Los Angeles Lakers: Jeanie Buss wants Kobe Bryant to have a role with the team
While Kobe Bryant has kept his distance from basketball since retirement, Jeanie Buss has been persistent in recruiting him to assist the Los Angeles Lakers.
No amount of words can adequately depict what Kobe Bryant means to the Los Angeles Lakers. When Bryant is thought about, it is impossible to not think about the fact that he spent all twenty years of his brilliant career in Los Angeles.
Arguably the franchise’s best player ever, he helped the team add five banners to the Staples Center rafters. Given that the Lakers’ history has always been about winning, Bryant surely continued the longtime tradition.
The Lakers’ winning tradition has fizzled for a number of years now, though. Their last title came in 2010. Heck, the Lakers have not even reached the playoffs the last five seasons.
This likely accounts for a certain set of measures controlling owner Jeanie Buss has taken. Via Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation, Buss has been trying to get Kobe more active within the organization.
Buss recently shed light on her efforts while on “The Rich Eisen Show.” Granted her pleading has been to no avail, she has been rather consistent in her approach.
"“I’m constantly trying to get Kobe to get more involved. He’s got so many other projects that he’s doing. He’s so creative and he’s got so many different things. He knows how much I need him and how much his support means to me. He always has an open door to anything he wants to do with the Lakers.”"
Buss is right on the money when she references Bryant’s “many other projects.” For example, since his retirement from the NBA, the Black Mamba has managed to snag an Oscar. It proves that his dedication to storytelling is as robust as his dedication once was to basketball.
Likewise, it demonstrates how much of a winner he is. Winning just seems to be in Bryant’s blood. This validates why Buss has been resilient in trying to get Kobe reconnected with the Lakers.
She clearly wants to rekindle the Lakers’ old ways, and the old way is all about winning. Nothing else matters.
To be honest, it is difficult to knock the logic behind her attempts to get Bryant aboard. The man’s basketball IQ is off the charts, which solidifies the widely-known notion of “Mamba Mentality.”
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During his playing days, Kobe was famous for getting into the heads of his opponents. It is as if he maniacally studied their strengths and weaknesses to thereby gain a competitive advantage.
This year’s NBA playoffs gave fans yet another taste of Bryant’s obsessive nature. In an ESPN show entitled “Detail,” KB24 broke down various idiosyncrasies from the games of certain players. Hence the title of the show, Bryant did not miss a beat when it came to analyzing the little things within a particular sequence.
Elements like this further tell the story as to why Buss wants Bryant so badly. He has always been a student of the game, so she likely feels he would be the perfect guy to pass along knowledge.
The 5-time champion has already shared some of his basketball wisdom with youngster Kyle Kuzma. This instance reveals that Bryant is not entirely against the idea of helping the team mature. He just wants to do it in a way that does not garner too much spotlight.
That being said, it is safe to say Kobe does not mind helping the Lakers out. Alas, the 39-year-old does not have any interest in being affiliated with the storied franchise from a professional standpoint.
Bryant is invested in his newly-found passion for storytelling. This passion should not be discredited, even if it does not directly pertain to basketball.
Interestingly enough, Kobe has managed to combine those two components in a book he will release this autumn. The book, entitled The Mamba Mentality: How I Play, will grant the average reader with more detail than ever on how Kobe approached basketball.
This provides more tangible proof as to why the man is okay with life away from the game. Certainly, it is nothing against the L.A. Lakers. Contrarily, it boils down to the fact that Kobe has found solace away from the hardwood.
Fans should not be angry at the NBA legend for this. As Harrison Faigen of SB Nation puts it, it “is his right after 20+ years of eating, sleeping and breathing basketball.”
Indeed, the choice is entirely up to him. As Buss said, Kobe will always have “an open door.” It is a testament to his importance to her and the Lakers at large.
Assuming he never changes his mind, though, Buss and the rest should come to respect his wishes over time. Kobe Bryant literally dedicated his life to the game. He gave it his all, night in and night out.
Next. Kobe Bryant's 10 Greatest Games of All-Time. dark
What is encouraging is that he seems okay with imparting his vast knowledge. It may not be in a glitzy capacity, but the Los Angeles Lakers will gladly take any advice.