In an article for ESPN, Henry Abbott was able to get some pretty damning quotes from anonymous sources around the NBA about Kobe Bryant. The main thrust of the article ended up being that, as great as Kobe has been, his presence in the Lakers locker room has been poisonous for the team and a huge disincentive for any potential free agent to sign with the Lakers.
Even for unnamed sources, Abbott was able to get some harsh stuff on record:
“Peek behind the banners,” says one longtime NBA agent, “and it’s rotten.”
“Kobe is like the big rock in their front yard,” says an agent who has had a Lakers client in recent years. “You can’t mow over it, so you just have to mow around it.”
Another agent with current Lakers clients was asked whether Bryant undermined the team’s rebuilding by alienating would-be free agent recruits. “Well, duh,” he replied. “Isn’t that obvious?”
…
“I’ve had a lot of clients in the last five years, good players, who didn’t want to play with Kobe,” says an agent who has had numerous NBA stars. “They see that his teammates become the chronic public whipping boys. Anyone who could possibly challenge Kobe for the spotlight ends up becoming a pincushion for the media. Even Shaq.”
…
“It’s horrendous. It’s evil. It’s a hard drug to quit when you’re winning,” says a front office executive from a rival team who knows everyone involved well. “Kobe has cost the Lakers dearly in human capital. Kobe has hurt a lot of people. In some cases jeopardized careers.”
The idea of Kobe being an asshole malcontent isn’t something new or even something that Kobe has ever tried to distance himself from. If anything, Kobe’s asshole-ishness has gone from incredibly irritating to endearing as he’s aged (gracefully?) into his role as the NBA’s resident cantankerous codger. And yet, Abbott’s piece goes far beyond what is usually written about Kobe’s personality. It essentially states that Kobe is killing the Lakers franchise.
However, if anyone knows what it’s like to work with Kobe, it’s Phil Jackson. Jackson and Kobe won five NBA championships and spent over a decade in each other’s professional company. There were definitely rocky times. Jackson even wrote a book after his first three-peat with the Lakers where he described Kobe as “uncoachable.” The two made up and went on to win two more championships before Jackson retired from coaching again.
Now, as Jackson tries to right the New York Knicks, he’s found time to weigh in on Abbott’s latest piece on Bryant. After Flea went after Abbott’s piece for being “garbage”, Jackson essentially co-signed the tweet.
“@flea333: henry abbott your @espn kobe article is absolute garbage and a blatant irresponsible attack. "Go get'em, Flea
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) October 21, 2014
The idea of Phil Jackson trolling Twitter for random things to comment on is one of the great joys of this world.
