Ben Gollivar for Sports Illustrated Point Forward examines the difference between Dwight Howard rumors and Chris Paul rumors.

Joan Niesen for Fox Sports West examines a potentially complicated Golden State Warrior’s scenario.

Drew Garrison for Silver Screen and Roll ponders how a number 13 draft pick could pave the path for a Howard-centric panoply.

The Kamenetzky Brothers discuss what’s best for Dwight in a Land O’Lakers podcast (also some stuff about Phil Jackson).

Eric Pincus for the L.A. Times writes about Phil Jackson’s skepticism that Dwight will return to the Lakers.

Finally, insider information from America’s Finest News Source about Dwight’s true intentions with Houston.

***

Where does all of this leave us? First, it’s important to remember that the playoffs are still ongoing and that Summer is about a month away. We’re still in Spring, a season of renewal. Summer of course is a time of growing and extremely warm temperatures while the Fall is known for Harvest. And then of course there’s Winter which is barren and cold and miserable. As Phil would say, ‘unceasing change turns the wheel of life’. See what I’m getting at here?

None of us can possibly know what is in Dwight Howard’s heart and mind and soul. Luckily, there is an army of confidantes for every NBA player and every team executive and every high-powered writer as well as their researchers and their researchers’ significant others. Plus additional source levels including SL1, SL2 and SL-Vector 1A and 1B. And personal real estate agents, waiters and bartenders. We’re gonna get to the bottom of this, all of us together, working in perfect unison and harmony. It’s how we roll.

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Who do you want to believe? Monday came a report from the very reliable Dave McMenamin at ESPNLosAngeles.com that in his exit interview Dwight Howard expressed frustration with coach Mike D’Antoni to GM Mitch Kupchak. Which isn’t hard to believe if you watched the Lakers at all this year. But when Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register called Kupchak he denied they even discussed that (via Sulia). “Kupchak said he didn’t want any D’Antoni talk from Dwight anyway given Mitch’s insistence that Lakers won’t have any player dictate the coaching situation. To be honest with you, I wouldn’t let it go there anyway,” he said…. “I’m not saying they don’t have differences like with any coach or any player. I don’t think it’s anything that goes beyond.”

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni will not return to Team USA as an assistant for Mike Krzyzewski, at least according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Krzyzewski is expected to be officially announced as the U.S. Olympic coach Thursday, but D’Antoni turned down an offer to return as an assistant because “he didn’t want to make another four-year commitment because of his family.” D’Antoni has worked with Team USA since 2006, helping the squad win two gold medals. Additionally, Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford has received permission to talk with the Phoenix Suns about their head coaching vacancy, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

From Arash Markazi, ESPN LA: When Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak called Phil Jackson to tell him the Lakers were hiring Mike D’Antoni instead of him as coach, he responded the only way he knew how. “I laughed,” Jackson told ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” show Wednesday. “It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys.”Jackson had been prepared to tell Kupchak whether he was interested in returning to the Lakers’ bench the next day, but the GM called Jackson late that Sunday night, Nov. 11, to tell him the Lakers had decided to go in another direction. Jackson said he thinks the Lakers made the decision largely based on catering to Steve Nash, their 39-year-old point guard who was limited to 50 games this season as he battled a variety of injuries.

From Ben R, Silver Screen & Roll: It’s that time again. The time when we try to maintain hope in the Lakersmanaging the draft process well despite not reaping any concrete rewards from it for years. Of the Lakers’ recent draftees, only Darius Morris holds any potential of sticking on the roster past next season and that’s only if he takes the next step in his development. Year after year, the Lakers have sacrificed their first rounders for established players such as Steve Nashand Ramon Sessions or just engaged in plain old cost cutting that has come back to bite them in the rear in the long-term. One would say that there’s no time like the present to correct this misuse of one of the fundamental resources for talent in the league, but the team only possesses their own second rounder and a late one at that at number 48 to restock the incredibly shallow farm of young talent they currently have.

1. Mike D’Antoni would prefer to run an offense featuring a spread pick and roll attack that generates easy shots at the rim and open three pointers around the arc.

2. Dwight Howard excels in the pick and roll, is one of the best finishers at the rim in the entire NBA, and would love to get more touches close to the rim.

Based off these two statements, from a strict X’s and O’s perspective, the Mike D’Antoni offense and the Dwight Howard skill-set are perfect matches. The goal, then, should be to find a way to maximize what both want to do while both sides show enough flexibility in order to make this partnership work. And if both sides do just that, the results will be fantastic.

The bending from both sides is actually pretty simple and straight forward once the noise and bluster is stripped away.

