In explaining why Landon Donovan was left off the U.S. World Cup roster, Jurgen Klinsmann invoked Kobe Bryant and not necessarily in the most flattering way as he said that both were over the hill as players.
Klinsmann went on to say that the contract extension which the Lakers gave Kobe was nonsensical because it was a way to reward Kobe for his past performance rather than for what the team can reasonably expect from Kobe in the future.
“Kobe Bryant, for example — why does he get a two-year contract extension for $50 million? Because of what he is going to do in the next two years for the Lakers? Of course not. Of course not. He gets it because of what he has done before. It makes no sense. Why do you pay for what has already happened?”
Kobe being Kobe, didn’t take too kindly to the notion that he’s dead weight on the Lakers payroll and responded accordingly:
“I thought it was pretty funny. I thought it was pretty comical actually,” Bryant said. “I see his perspective. But the one perspective that he’s missing from an ownership point of view is that you want to be part of an ownership group that is rewarding its players for what they’ve done while balancing the team going forward. If you’re another player in the future and you’re looking at the Lakers organization, you want to be a part of an organization that takes care of its players while at the same time planning for the future.
“Jurgen is a coach, a manager. He’s not a GM or owner of the franchise. When you look at it from that perspective, it changes a little bit. But you probably could have used another player as an example.”
Of course, the interesting thing is that Kobe doesn’t deny that he’s being paid for what he’s done for the Lakers. It would take a delusional Lakers fan to think that Kobe will play at a level worth $24 million a season (I would know, pretty sure I qualify as one of them). What is interesting in what the Lakers did with Kobe is that they essentially made his extension into a (very costly) recruiting campaign for other players. Whether that leads to a competitive team is another situation entirely. The salary cap exists and affects all teams, even one as storied as the Lakers.
When he was asked if he would get together with Klinsmann to hash out their differences over franchise managerial style, Kobe shrugged it off:
“I probably won’t,” he laughed.
Klinsmann is going to be busy for a little while anyways.
If you don’t believe Kobe is one of the greatest, check this out..
Kobe Doin’ Work: A Spike Lee Joint
