Are the Lakers better off without Kobe?

[lindbergh]

Kobe Bryant is one of the best basketball players ever. But he's old (in athlete years) and hasn't tried to change the way he plays the game. He still shoots too much. There's no problem if he makes most of his shots. But noooo... He's only making below 40% of his shots! He doesn't get his teammates involved. He holds the ball a lot. He doesn't make his teammates better.

Is the Lakers better off without Kobe Bryant? What if maybe he changed his role to a playmaker? Would that benefit the team? Or should he just start shooting less? Or should he simply be traded by the Lakers?

 

[joshposh]

The just beat the Warrior, one of the best teams in the league this year. They did it with Kobe on the bench. Might be just a coincidence, but with better ball movement, everyone was scoring. So that is something to consider when asking if Kobe is actually hurting the team. But what we don't know is that maybe the Head Coach is telling him to take the shots because he believers no one else can score like Kobe can. When Kobe is on, everyone loves the strategy. When he is off, everyone talks about retirement and trades. But Kobe has seen better days and a trade might bring in better players for the Lakers future.