From Dwight’s side, he must embrace the fact that he’s one of (and likely) the best big man who can both set a screen and explode to the basket for a strong finish. He possesses a gigantic upper body and sets impressive screens when he commits fully to them. He also possesses unique athletic ability, with quick feet, excellent leaping ability, and good enough hands to make a variety of catches and then finish at the rim. Dwight must simply understand that in any offense he plays in his coach is going to ask him to set crushing screens and then get to the front of the rim to make himself available to score the ball. He’s simply too proven a player at this skill for it to not be a feature of the offense for any team he’s on.

From D’Antoni’s side, he must reinforce the idea that not every three point shot is a good one and that a look inside to his big man (be it Howard or Gasol) is a mandatory part of the offense. All too frequently offensive possessions unfolded this way: Lakers run a pick and roll with Dwight, the defense rotates away from the wing to clog the paint to take away Dwight’s dive, the ball goes to the wing and a three pointer is launched without nary a look inside to Dwight who is battling for position. Simply put, this must change. One of the ways to maximize the roll man is to roll him into post up chances. The Grizzlies do this with Zach Randolph all the time. If you go back to what made Dwight such a terror in Orlando, you’ll find that they explored this option of the offense quite often. The Lakers’ wings need it drilled into them that a look to the diving player into the post is a great option that needs to be explored more often.

Their are other issues beyond the X’s and O’s at play in order to make a Dwight and D’Antoni marriage work. If you believe recently surfaced reports, there are hurdles to clear in the form of better communication and the player leadership hierarchy also needs addressing.

However, winning often cures a lot of these ills. And the way to win is to maximize the talent you have on the floor and for the players to embrace their roles with full buy in. In order for this to occur with the Lakers, both the star big man and the head coach will need to be better at their jobs next season than the one that was just completed.

And, actually, this will need to be true whether Dwight returns or not. Because, like it or not, if Dwight actually goes to Houston he’s going to find a very similar scheme under head coach Kevin McHale as he sees in Los Angeles under Mike D’Antoni. And if Dwight really is gone next season, D’Antoni is going to find that he still has a big man in Pau Gasol who would love to get more touches in the post where he can create shots for himself and for teammates.

From where I sit, both D’Antoni and Dwight would be best off recognizing this now and coming to the realization that this really can be a match made in heaven. They only have to keep it simple and find a way to meet in the middle.

“Here I was sitting in a limo at the ramp leading into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, waiting for my team to arrive, while an ecstatic crowd of ninety-five thousand plus fans, dressed in every possible combination of Lakers purple and gold, marched into the stadium. Women in tutus, men in Star Wars storm-trooper costumes, toddlers waving “Kobe Diem” signs. Yet despite all the zaniness, there was something inspiring about this acnient ritual with a decidedly L.A. twist. As Jeff Weiss, a writer for LA Weekly, put it: iIt was the closest any of us will ever know what it was like to watch the Roman Legions returning home after a tour of Gaul.’”

That was the second paragraph on the first page of Eleven Rings, and after reading that PJax “never loved being the center of attention” I couldn’t really put the book down this past weekend.

Eleven Rings is more than just a relentless foray in to the countless bumps in the road, the countless numbers of characters and egos he had to balance, and foreign techniques used to band groups of men together to win championships, it’s also a tremendous walk down memory lane, whether you’re a Knicks, Bulls or Lakers fan, through some great times.

While Jackson spends a large chunk of the book discussing his years and New York and Chicago, the efforts of this post will be focused on his time in Los Angeles.

For me, the 2000-2002 run for the Lakers happened during my formative years as a sports fan. I had grown up in a house hold full of Lakers fans while growing up in Los Angeles. My dad was a die-hard who attended several games at the Great Western Forum and watched the Lakers win five championships in the 80s on tape delay. Through my years in elementary school, the Lakers hadn’t found that kind of success. There were fun and likable players (Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel) and a couple of super stars (Shaq, a full-fledged star in 1996 with Kobe showing hits that he would be), but the ultimate success was never realized through the 1999 lockout season.

Jackson was offered the job heading into the 1999-00 season with a new arena for the Lakers to call home, and recounts how he learned about the offer from Dr. Jerry Buss and Jerry West.

I was in the middle of nowhere–a small village on the Iliamna Lake in Alaska–when I heard the news. My sons, Ben and Charlie, were with me. We were on a fly-fishing trip in a secluded wilderness area, and the fishing wasn’t going very well. So that afternoon we knocked off early and boated up the Iliamna River to see the falls. When we arrived back at the village, a throng of children surrounded us.

“Are you Phil Jackson?” one of the boys asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “Why?”

