It isn’t even that complicated.
Kobe has the ability to change, if he wanted to. He could play 20-25 minutes, be a facilitator and average about 10-15 points while shooting a much high percentage.
He doesn’t want to change and frankly at this point why bother trying to get him to change?
The Lakers are awful, if Kobe toned it down a bit, they might win 30 games instead of 20, so does it really matter if he is shooting like an old Swaggy P?
The Lakers can’t move forward until Kobe is gone. He is such a big ICON that none of the young players on the Lakers would dare challenge him, because for many he is their hero. Kobe has already giving the Lakers the greatest gift of all by announcing he is retirement.
It would have been a very uncomfortable situation if he wanted to continue playing and demanded a high end salary from the Lakers. By announcing his retirement he can go on his bucket list tour and the Lakers can start planning for the future.
The more he shoots the more likely they are going to lose (like to the winless Sixers) and that means they are more likely to keep their Top 3 draft pick.
There is no reason to fire Byron Scott now, because the goal isn’t to win, it is to lose and Bryon is very good at that.
Plus people want to see as much of Kobe as they can before it is all over. It doesn’t matter if he is jacking up 17 3s and airballing shots, people just want to see him play. These last years will be an afterthought when it is all said and done, but not many people get to see ICONS play, so everyone is trying to soak it all in.
Kobe is still the most interesting and polarizing player in the league even on a team that only has two wins.
Let the old man go out the same way he came in…..
SHOOTING