade would really spark the team, a la Shaq in 1996 to the Lakers. It worked once, why not again! Dwight is similar to Shaq and could really hit his prime in a trade to LA. Bryant could be the guy to make something like this happen, considering that he knows that his body is a ticking time bomb. In my most honest opinion, Andrew Bynum needs to be gone.
3. It has worked in the past.
If someone is going to argue that Bryant/Jackson and Jordan/Jackson are the best player/coach combos of all time, there is one that you could use to prove your point: Bill Russell and Red Auerbach. Russell was the Celtics center and was chosen by Red Auerbach to coach the team in 1967 after Auerbach won nine titles with him. Russell coached for three years, posting a record of 162-83 and won two more championships, taking his total to eleven. Although this was a little over forty years ago, who is saying that this could not work now? The league is a very different animal now, but I feel like Kobe is a tough veteran that could carry the team.
This is obviously not a permanent fix, because Kobe will retire in 5-7 years and the team would be looking for a new coach, but it would be interesting. A leader is someone who rallies the troops, who never gives up and steps up when he is needed. Kobe has proven he is all of those and more for a franchise that is one ring away from being tied for the most all-time (Celtics, 17 championships).
Move over Phil, the Black Mamba needs to be calling the shots, and taking better ones.
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