“I hear you got the job with the Lakers.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“We got a dish. It’s on ESPN.”

And that’s how Jackson’s journey began with the Lakers. As the story progresses, Jackson tells a story about Kobe asking Jackson to autograph a copy of his book Sacred Hoops upon their first meeting and telling Dr. Buss that he thought the Lakers could win three or four championships before his first practice with the team. He would go on to tell the story about how he and Jeanie got acquainted for the first time (the story involves cake) and a story about Kobe telling Michael Jordan that he’d kick MJ’s a– in a game of one-on-one.

More important than the small anecdotes, was Jackson’s ability to rekindle a love with the Lakers that had somehow been taken for granted over the last few seasons. I began cover the team here for FB&G the year before that 2009 season that Jackson started the book with, and have started to become jaded with the successes this team has afforded me as a fan since then. The people, the games, the stories, the struggles, the ups, the downs are all what got me to start following this team to begin with. And this book goes into detail about all of those things.

I was taken on a voyage through the absolute joy that came with the Lakers 2000 championship. The frustrations with the 2001 team during the regular season and the pure awe that came with their romp through that particular post season. Then Jackson takes you through the tumultuous 2002 season that saw a wild Western Conference Finals series against the Kings and the collective relief in Los Angeles when the Lakers won Game 7 against their rivals up north.

Jackson reminds us about the wild ride of a 2008 season that saw the Lakers get off to a hot start with Kobe and Bynum starting to click, Bynum’s injury, the Gasol trade, the Finals run and the heart breaking loss to the Celtics. Then we’re treated to a couple more Finals runs in 2009 (good god I love Derek Fisher) and 2010 (how great was Ron Artest?).

Much like Jackson’s book The Last Season, Eleven Rings gives us insight as to what went on behind the scenes during all of these runs. We learn about Jackson resenting Kobe because of his sexual assault case because his daughter fell victim to a similar situation. Jackson also provides some insight about some of the differences and similarities between Kobe and Jordan (Rick Fox also shares some thoughts on this).

What you also get from Eleven Rings is a lesson in team building and leadership. Jackson provides insight into the techniques he used and techniques he learned from other coaches and techniques of Eastern philosophies.

If nothing else, I’d suggest picking up Eleven Rings for some of the anecdotes you may not have known otherwise. It’s a great ride through 13 different championships seasons with three different franchises in two different roles. Jackson is one of the most legendary figures in NBA lore, and Eleven Rings just adds to his legend.

From Mark Heisler, Lakers Nation: Another one of those summers looms in Lakerdom.Rather than take the extra $30 million and jumping into the Lakers’ arms as a Hall of Fame wing of great centers had, Dwight Howard will check out other teams. It’s all preliminary. With Howard under contract through July 1, everything–visits, welcoming pageants, talks—is in the planning stage. In other words, this is the off-season’s preseason. Laker fans with enough brain cells left may remember that their last preseason didn’t go so well, what with all the injuries and the 0-8 record. Nor does the off-season’s preseason look like it will be much fun with Howard intent on touring the NBA. The likeliest outcome is still that he stays, after drawing it out as long as possible, raising hopes in as many cities as he can, and ultimately disappointing the maximum number of teams and fans possible.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: Good for Dwight Howard. Dave McMenamin of ESPN has reported that Howard expressed “frustration” with Mike D’Antoni during his exit interview and all I can say is good for Dwight. That’s what an exit interview is for, right? To express what you think about the team’s direction, what you would like to see changed, and the future. Howard is in line to be the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers – should he accept that mission — and the front office should, without pause, “pop” the question to him.”Will you marry this coach for the next two seasons?” The problem for the Lakers front office is clear. Through a season filled with injuries and a “mid-season early-season” swap of Mikes, the story is the Lakers played well after the All-Star break. They got back on track and looked better than they did to open the season, which wasn’t a huge bar to clear. Howard’s health improved dramatically. They finally had both Steves. Pau Gasol eventually crept back into the lineup and helped cap off their strong finish. Things were in working shape

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Kobe Bryant thinks this Lakers roster can work. Well, he at least thinks his chance at a much-coveted sixth ring is more likely if the Lakers bring back two of the top big men in the game, as opposed to having just one and restructuring the lineup to be closer to what Mike D’Antoni prefers. So Kobe took to twitter to say what he thinks the Lakers should do as they consider the future ofDwight Howard (a free agent, the Lakers will offer him a five-year max deal) and Pau Gasol.

