New Lakers Lou Williams, Roy Hibbert And Brandon Bass Awkwardly Admit Kobe Bryant Didn’t Reach Out
USA Today
The Los Angeles Lakers planned to go all out this summer in pursuits of landing one of the big-name free agents on the open market. LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe were all targets, but Los Angeles failed in their attempts to sign one of these three players.
Fortunately, the storied NBA franchise was able to rebound by flying under the radar with some solid free-agent additions. Lou Williams and Brandon Bass agreed to terms with the teams while the Lakers went out and traded for veteran center Roy Hibbert.
On Wednesday, all three of the Lakers newest additions to the roster were introduced by the team at their practice facility in El Segundo. The three newest Lakers were asked whether Kobe Bryant had reached out to any of them after they agreed to terms with Los Angeles and the awkwardness ensued, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:
Over the past few years, Kobe has received a lot of criticism for potentially holding the Lakers organization back in terms of rebuilding. A rather unflattering article from ESPN’s Henry Abbott referencing a lot of unnamed sources came out before last season basically blaming Bryant for the team’s shortcoming in free agency.
With Hibbert, Bass and Williams all having the same blank look on their faces in response to the question on whether Kobe reached out will further convince those that believe the superstar is at the core of the team’s problems in recent years. Bryant’s role in recruiting or lack thereof in years past will continue to be a topic of discussion as long as the franchise continues to struggle.
The Lakers currently have 200/1 odds to win a title next season, according to Sportsbook.ag.
