Yes, Kobe Bryant has been in the NBA for 20 years now. Yes, he is one of the best players in the history of the league. And yes, he’s (probably) still one of the best scoring options the Lakers have on their team. But if he continues to shoot as poorly as he has recently, would his head coach Byron Scott consider benching him?
It’s a fair question. If, say, Nick Young was shooting 31 percent from the field and under 20 percent from the three-point line right now but he kept on shooting, wouldn’t he be benched?
Yes…but Nick Young isn’t Kobe. So regardless of how poorly he plays this season, Scott just revealed that Kobe is not going to be benched at any point during the year.
“I would never, never, never do that,” Scott told ESPN.com today. “That’s not an option whatsoever. No, that’s not an option.”
That answer is about what you would expect from Scott. But when he says “never,” does he really mean never? Like, if things continue going the way they’ve been going, is he really ready to essentially sacrifice the season—and maybe his job—just to keep Kobe happy? Oh, this is going to be fun.
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[via ESPN]
