2. Contrary to popular belief, Kobe and Melo can coexist
The popular conspiracy theory is that Kobe Bryant can coexist with no other superstar. He’s portrayed as a ball-hogging, stubborn, hard-headed, unreasonable player. To some degree, he has all of those characteristics. However, it’s not an abundant amount. Bryant is a smart player, and he knows in order to win any more titles in his career, he’ll need a teammate equal to or better in skill than him.
How quickly we forget Bryant’s willingness to take a backseat as he did as Magic Mamba last season. In fact, Bryant spoke of his willingness to “pass the torch” to another superstar if he deemed them worthy. Clearly Howard wasn’t worthy. But Melo and Bryant have a documented history of friendship, and Bryant would certainly be comfortable handing the keys to the franchise over to Melo as he faded off into the sunset.