Who Would You Rather Have?

 

The other day, ESPN’s Ric Bucher appeared on WKNR’s Tony Rizzo Show, and was critical of the Cavaliers’ LeBron James for not "bringing it" every night.  Bucher compared James to the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, of whom he said was a tremendous competitor, even at the age of 22.  Watching James play each night, I think (as Rizzo did) that the network analyst is way off base.  As talented as Bryant is, I wouldn’t want him on my team, and I suspect there are several NBA General Managers that feel the same way.

 

If winning was so important to Bryant, why did he basically run Shaquille O’Neal off of the Lakers?  The reason is simple, Bryant wanted to be the focal point of the team, he wanted to be "The Man", something he couldn’t be if Shaq was around.  Now that Shaq is gone, Bryant did pretty much single handedly got LA into the playoffs.  However, they are nothing more than a .500 squad.  Yes, he’s the main guy now, but he’s the best player on a mediocre team.  Just like Kevin Garnett.

 

James is not exactly surrounded by a cast of All-Stars either.  Larry Hughes is a very good player, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is still a serviceable NBA center, but his better days are behind him.  Yet, the wine and gold have won 50 games the past two seasons.  Critics will point out how much tougher the Western Conference, where Bryant plays, is than the East.  Still, 50 wins is 50 wins.  That number means you are a good team, not an average one like the Lakers.

 

Some of the games where Bucher believes LeBron is not putting forth a full effort are contests where he spends the first half of the games getting his teammates involved.  James is trying to make the other players better, something he was concerned about even as a high school player.  His belief is that this will make them play better later in the season.  Bryant doesn’t play with great players either, but his lack of trust in them does not cause them to step up to help the superstar.  Kobe could be more of a distributor, he chooses to force shots.  That might win some games early in the season, but it’s not good in the long run.

 

Occasionally, Bryant’s teammates will step up, like last night’s playoff win against Phoenix.  And he is talented enough when he is hot to win a game by himself as well.  However, has he done anything to make the other Lakers better?  Part of Anderson Varajao’s improvement on offense is due in part to James’ trust in him on the pick and roll.  LeBron also tries to get Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden involved offensively early in the game because he knows they will play harder on the other end of the floor if they are getting shots.  I can’t see Bryant making that sacrifice.

 

The best player in the league should be a guy every team would want if it had the chance to get him.  For example, could you see any team not wanting Tim Duncan?  More teams would want LeBron James wearing their uniform than Kobe Bryant.  The Laker star hasn’t shown he is willing to step back for his team’s greater good.

 

JK