Simple answer : The way he's playing .. It's not about the future of this team , it's all about him for him
Dreadfully obvious. He doesn't care about the Lakers at all. This is about him. He doesn't care about the development of our young players whatsoever because they won't be around to help HIM. He doesn't care about the Laker fans since they won't be rooting for HIM after he retires. It's no secret I have never been a fan of Kobe as a person. Now Kobe the person has surpassed Kobe the player on the floor. At this point, I honestly think he is hoisting up as many shots as possible to put as much distance as possible in the all-time scoring list from him and Durant/LBJ/Melo/etc.
I honestly don't think Kobe is trying to purposefully hurt the team at all. From years of watching and listening to him, he has always been the eternal optimist and he really does think that if he keeps shooting at some point it's gonna work out for him. Is that selfish? Yes, but I don't think he's being malicious, he's just a bit delusional.
After the announcement, I don't care how he plays anymore. His chucking may lose us some games and may be a minor setback to the development of our young core. But Kobe gave us 5 rings. And this season's a lost cause anyhow. So it's all good.
He's not trying to hurt the team per say. He's just doing whatever the f--- he wants. It's not that he WANTS to hurt the team, but if he does while doing it his way, he doesn't care. He doesn't care about the young players because they won't be ready to contribute in a meaningful way before he retires. I think that if it was 2006, Kobe would be a lot more nurturing to these guys and be helping them because they would be able to help him before he is out of his prime. Kobe is a selfish narcissist. If you are of no use to him, you are worthless to him. He doesn't care if the fans are upset because he only has to deal with their screaming for a few more months and if they ALL turn on him, he isn't going to play anymore so they aren't costing him a contract.
Horrible attitude. First off, the "setback" to our core could be a lot more than minor. These are 19 and 20 year old kids in Russell and Randle. This could be causing permanent damage. Giving us 5 rings is NO EXCUSE for giving the organization and it's fans the middle finger. That's like saying if some dude saves your kid's life on 5 separate occasions that it's OK if he wants to come back and beat him to a pulp because he feels like it. This isn't a case of "what have you done for me lately." This is wrong. Doing a bunch of good things does not give you an excuse to do something bad.
Had enough of the Kobe farewell show. He's making me not want to watch games anymore and I really enjoy watching the young guys...until Kobe's back on the floor.
Get used to this crap, I truly believe he thinks people are in the seats to see him score points, not to watch the Lakers play real basketball with statements like "even if I score 80 we still would have lost." I wish he'd take the approach of MWP and be a coach on the floor instead of trying to do what he once could do. When playing,I see MWP constantly talking with the young players about rotations, boxing out, offensive blunders, ect ect...I admire him for that.I'd like to admire Kobe on his last run but if this keeps going on I'll be marking the days on the calendar until he's gone...then look forward to watching the new Laker team without him.
yes..."highlights"... Look at what KG is doing out in Minny. He's a crazy mofo, but he's self-aware enough to know that the sun has set on him as a player, and embraced the fact that he can still be a mentor.
What bothers me as a fan is that the others on the squad have to suffer through this. I can imagine how demoralizing it is for them to be shunted out and deal with the losing. Heck, the normally ever affable and fun Nick Young is frustrated. That speaks volumes alone...
I missed the game and I'm about to watch the replay. One thing I've always loved about Kobe, when I start to doubt him, he still has the ability to come back and do something amazing.
That's good to hear...that's all we wanted! Man, a 30+ point game from Kobe. I honestly didn't think I'd see it this year. 24 shots is still a lot for my liking...but if they were better looks than 3 point heaves, I'll take that!