In the last few weeks Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant has faced heavy criticism from numerous anonymous league sources and ESPN , who ranked Kobe 40th in their 2014-2015 NBA player rankings.
Now, Bryant is getting criticized by one eastern conference assistant coach who has chosen to remain anonymous.
ESPN’s Chris Broussard asked several assistant coaches around the NBA about this year’s biggest storylines , in particular Kobe Bryant. When one assistant was asked about Bryant, the anonymous coach said that Bryant was basically old and washed up, and in doing so, compared Bryant to the Wizards-era Michael Jordan.
Jordan, who returned to the NBA at age 38 after a three-year retirement, averaged 22.9 points during the 2001-2002 season and averaged 20.0 points in the 2002-2003 season. He made the eastern conference all-star team in both seasons.
Bryant, 36, signed a two-year, $48.5 million dollar extension with the Los Angeles Lakers last season, making him the NBA’s highest paid player and nearly preventing the Lakers from doing much of anything this past summer to improve the team’s performance.
Kobe missed 76 games last season due to a knee injury, and in the 6 games he did participate in he didn’t quite look like the same player that he once was.
Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss responded to an ESPN The Magazine piece that explored if Kobe Bryant is the reason for the Lakers’ downfall, and stated that players do not want to come to Los Angeles to play with an aging Bryant.
Buss said the following.
“I read the story. I don’t agree with any of it. If there is somebody that’s on our payroll who is saying things like that, I’ll soon get to the bottom of it, and they won’t be working for us anymore.”
“We made a very good case for Carmelo Anthony coming to Los Angeles. But he’s from New York, he sees a mission. I understand why he chose to stay with New York. I don’t think any of that has to do with Kobe Bryant.”
The Lakers have already suffered a hit this season when point guard Steve Nash suffered an injury that will cause him to miss the entire season, and likely force him to retire. Due to the lack of depth on the Lakers roster, Bryant may be in for a long, miserable season in Los Angeles.
In the six games Bryant played in last season he averaged 13.8 points (the second lowest average of his career), 6.3 assists (the highest average of his career), 4.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 5.7 turnovers (by far the highest of his career).
[Image via USA Today, quotes via ESPN.com]
