Kevin Durant on Kobe Bryant: 'I'd want to play with a guy like that'
Oklahoma City Thunder star and 2016 free agent Kevin Durant refutes the idea that stars don't want to play with Kobe Bryant.
By
Zach Harper
•
2 min read
The conversation surrounding Kobe Bryant over the last couple of years has been fascinating. With Bryant's career moving toward the twilight stage and his persona being much more vulnerable to public opinion than it used to be, the discussion about whether or not Kobe is a player people want to play alongside has certainly turned on the Los Angeles Lakers' star. Over the last few months, Bryant has been blamed for the Lakers' inability to be able to bring stars over to play next to him.
Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder doesn't think this is a legitimate criticism. In fact, it leads him to an expletive answer when asked if he thinks this is the case with most stars and whether or not they want to play next to Kobe. Sam Amick of USA Today has quotes from the Thunder star saying he'd love to play with a winner like Kobe.
When asked about Kobe Bryant's recent passing of Michael Jordan for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, the Oklahoma City Thunder star who will be a free agent in the summer of 2016 not only raved about the Lakers legend's achievement, but also refuted the notion that players around the league don't want to play with him.
While Durant wasn't specifically addressing his own uncertain future, he insisted that the player perspective relating to Bryant shouldn't be a hindrance as the 8-17 Lakers continue their laborious turnaround.
"Excuse my language, but that's (expletive)," said Durant, who congratulated Bryant via text message after he surpassed Jordan on Sunday. "I want to play with a winner every single night, especially somebody who wants to win that bad, who works that hard, who demands a lot, who raises up your level. I'd want to play with a guy like that every day. ... (His style) may make people uncomfortable, how he acts and just how he approaches the game, but I love that type of stuff. I think (the accusation) is BS."
Bryant has been the target for the blame about the Lakers' troublesome direction, but if players do actually want to play alongside the future Hall of Famer, then maybe the blame should be more on the leadership of the Lakers' organziation. Jim Buss taking over the basketball operations while Jeanie Buss commands the business side of it all hasn't been a good combination for attracting or keeping the biggest names that Dr. Jerry Buss never had issues getting for this team.
The Lakers missed out on re-signing Dwight Howard after having him for a season. They also struck out on LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and others this past summer as they tried to put star players around Kobe. Durant becomes a free agent in the summer of 2016.
