Kobe Bryant may have done it again. And that's bad news for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers, who had first shot at giving their pitch to Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge one minute after the NBA free-agency period officially began on July 1, found themselves out of the running for his services, just 16 hours later and despite the fact that he hadn't even spoken to the San Antonio Spurs - reportedly LA's biggest competition for his services.
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Probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com posted a tweet from the Los Angeles Times' Mark Bresnahan, indicating that Bryant, who was part of the Lakers' sales team, didn't have the right message to Aldridge to convince him to join.
More LMA: He and Kobe didn't quite gel. It's a little vague, but Aldridge apparently didn't quite get answers from Kobe he was seeking.— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) July 1, 2015
Brensahan reported in the Los Angeles Times that Bryant told Aldridge he believed the two could work together the way Bryant worked with former Laker Pau Gasol. In that relationship, Bryant was the alpha male.
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Though Bresnahan said that Bryant's message fell flat, he reported that Lakers officials were quick to defend their franchise player. "It wasn't his fault at all," said a team official who requested anonymity to the Times.
The Lakers also can cross of Kevin Love from their list of potential free agents; he signed a five-year extension with the Cleveland Cavaliers worth $108.9 million, USA TODAY Sports reported.
Center Dwight Howard left the Lakers after the 2013 season, apparently in part because of his inability to coexist with Bryant.
Los Angeles failed to land any big free agents in 2014 and suddenly are in danger of striking out again in 2015. Free agents DeAndre Jordan of the LA Clippers and Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons remain in play. The Lakers reportedly still are trying to work a deal for Sacramento Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins.
The Lakers passed on Duke center Jahlil Okafor in the NBA Draft and selected guard D'Angelo Russell. The assumption was that the team had some assurance of landing a big man in free agency.
In May, Milwaukee's Jared Dudley accused Bryant of being the reason free agents didn't want to play with the Lakers.
Bresnahan and Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnaroski both added that Aldridge was turned off by the team's overall pitch that focused more on what the city of Los Angeles could do for him than what the Los Angeles Lakers could do for him. Another tweet from Bresnahan indicated that Aldridge was much more impressed with the Houston Rockets' basketball presentation.
Aldridge was floored in a good way by Houston's analytics, on-court projections in their presentation. Not so with the Lakers.— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) July 1, 2015
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