Kobe himself is not going to play more than 60-65 games. He will sit out 2nd night of b2b and he will also not play more than 30 min. We should stop thinking he is kind of a big deal. Because at this point he isn't. Its time for him to retire and enjoy his mega millions.
If Russell shows up for camp and he's got that fire in him, I don't see any reason why Kobe wouldn't embrace him. He embraced Jordan and Randle last season (apparently he and Julius still text occasionally to stay in touch). If Russell comes in and has that confidence and that swagger and more importantly that ABILITY then I think Kobe would be just fine with him starting. The way I see it working: Russell (25)/Lou (23) Clarkson (30)/Lou (10)/Jabari (8) Maybe not at those specific spots, but those minute totals anyway. Unless we pick-up a 3rd string PG, then those minutes might tweak just a little bit.
That's how I think the minutes are going to split. All three guards are very capable playmakers. And all four of them can score. Outside of Kobe, when have we had such exciting guards recently.
This is overwhelmingly my favorite option I just fear it isn't going to happen. Russell's position and talents are hard to crack in the NBA, if he struggled in summer league he's going to get an real eye opener this fall. What is ideal for the organization is that he goes right in and gets an NBA crash course. With Kobe there to guide it could be fantastic learning process for him and I hope the FO sees the opportunity. My fear is that Scott + Buss & Co will be paranoid about not making an immediate improvement in the wins column and go with what is the best option on day 1 rather than what might have been the best option for the end of the season or next season (depending on how fast DAngelo could settle in). I do also believe Kobe would be cool with the rook I just wonder how often he'll give him the ball and is he going to make Russell the off-guard. If Kobe plays @ 3 this year and more like a point forward than just completely dominating the ball it could give Russell the necessary touches to develop and also give us a 2-way distribution attack. Still, I see Scott putting him with the second unit to start due to pressure to win. Not to mention the pressure on Buss, a lot of talk this summer about his guarantee to right the ship.
Scott has said pretty much since day one that Russell and Clarkson are likely to start. He also said Lou will be the 6th man and Mitch and Lou seemed to agree with that. I'm honestly not worried about who starts, I'm worried about Russell's leash. He'll start but how quickly and how often do you pull him after a mistake?
Yeah you absolutely must expect a rough start considering the West's PGs Curry Lilliard Westbrook Parker CP3 Lawson Conley Rubio There's just no breaks, the West is packed. 32 games vs the above group alone. But it can be good to bench a struggling rook, especially these high picks, so they see that the job isn't going to be just handed to them. Sure it stings the pride but the lesson goes deep. I am sure Lou will be totally cool with going back and forth between starting PG or sixth man so there are no head games between coach and players, Russell will simply see he must really earn the spot. He will become a gym rat over the next few years to get his strength and speed up. I don't see "bust" in that kid. But yes if we go in and lose 5 out of 6 and he is struggling I see the leash getting short.
