Kobe And Okafor / Towns

How do you think Kobe will do with our young big? I think with all he's gone through he won't have too much problem with sharing the ball, and we've already seen Kobe grow into the mentor role.

What about Okafor or Towns personalities as a mix with Kobe though. Even if Kobe is only here for one or two more years, his personality is SO strong that it will have an impact on the rookie. Bynum seemed to rub Kobe the wrong way with his seeming indifference in his first couple of seasons. Randle seems to really soak in the Kobe effect.

I don't know anything about Okafor's or Town's personalities other than what I've seen in short interviews. How do you see the possible relationships developing?

 

Yeah, I hope you're right. Someone posted an article earlier about how Okafor studies videos of the footwork of the great post players like Olajuwon, Kareem, Duncan, etc. Kobe will love that about him. Hopefully he is chill enough to not wither under the Death Stare though when it does come his way.

 

Okafor is polished and has played impact minutes. 24 sees that...will push for more. He played under Coach K whom 24 respects highly is already a plus. All that power and mass? He's not slow or plodding either. You don't see that too often. Okafor will collapse the middle, open lanes and free up perimeter shooters. Our 4's will feast on the boards with a free run since whoever is assigned to them will have to help. Okafor has those huge mitts that can snag passes and go up with force. He co-existed with a similar player before...now peddling Gold Bond body spray on the tube. On offense, 24 won't have to be asked to take on too much.

I don't know much about Towns. The upside is there but what sort of mentality does he have? Punk-101 compared him to Noah but with better offensive skills. Fair enough... If that is the case, he can be what Pau Gasol was with whom 24 had a great working relationship with. He also will help the defense immensely with Lin and Sloppy D. If we choose Towns, bring on Marc Gasol. Twin Towers Redux 2.0.

Either way, 24 will ease either guy in...not Driving Miss Daisy speed mind you. Both choices will make his send-off [?] smoother and likely enjoyable. He is not the petulant, hell bent domineering presence he used to be. The good part is both potential choices are more mature and looking to be better than the last pivot-man to grace the Golden Armor. Who knows, what if success happens and all of a sudden, 24 is having this conversation with himself: "Know what? This could be the start of something special... Don't think I'm ready to be a stay home dad yet. Wait, who's calling me now? Yo, KD what's up? Yeah..."

 

I think Kobe probably gets along best with Okafor for the reasons stated above. Okafor has repeatedly been referred to as a student of the game. He has studied tape of Duncan, Shaq, Olajuwon, etc. etc. and he's incorporated their techniques into his game. Sound familiar? All of his coaches have also called him a very quick learner. He's been able to spend a day on a particular skill set and leave that day significantly better than he was before.

Towns' mentality has definitely been more cerebral according to reports. He's eager to learn and to develop, but he's not the perfectionist that Okafor is. He seems more like the Pau Gasol type to me: alpha capable, but more likely to go with the flow. That type of mentality might actually mesh better long-term with a guy who is so alpha like Kobe.

Here's the key though: I think Randle and Clarkson have fed off of Kobe's personality a lot. Who do THEY mesh best with? I'd say either one meshes well but again I have to give the edge to Okafor. I think both Clarkson and Randle in their own ways have already gotten on the train of "we want to win more than anything else so if you're not on the same route, then we aren't going to get along". That's the personality I want in my team. Win first, everything else secondary. I honestly wouldn't have cared at all about Howard's smiling attitude as long as he put in work when he had to and won games. He didn't, so his smiles were bull****. I want that from these young kids and I think that's what Kobe can leave them with.

To be honest I'm not sure I care too much which guy gets along with Kobe. I want whoever we get to take as much from Kobe as they can this last season. Maybe Kobe comes back, maybe he doesn't, but I want to see a kid who wants it as much as Kobe did when he was 19 years old.

 

The crux here is that 24 is accused of being hard driving. True, well documented and really necessary. Well, who plays good cop? The one we once had is a coach in Gotham. The one we could have had is nowhere to be found sometimes...the coach can't even get him on the phone. Sure as hell can't be Sloppy D. Lin is too reserved [if he was retained]. Johnson? Nah, he's out of here. Half the time, we don't even know what is happening with him between the ears. If he sticks around, it could be Boozer.

P.S. - I wonder if Randle is jockeying for Towns...

 

I like Jack... Fearless. Not sure about Butler will these "alledged" rumors of him causing a rift with Rose. Mo Williams has been mentioned. He could be a good choice. Veteran leadership without the overbearing personality... can hit the perimeter shot too. When he played for the people across the hall, Williams organized the group collectively until they were handed Cliff Paul's bro.

 

Never heard that about Jack. He was a victim of the numbers game in both New Orleans and Golden State.

 

I know you're not... Jack is probably just the quintessential journeyman. Clarkson can be the "good" cop. Quiet, unassuming and will probably not grate on the three new rooks Okafor/Towns included. He will be much more self assured, confident after the All-Rookie First Team honor.