With the Los Angeles Lakers winless after the first four games of the 2014-15 NBA season, the trade speculation has started to swirl. People have started to speculate on whether Kobe Bryant would request to be traded to a contender or to be reunited with Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson in New York.
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Kobe has quickly put an end to the speculation after saying the following to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
“I hear the chatter of Kobe should ask out and he should go and play for a contender in this latter stage of his career,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports. “But that’s not what I do. I’m extremely loyal to the Lakers.
“I believe in fighting through the tough times as well as enjoying the good times. It’s my responsibility to get us to be the best that we can be. It’s important that we approach that on a day-to-day basis.”
It was to be expected that trade chatter would start to circulate if the Lakers got off to a rough start. After losing four consecutive games, Kobe-to-the-Knicks rumors became a hot topic of discussion.
Although the trade rumors or debates about the Lakers potentially trading Kobe will rage on, the five-time NBA champion clearly has no intention of leaving Los Angeles, via Spears:
“I’ve enjoyed a great amount of success here. You can’t just enjoy the successful times and then run away from the bad ones. No, I don’t even think about [departing]. I’m a Laker.”
Back in 2007, the Lakers were struggling and Kobe was extremely frustrated as a result. The superstar very publicly demanded the team trade him unless they could get something done to bring in more help.
Fortunately, GM Mitch Kupchak and company pulled off blockbuster deal to bring Pau Gasol to Los Angeles and as a result, the team went on to win two more championships in the Kobe era. Bryant hasn’t entertained the thought of playing elsewhere since the Pau trade and seems to be keeping to that stance even with the team back to square one yet again.
Unless there’s a drastic change of events in the near future, it’d be safe to say Kobe will remain a Laker for life through good times and in bad.
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