Kobe Bryant has taken an active role in welcoming LeBron James to Los Angeles.
Bryant told Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio that he has spoken to James several times, including after his deal was made public, to welcome him to the Laker family.
“I spoke to him during the playoffs and then I talked to him last night, right after the decision,” Bryant said, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “I told him, ‘welcome to the family, man.’ It sounds crazy but I said, ‘dude you are part of the family now.’ So anything you need on my end, I got you. Whatever the case may be, I am here for you. Just wishing him and his family the best and looking forward to seeing them when they get in.”
Bryant thinks James makes the Lakers a playoff team, and will be great for the development of the team’s young talent.
“With LeBron on this roster, I don’t think it will be much of an issue to make the playoffs,” Bryant said. “The dreams are substantially bigger now. LeBron accelerates the learning curve for these young guys and they will be able to learn a lot faster because they will get a chance to watch him work every single day, how he comes to practice, how he takes care of his body and how he handles his nutrition. They will be able to learn really, really quickly. This is really going to help Lonzo [Ball]’s and Kyle [Kuzma]’s growth and the rest of the guys.”
“For us to have a player like LeBron here, it just creates so much energy. Players like Lonzo and Kyle and others now have that really good pressure to push them forward sooner rather than later. I can’t wait to see them respond to it.”
Bryant made very clear that he’s thrilled about James joining the Lakers. He’s certainly all-in on doing what he can to help.
