For at least the next two years, the Lakers will remain Kobe Bryant's team and while addressing the team's future, the five-time NBA champion sounded hopeful that Los Angeles will win the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes while he's also good with Byron Scott becoming the next head coach.
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Bryant is hoping that the Los Angeles will use the large salary cap space it has to land Anthony amid conflicting reports that the seven-time All-Star has already decided to return to the New York Knicks.
"I would love to play with him," Bryant said Wednesday via ESPN. "We've really clicked since 2008, and I would love to see him out here [in Los Angeles]."
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Anthony owns a house in Los Angeles and his wife has an acting career that would thrive in Hollywood, but the Lakers can only offer him a four-year deal worth $96 million compared to the Knicks having the ability to ink him to a five-year pact worth $126 million.
It'll be an interesting summer for the Lakers as they look to sign top-notch free agents and to fill the coaching vacancy left by Mike D'Antoni after he opted to take a $2 million buyout to resign from the team after it was decided the Lakers wouldn't automatically pick up his 2015-16 option along with bringing him back in 2014-15.
Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak has taken a slow and steady approach as he looks for the right coach to bring the team back from a terrible 2013-14 campaign that saw it go a franchise-worst 27-55 and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Scott has reportedly been the favorite to land the job, and Bryant -- who has publicly wanted a say in who the team hires -- would be fine with the team bringing him on board.
"He was my rookie mentor when I first came into the league," Bryant said of Scott. "So I had to do things like get his doughnuts and run errands for him and things like that. We've had a tremendously close relationship throughout the years. So, obviously I know him extremely well. He knows me extremely well. I've always been a fan of his."
Bryant, 35 signed a two-year extension with the Lakers last season and is hoping to win a sixth NBA title by the time the deal runs out. The 16-time All-Star has been vocally critical of the Lakers in the past but he actually praised the franchise for the way it approached free agency this offseason, even if it falls short on big stars such as Anthony or LeBron James.
"The organization, if God forbid we end up with absolutely nothing, it's not for a lack of effort," Bryant said. "So, that's something that I would be extremely proud of. You put forth the effort, you give it your best shot, but you can't [close the deal], what can you do? You just go from there, and then it's on me to go out there and do my best to try to help us win."
The Lakers are hoping to bounce back from a terrible season in a franchise that is rich in great history, and while Bryant would like Anthony and Scott to join the team, he appears to be happy with what the franchise is doing even if it falls short of its ultimate goals this offseason.
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