Top-5 places Kobe Bryant could play other than L.A.
By Robert Judin
4. Los Angeles Clippers
Once upon a time, Bryant nearly left the Lakers in free agency without leaving Los Angeles. In case you forgot, he flirted with the idea of trading in his purple and gold for red, white and blue. It would have been a horrific move at the time, but he still considered it.
Now, going to the Clippers doesn’t seem so bad. Doc Rivers has the team operating at a high level. Chris Paul is still one of the best point guards in the league — probably still the best floor general. DeAndre Jordan is a defensive anchor, and Blake Griffin has been improving each and every year.
The Clippers have a $9.4 million team option on Lance Stephenson after this year, so if that experiment goes haywire, Rivers could try and make a move for the veteran Bryant to help bring a championship mentality to the team.
One could argue that the newly added Paul Pierce is going to serve that role this year, but clearly there’s a difference between the two. Pierce may not believe Bryant will transition well to a reduced role, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it.
Arguably the biggest problem with the Clippers during the past few seasons has been their lack of a go-to scorer. They haven’t had anyone to dump the ball to in crunch time. Paul hasn’t been that guy, nor has Griffin. Pierce may step into that spotlight this year, but if that doesn’t work out, Bryant could be up for the task.
Next: San Antonio Spurs