It’s no secret that Kobe Bryant is still one of the fan favorites of the NBA, and many people want to see him continue constructing his legacy, even at the age of 35; but the question is – can he? Can Kobe Bryant bring one more championship to the Los Angeles Lakers before he retires from the NBA? Well history has proven to us that anything is possible, especially when you’re one of the greatest shooting guards in history of the NBA.
Kobe Bryant showed how much of the load that the Lakers held on his back when the team went 27-55, which is the lowest win-loss ratio that the franchise had since 1958, ESPN says. Of course, though, Steve Nash’s injury also played a big role on the Lakers dropping down to such a bad record this year, but the fact of the matter is that the Lakers have only missed the postseason once(2005-05 season) since Kobe joined the Lakers excluding this year of course, excluding this year, of course; but that of course can’t be taken into account since he missed nearly the whole season due to injury.
Kobe has brought the LA Lakers five championships, and he can very well bring them a sixth with his leadership, but not with the current roster. Steve Nash may be one of the greatest point guards in history, but his age and constant injuries isn’t something that the Lakers can’t handle right now. He doesn’t have much more in his tank, and that is something that won’t swing by when you’re in the powerful Western Conference.
But even without Steve Nash, the Lakers should not begin to rebuild into a new team until after Kobe retires. The free agent market is going to be very packed this year with many great players, such as Lebron James, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, and much more. There are a lot of players that still want to play for the Lakers because of the fact that it is such a big franchise and can get them a lot of publicity, even if they aren’t showing much promise at this current time. A lot of people may not like Kobe, but a lot of people still want to play alongside with him because he’s such a great player and being taken under his wing will almost guarantee that you’ll improve.
If Kobe can surround himself with players who have the talent and a winning mindset, than the Lakers can possibly rise back to being contenders and bring home another championship. There have been rumors that Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony want to play with each other, but for most teams, they don’t have the cap space and money to attain both of them, but the Lakers do. And if the Lakers had a trio of Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and Carmelo Anthony, than the Lakers would be serious contenders for years to come.
This scenario, though, is very unlikely, but that doesn’t mean that other options can’t work either. The Lakers could bring back Trevor Ariza, who already has chemistry with Kobe and understand what needs to be done to win a championship. They can also sign guys like Lance Stephenson and Luol Deng who can contribute tremendously on both ends of the floor and have a determined mindset. Pau Gasol announced that he will not resign with the Lakers, so there will be a need for a power forward, which could be filled if Lakers were able to sign Paul Pierce or Chris Bosh, who will both be free agents as well come July 1, ESPN reports.
The possibilities are endless for the Lakers, and if they right moves are made, than Kobe Bryant might be able to tie his amount of championship rings with Michael Jordan, or even exceed that.
