Kobe Bryant will go down in history as one of the greatest Los Angeles Lakers of all time, and he has no intention of sullying that legacy by playing elsewhere.
While there have been times when it appeared as if Bryant may ditch the forum blue and gold - he flirted with the Clippers in free agency in 2004 and briefly requested a trade in 2007 - the idea of him ending his career anywhere else seems asinine. It's impossible to picture Bryant with another team.
It's also the furthest thing from Bryant's mind at this point. Apparently, there are those who have suggested the Lakers should deal Bryant, both allowing him to play out his twilight years on a contender and allowing the Lakers to retool. Bryant steadfastly shot down the idea in an interview with Yahoo! Sports published Sunday:
I believe in fighting through the tough times as well as enjoying the good times. It's my responsibility to get us to be the best that we can be. It's important that we approach that on a day-to-day basis.
It could be a trying year or two for Bryant as the Lakers try to build their way back to contention. Given the success he's enjoyed, Bryant doesn't see leaving during lean times as a realistic or honorable approach.
"I've enjoyed a great amount of success here," Bryant said. "You can't just enjoy the successful times and then run away from the bad ones. No, I don't even think about [departing]. I'm a Laker."
The idea of Bryant playing elsewhere, while something he and the franchise clearly considered in the past, no longer seems reasonable to even think about.
The reality is that his contract is onerous and nearly untradeable, anyway, and the return the Lakers would receive wouldn't be worth the public relations hit of trading away one of the franchise's greatest champions. From Bryant's perspective, chasing a sixth ring would cheapen his history with the Lakers. For both sides, there's just too much money in Bryant playing out his final years with the Lakers.
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