Kobe Bryant knows what's wrong with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The retiring Los Angeles Lakers superstar shared his assessment of LeBron James' plight in Cleveland following the two players' last-ever NBA meeting on Friday night.
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To be a great team the Black Mamba said, the Cavaliers need a bad guy, according to ESPN.
And that ain't LeBron.
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"You have to be true to who you are, and authentic," Kobe said. "And I think every team should have that lightning rod. Because the happy-go-lucky stuff doesn't work. I don't care what anybody says or people's perception of the team. You have to have that inner conflict. You have to have that person that's really driving these things. From the Cavs' perspective, it's hard for me to tell from afar who should be that person. LeBron's not that person. LeBron, he's a ... he brings people together. That's what he does naturally. He's phenomenal at it. But you have to have somebody else who's going to create that tension. Maybe it's Kyrie [Irving]."
Kobe certainly gravitated toward the black hat during the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal years. After Shaq left, Bryant then went after Lakers management to trade him if they couldn't assemble a team around him that could contend for championships.
The Lakers complied, bringing in the likes of Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace. Los Angeles also held on to a not-yet out-of-control Andrew Bynum when Bryant wanted him traded for Jermaine O'Neal, who was an Indiana Pacer at the time.
James has not been as in-your-face with his demands as Bryant.
James left the Cavaliers in the summer of 2010 for the Miami Heat because Cleveland couldn't assemble a championship team around him. But his dissatisfaction was muted compared to that of Bryant.
And after winning two championships with the Miami Heat, he returned to Cleveland, even after the Cavaliers had hired a relatively unknown coach to guide the team with which James never seemed to be on the same page.
Draymond Green could be that agitator for the Golden State Warriors. It's known whether a Tim Duncan or someone else plays that role for the San Antonio Spurs.
But certainly Michael Jordan set the standard with his high expectations of his Chicago Bulls teammates, and that turned out pretty good for the Bulls.
It's an interesting theory that is sure to be tested in the coming years if LeBron chooses to stay in Cleveland to continue to combat the likes of the Warriors and Spurs.
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