With our core I don't see a reason to pass the torch to just one kid. All three of the young guys are capable of carrying the torch.
Yeah we really may have 3 alpha dogs in the same starting lineup that all dig each other. No Shaq vs Kobe drama to be expected.
I'm sorry but its way too early to be calling any of these 3 young kids alpha dogs. Kobe and Shaq were different animals completely. The Kobe we've seen on the court these past 19+ years with how confident (some times cocky attitude) and the competitive fire he played with we wont see that ever again or at least not in my life time. The obsessive will to win/compete is something that was in his blood & DNA. These kids of ours want to work hard and have tons of promise. I'm not trying to knock our guys either but they're no alpha dogs like Kobe was.
I didn't say we "may" have 3 alpha dogs like Kobe, or like Shaq. I said we "may" have 3 alpha dogs on the same roster. I expect to see it with Randle and Russell for sure, and will have to see if Clarkson is one too. But if we do I was just meaning I would not expect to see any ego problems between them. Just my opinion on the whole of the observation. I of course agree there'll never be another Kobe. Shaq I don't have on Kobe's level of mental dominance. He was somewhat of a bully because he was way bigger and stronger than all other centers back then. Against really skilled and big enough Hakeem, when Shaq was young but at his athletic peak, he got his a** handed to him in the finals that year. How much did Shaq's "skills" improve from that point on? He just remained bigger and stronger with good skills, but not off the chart skills or a student of the game like Kobe.
I think I can absolutely count on Jordan late in games. I also think I can count on Randle although we've seen a limited sample of that.
I think it's too early to say definitively either way. They could very well be alpha dogs in the Kobe mold. They could also all lack that gene. It might be years before we see a player like Kobe again, but that doesn't mean we can't have something else awesome and unique. Also keep in mind that people said the same thing of Jordan to the point where Kobe's career has been criticized more than it deserves.
How amazing and how blessed were we as Lakers fans, though, when it was true that Jordan ultimately was the best the game has ever seen, even over Kareem, and of course one of a kind that would never be seen again ......that we DID see him again on the Lakers in Kobe Bryant. In fact a virtual copy of him mentally and skills wise as a player who was even better than Jordan in a number of ways paradoxically as that sounds. Not only that but we got to see and compare and enjoy our carbon copy of Jordan on the court playing against him. It's just mind bottling, even if Kobe did shot too much.
I think Jordan Clarkson has superstar potential. I really believe that. He has the work ethic, he has the right mental makeup. You saw him take it right to the best point guards in the league last year. You saw him improve game by game. You saw him soak up HOF Nash's instructions like a sponge. I think we have something special on our hands.
