Los Angeles Lakers news and rumors show that Kobe Bryant is still a man to be feared as he is ranked third best among shooting guards by general managers around the league. Meanwhile, team president Jeanie Buss defended the Black Mamba amid all the criticisms directed against him.
The Dime Magazine reported the latest Los Angeles Lakers news and rumors when it released the results of the survey by NBA.com among general managers that ranked Houston Rockets' James Harden as the top shooting guard followed by Klay Thompon of the Golden State Warriors.
Team managers were asked by NBA.com's John Schumann the question: "Who is the best shooting guard in the NBA?" And these are the results:
1. James Harden - 63 percent
2. Klay Thompson - 18.5 percent
3. Kobe Bryant - 7.4 percent
3. Stephen Curry - 7.4 percent
5. Kevin Durant - 3.7 percent
The magazine agreed with the assessment of the general managers because "nobody knows what to expect from Mamba in 2014-2015," even if he had a very solid pre-season so far.
"But exhibition success has proven fool's gold in the past; look no further than Derrick Rose's performance in early-to-mid October last season as evidence of that humbling reality," it said.
In other Los Angeles Lakers news and rumors, Jeanie Buss defended Kobe Bryant in an interview with ESPN as she called any free agent who is afraid to play with the Black Mamba as "probably a loser."
She reacted to the ESPN The Magazine article written by Henry Abbott which suggested that nobody likes to play with Kobe Bryant, which is why the squad is having difficulty attracting big-name players.
"I read the story. I don't agree with any of it. If there is somebody that's on our payroll who is saying things like that, I'll soon get to the bottom of it, and they won't be working for us anymore," she said, adding that she has no doubt that Kobe Bryant will make his critics regret saying those comments.
