The Lakers are currently winless, and Lakers fans are, rightfully so, getting more and more restless by the second.
Though fans will cite his lack of coaching involvement — missed timeouts, blown substitutions, lack of an established offensive system, etc. — what will ultimately be Byron Scott‘s downfall is something that has not gotten much attention, his relationship with Kobe Bryant.
Even casual fans know that when Bryant entered the league in 1996, Scott was the Lakers’ veteran point guard. This goes to say that the duo share a personal bond that clouds judgment and makes effective coaching extremely difficult. Three games into his 20th NBA season and it’s obvious that the Lakers would have benefited greatly by having a coach who wasn’t afraid to tell Kobe how it is.
I wonder if Byron Scott spent all summer drawing up this system, and if he used the Lakers' extensive analytics team
— Larry Coon (@LarryCoon) October 29, 2015
For lack of a better example, it’s similar to a father coaching his son’s team and wanting his son to succeed at all costs, often to the team’s detriment. But in this case, the son is a 37 year old, 20 year NBA veteran, who has yet to accept that he’s past his prime and gambles way too much on defense.
Kevin Ding may have put it best in his recent article:
"One, coach Byron Scott is far too regimented about sticking with his preplanned rotation. He subbed out Julius Randle in the first half and D’Angelo Russell in the second half when they were clearly rolling Sunday night. But when Bryant is playing poorly and taking bad shots, Scott wouldn’t dream of pulling Bryant to send him a message stressing the need to play the right way.Two, Scott has proved to be the biggest Kobe fanboy in an organization with many of them—and that’s unfortunate, because Bryant needs real help more than ever.Bryant needs to be put in positions to succeed and limited to those positions—at least until he has something from which to build."
Preach K. Ding, preach.
Byron continues to sub based on minutes played, like a middle school coach, rather than performance. pic.twitter.com/gR697EYMtA
— Lake Show Life (@TheLakeShowLife) November 2, 2015
At this point in his career, Kobe seems primarily concerned about proving his critics wrong (see 93rd ranked player in the NBA) more so than actually winning games, or helping his young companions flourish and grow.
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If you don’t believe that, just watch any Kobe interview from the past three weeks and count how many times he references being the “ best player in the league.”
Though fans would have loved to see Kobe go out on a bright note, dropping occasional 40 point games in vintage Mamba fashion, the fact of the matter is, that’s probably not going to happen. Instead, he should turn his focus to adapting and taking the lesser role he’s been so deft at avoiding.
Broken down its simplest, Kobe will either be lauded for showing once again that he can defy all odds, relinquishing his firm grasp on the team, helping mentor its young talent, or go down in flames, affirming the “selfish tag” critics so often pin on him.
Next: Lakers Woes Continue As Team Heads in the Wrong Direction
For the sake of the fans, and league alike, let’s hope he chooses the former.