Kobe Bryant Says Cavaliers Need ‘Inner Conflict’ To Succeed

USA Today

As expected, the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to get the best Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at the Staples Center with LeBron James helping lead his team to a win in his final showdown against future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant.

After the loss to the Cavaliers, Bryant spoke to the media and was asked about the current state of the Cavaliers. Although Cleveland is still the top team in the Eastern Conference, the consensus seems to be that the Cavs are still a few steps behind the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.

Bryant believes the team needs some inner conflict with Kyrie Irving needing to be the guy to call out teammates the way Kobe used to during his championship seasons with the Lakers via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

“You have to have that inner conflict,” Bryant said. “You have to have that person that’s really driving these things. From the Cavs’ perspective, it’s hard for me to tell from afar who should be that person. LeBron [James] is not that person. LeBron, he’s a … he brings people together. That’s what he does naturally. He’s phenomenal at it. But you have to have somebody else who’s going to create that tension. Maybe it’s Kyrie [Irving].”

If the Cavaliers aren’t able to find that player that will provide that “tension” as Bryant suggests, Cleveland could be headed for some drastic changes during the NBA offseason if unable to win a championship this year. LeBron has already hinted that he may be open to leaving the Cavaliers a second time with some cryptic tweets and may seriously consider making the change if Cleveland fails to make progress.

As for Irving, reports have surfaced about his desire to leave the team. Although Irving has no problem with James, he can’t seem to find his groove playing alongside the four-time NBA MVP. Kevin Love has also had similar issues making things interesting heading into the offseason.