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The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the two winningest franchises in NBA history along with the Boston Celtics. These two teams are responsible for 33 championships in the league’s 71-year history. That’s nearly half of all the titles since the NBA’s inception. The 16 championships speak of the excellence and prestige that comes with being associated with the Lakers franchise, something that a young Kobe Bryant understood.
Winning was the only thing that mattered to Bryant during his playing days, and the Lakers were the same, even if they had to go through some growing pains at times in the early 90’s and the mid-2000s.
Being a storied franchise, the Lakers have the luxury of just being THE LAKERS and the top free agents should come to their doorstep especially since they play in L.A., one of the two biggest markets in the sports.
But does the Lakers mystique still hold sway today? Is the idea of being a Laker, someone who can take upon his shoulders the legacy of the greats who had gone before, attractive enough to tempt free agents to switch teams and join them?
Bryant thinks so which is why he doesn’t believe the team should beg players to play in the city of Angels.
Kobe’s ESPN Interview
Bryant used to be part of a group that met with players to help in recruiting them to play for the Lakers when LaMarcus Aldridge and Dwight Howard were available as free agents years ago. But seeing how Aldridge didn’t sign with them, and Howard did but wasn’t as committed as he was to bring a championship to L.A., Bryant may have soured to the idea.
Serenading a player, like the L.A. Clippers’ pitch to Blake Griffin last summer, is no longer Bryant’s business now that he’s retired. He could try, though, but in an interview with ESPN’s Jalen Rose, he believes that a particular kind of free agent would want to take on the pressure of carrying the torch that was passed on to him by other Laker greats.
“Recruit free agents?” What does that even entail? Calling someone? Take them out to dinner or something,” Bryant asked. “The thing about this franchise is that you shouldn’t need recruiting to come here. It takes a special person to want to play for this franchise and take the pressure that comes along with playing for this franchise. The pressure of following Magic’s footsteps, and myself and the dynasty that we’ve had. It takes a special person to do that, and if I need to convince you to come here to carry that legacy forward, you ain’t the one to be here.”
Those are some strong words for someone who requested a trade from the Lakers years ago when he felt the front office wasn’t as concerned about winning a championship as he was. Times have changed and adding two more championships as a Laker to his resume has made Bryant more appreciative of representing the only franchise he has ever played for.
Though the Lakers have suffered some setbacks in recent years since Bryant and the Lakers won the 2009-10 title, the team is looking to join the ranks of title contenders again next year.
How did they do it?
Lakers shed contracts
President of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka needed to shed salary cap space for next season so they could recruit two max contract players. Similar to what the Warriors did when they signed Kevin Durant in 2016, and how Pat Riley secured the services of LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play for the Heat in 2010, the Lakers can now do the same after some wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline.
The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye to the purple and gold on February 8. The two players have expiring contracts and are likely not going to be re-signed this offseason.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Lakers’ cap space problems looks like a non-issue after the deal.
“The Lakers now take on the expiring $6.3M contract of Isaiah Thomas and $7.4M expiring contract of Channing Frye. The Lakers now project to have $46.9M in room this summer. The cap space will increase to $69M if they do not bring back Julius Randle and stretch the $37M owed to Luol Deng over 5 years.”
Lakers fans are excited at the prospect of luring both the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George and the Cavaliers’ LeBron James this summer with that cap space. But is it possible?
You bet it is.
George had made it known to the Indiana Pacers last summer that he wanted to be in L.A. so he can play in front of his family and friends. He grew up as Kobe fan, even wearing number 24 in honor of his idol prior to eventually switching jersey numbers.
A player like George is someone that the Lakers want to recruit and prioritize. George is the type of player who would want to build on the legacy of Bryant without having to oversell.
James, however, is a different story. He wants championships as soon as possible and as often as possible.
Whether the Lakers can provide him with the pieces to contend for a title by next year is yet to be seen. The young core of this team is untested and may be an issue for James even if the cap space is available to sign him and George at the same time.
If there is someone who needs a special kind of pitch to play for the Lakers franchise, it’s James. He owns two houses in L.A., but those houses don’t mean a thing if he feels the team isn’t competitive enough for him to want to play for the Lakers.
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Bryant may not like it, but if he wants his friend to play for his former team, he might have to do a bit of personal recruiting to make it happen. Showing up when James eventually visits the organization as a prospect can go a long way into convincing the Cavaliers star to make the switch.
Don’t get me wrong, James may yet opt to play for the Lakers without Bryant’s influence. As rumors have indicated since the Cavs relinquished the throne to Golden State in June of 2017, it's certainly possible. The Lakers are one of the few teams that have a shot at making his move from Cleveland, but Johnson and Bryant may need to team up to entice the four-time Most Valuable Player to play for the franchise.
Kobe’s formative Laker years
Like George, Bryant grew up watching Lakers basketball during Magic’s Showtime era.
Though he moves, plays and talks like Michael Jordan in more ways than one, his loyalty to the Lakers is deeply rooted from the time he was six years old watching games from the 1980’s. His Oscar-nominated short film titled, “Dear Basketball” illustrates beautifully how the Lakers were an integral part of his growing up years.
Even after he declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft in 1996, his first choice was always the Lakers. He didn’t want to play for any other franchise, but he said he was willing to play for the Charlotte Hornets, the team that drafted him if they had only kept him, except they didn’t want him. Instead former GM Jerry West engineered a trade that brought him to the Lakers and the rest is history.
Kobe’s former agent became Lakers GM
Pelinka, Bryant’s former agent, is now the team’s general manager. Many had speculated that he would use his friendship with Bryant to officially make him part of the organization, but it never materialized.
In an interview via Spectrum SportsNet that Matthew Moreno of Lakers Nation transcribed, Bryant, told Chris McGee of “Connected With…” that he’s not interested in holding a front office position nor would he want to recruit players even if he is open to being available to the Lakers in another capacity he can.
“Why? No. It’s not my job,” Bryant said. “I’m busy, I’m happy doing what I’m doing now in creating stories. Listen, I’m a Laker for life, man. I’d love nothing more than to see this organization back to where it belongs. Jeanie knows, Magic knows, Rob knows. I’m always around for them.”
As much as seeing the Lakers succeed is a vision that the 2-time Finals MVP would like to see happen, he is entitled to his own way of helping the franchise in whatever means he deems fit.
In his mind, recruitment is Pelinka’s and Johnson’s job, something that he was a part of when he was playing for the team, but not anymore.
He believes that the Lakers have a rich enough legacy to avoid having to heavily recruit a player who doesn’t even want to be there. The franchise has enough pride from being a championship team that it markets and recruits players just by the strength of its legacy alone.
Is he right? Does the Lakers mystique still exist after many years of failing to land superstars into the fold the last couple of years?
If it does, we’ll soon find out this offseason if, as Bryant surmised, it hasn’t left after all.
