USA TODAY International Edition
Kobe could help Lakers lure LeBron, George
If Lakers fans had their way, Kobe Bryant would be ready to help out on the free agency front at the perfect time during these NBA playoffs.
Oklahoma City falls to Utah in the first round, and Thunder star/Palmdale, Calif., native Paul George is greeted at his locker by a text message from Bryant explaining why he should sign with his hometown Lakers when July 1 rolls around. Cleveland gets upset by Indiana to end LeBron James’ personal streak of Finals appearances at seven, and the game’s greatest player quickly discovers that another legend — Kobe on line one — wants to have a chat about how his $23 million home in Los Angeles should become his new headquarters.
Considering the Lakers were fined twice by the NBA for tampering charges this season and given their status as the only team on track to have cap room for two maximum-salary players, it would be the perfect workaround. After all, Bryant — whose former agent, Rob Pelinka, is the team’s general manager and who is close with president of basketball operations Magic Johnson — has no formal title with the organization.
Yet while Bryant hopes the Lakers land one of their top-tier targets, the retired five-time champion swears he won’t take part in the recruiting efforts. “You do realize I’m trying to build a (film) studio, right?” he said with a laugh during a recent phone interview while promoting his new ESPN+ show,
Detail. “I’m just a little busy, right? “I’m not recruiting people. That’s not what I’m here for . ... I mean I’m friends with everybody, so if a player is thinking about coming here and he wants to call me and talk about it, I’m more than happy to talk about it and tell him what a wonderful place this is, which they already know.”
The Lakers finished with their most wins (35) since 2012-13, including a 2420 mark that began Jan. 7.
Coach Luke Walton and his staff did a wonderful job, not only developing the young core of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart but integrating veterans such as Brook Lopez and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Forward Julius Randle, a restricted free agent this summer, had a career year (16.1 points, eight rebounds per game).
“You look at the Lakers and the youth and the players that they have, and you’ve just got to be patient and develop these guys,” Bryant said. “I always say it’s about having a patient impatience, where you want to win championships now but you know that’s not going to happen now but you have the determination and the resolve to work and push and learn as if you’re going to be that immediately.”
If Bryant should wind up talking to MVP-caliber talent such as James or George during the free agency process, his message will extend far beyond the roster. The revamped brain trust, Bryant believes, is the key to the turnaround.
“I mean Rob (Pelinka) is one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met in my life, and he is going to figure this thing out,” Bryant said of Pelinka, who was hired in March 2017 after owner Jeanie Buss fired executives Mitch Kupchak and her brother, Jim Buss. “So if you’re a player, a marquee player, and your goal and your mission is to win championships, you can’t just bet on the current roster, you also have to bet on the management, and you have to bet on the fact that they’re going to make smart decisions and get players here that are going to win championships with you.”