While walking down the street, TMZ‘s always awkward and never professional street reporter caught up with The Logo Jerry West, and asked him a series of annoying questions about Kobe Bryant. After asking him whether he’d flee for another championship contender if he was in Kobe’s Nikes, which West gracefully neglected to answer, further interrogation finally led Mr. Clutch to admit Mamba probably wasn’t going to win another title.
The TMZ crew opened by inquiring whether West — if he were Kobe right now — would stay in LA or leave for another team in a better position to compete for a title. West sidestepped the inane question — Kobe isn’t going anywhere, and neither would West — but did admit Bryant’s chances for a sixth ring are small.
West’s aside about Kobe’s championship odds isn’t damning testimony that will infuriate Bryant like the TMZ hucksters seem to believe. The Lakers are coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history, and while a healthy Bryant will make things better next year, they’re unlikely to compete for a championship.
The two-year, $48 million deal Bryant signed last fall will keep him in Lakers purple and gold until he retires — likely at the end of that contract. Meanwhile, he’ll keep Staples Center rocking, and might compete for a high playoff seed in the Western Conference if he’s truly returned to form following back-to-back injuries that forced him to miss all but six games last year. That’s probably the nadir of this current Lakers roster without a big name free agency acquisition and still without a coach.
The Lakers aren’t likely to compete for a championship unless Mitch Kupchak and Co. can add a big name soon. They’ll have to do so within the narrow window the aging Bryant has left to compete for his sixth ‘chip. Jerry West was being honest, and we doubt Kobe cares even if he happens to see the video.
Is West correct?
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