Jared Dudley of the Milwaukee Bucks made some headlines yesterday by expressing his opinion on various ESPN outlets. He spoke about Carmelo Anthony being the most overrated player in the NBA and also said most NBA players do not want to play with Kobe. On top of that, Dudley put his GM cap on and said he would be surprised if Kevin Love ended up in Los Angeles.
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Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even Dudley, but the problem with his statements about Bryant is that he is speaking for a big group of players and that simply isn’t a fair assessment.
It’s no secret Bryant demands perfection, which is why he has become one of the all-time great players in the history of this sport. Not everyone share’s Dudley’s view point, including former Laker Andrew Goudelock. According to David Pick of Basketball Insiders, Goudelock has the utmost respect for Bryant and shared a story of the five time champion treating the team to an amazing night in Las Vegas:
"“Kobe took the Lakers during preseason to the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas and bought the whole top floor for the team,” Goudelock recalled. “He met us there with his helicopter and was spending all kinds of money on us and let us ball out for the night.”"
Not every NBA player earns the type of money Bryant has accumulated over the years. In fact, only a handful of players can compete with Bryant as far as overall annual income. When you’re the 11th or 12th player off the bench, you’re making good money, but not enough to waste it irresponsibly.
Kobe does not have that problem and gave his teammates the opportunity to fully enjoy themselves for a night in Vegas during the pre-season. Who would not love to live it up in Vegas with Bryant on his dime? Sign me up!