Jeanie Buss had a very clear take on players unwilling to join the Lakers because they fear Kobe Bryant.
“Any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser,” said Buss on Thursday to ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
“I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team.”
Bryant was the subject of an inflammatory ESPN.com article that posited that the team’s 36-year-old All-Star was to blame for the team’s recent struggles.
The article, quoting anonymous sources, claimed Bryant had alienated potential free agents and teammates.
“I read the story. I don’t agree with any of it,” said Buss, who vowed to root out anyone within the Lakers organization who might have made those allegations to ESPN.
Dwight Howard was the Lakers’ biggest free-agent loss, choosing to go to the Houston Rockets instead of re-signing.
The Lakers had cap room for the first time since 1996 this summer. The team pursued LeBron James, but he chose to return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers.
Carmelo Anthony, considered joining the Lakers, partially based on his strong relationship with Bryant, but ultimately decided to return to the New York Knicks for five years. The Lakers were able to offer Anthony only a four-year deal.
Although Bryant may have an obsessive personality, prioritizing winning over social niceties, to put the blame for the team’s failures over recent years entirely on the five-time NBA champion is specious.
The Lakers have faced a number of challenges including a trade for Chris Paul that was scuttled by then-commissioner David Stern, the loss of the franchises’ visionary owner Jerry Buss to cancer and a collective bargaining agreement between the league’s owners and players that specifically targeted bigger-market teams with rules that fostered better competition for the smaller-market teams.
Bryant is not blameless but also not the root of all the Lakers’ evils.
“I don’t buy any of it,” said Buss. “It’s a lot of finger-pointing, excuse-making … the Lakers fans know what Kobe is about.”
Bryant missed most of last season with Achilles and knee injuries, playing in just six games as the Lakers finished with a miserable 27-55 record.
Now healthy, Bryant hopes to lead the Lakers back to the playoffs. That may be a daunting task, given the talent on the roster.
The Lakers start the regular season Oct. 28, hosting the Houston Rockets at Staples Center.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus
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