From Ramona Shelburne, ESPN: The clip runs frequently on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, the Lakers channel in Los Angeles — the day after the Lakers pulled off the megatrade that brought Dwight Howard to Los Angeles, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak walks Howard through the team’s training facility and points at all the retired jerseys on the wall. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson … the list goes on. In the foreground, you see some of the Lakers’ 16 championship trophies. Howard grins from ear to ear. Kupchak senses his excitement and turns to deliver a rather perfect line, ”That could be your jersey up on that wall in about 10 years.” The message is clear: All this can be yours.

That said, the very well regarded Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that Dwight Howard will explore his options in free agency and that teams like the Rockets and Mavericks “intrigue” him. These are teams with good players, cap space, and other desirable traits that should intrigue Dwight. I can’t blame him, I’d be intrigued too. Again, though, I can’t get too caught up in this stuff. Not only is it early, but this is Dwight’s call to make and he can do so on his timeline. He’s earned that right.

So, rather than focus on where Dwight may (or may not) go, let’s look at a different aspect of Berger’s report. One interesting thing he mentioned was the point about compensation and Dwight’s next contract. Here’s the relevant passage:

The clear advantage for the Lakers in their effort to re-sign Howard is the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which allows LA to give Howard a five-year deal with annual increases based on 7.5 percent of his first-year salary in a new deal — which will be in excess of $20 million. Another team with cap room to sign Howard could only give him a four-year deal with 4.5 percent annual increases — the same arrangement Howard would be limited to if he agreed to leave via a sign-and-trade.

But Howard is only 27, and barring a career-ending injury, he’ll clearly get one more max deal after this one. A four-year deal with an opt-out after three years, for example, would in some ways be preferable to Howard because he’d hit the open market again at age 30 and could then secure his five-year max deal.

The mechanics that Berger mentions are 100% spot on. The Lakers can offer a longer and richer contract. The annual raises would be larger and that 5th year in the contract the Lakers offer would be around $30 million dollars. That’s nothing to sneeze at.

However, Berger is also correct in stating that Dwight Howard is in his prime. In 4 seasons, barring any serious injuries, he will still be in his prime (though maybe nearing the tail end of it) and should still command a max salary. So, as Berger implies, if Dwight were to leave the Lakers he’d likely recoup that lost 5th year represented in the Lakers’ deal he turned down in the 1st year of his next contract (whether that’s with the same team he signs with or another when he tests free agency again). I don’t really disagree with what Berger is saying here at all. If Dwight is performing up to his normal standard, he’s a max player and someone will likely pay him as such.

However, my question is: should they?

The new CBA is only two regular seasons old but it’s already showing us the influence it has on team’s mindsets about roster construction. The penalties against tax paying teams are real and maneuverability under the cap via flexibility in the contracts teams have on their books is looking more important than ever. We’ve already seen the Thunder trade their 3rd best player (and a legitimate star) with an eye on the future payroll implications. The Miami Heat may only have one more full season together before the prospect of being a repeater tax team chokes out their ability to field a roster with 3 max players.

You can also zoom in and examine the circumstances the Lakers are facing this summer as a tax paying team. They can’t accept players in sign and trade deals. They can’t spend the full mid-level exception to acquire free agents. The bi-annual exception isn’t available to them either. Instead, when trying to add talent, they have the veteran’s minimum and a mini-mid level exception. And for their trouble, when including revenue sharing and the luxury tax, will face a prospective payout that equals the GDP of Ireland (that’s not a joke, by the way) is upwards of $220 million in the 2013-14 season.

Getting back to Howard, the 5th year of the contract the Lakers will offer him is roughly the same value of contract they’re paying out to Kobe Bryant in the final year of his contract. Next season, Kobe’s contract will be around half the salary cap; that’s 50% of the cap tied up in one player. Things may not be that severe with Dwight’s new deal because over the next 5 years the the cap will only continue to go up (and it will be influenced by the new TV contract that will be negotiated). But even if his deal is only 35% or 40% of the cap, that’s still a lot of money to tie up into any player. It’s the type of contract that drastically affects your salary cap and, thus, your ability to build a team that can remain competitive.

This isn’t only true for the Lakers, of course. Any team that takes on Howard will likely be looking at this same dilemma in 5 years when it’s time to re-sign him. If you’re the Rockets or the Mavericks or the Hawks (or any other team that has his Bird Rights) when his next contract expires, you’ll be looking at a player who commands the type of “super” max contract that is difficult to build around and that almost guarantees you’ll be a tax paying team.

Will teams want to commit that to him (or any player, for that matter) as they learn more and get smarter in how to navigate the new CBA?

I’m all for re-signing Dwight Howard to the Lakers. And if I were one of these teams with max cap space I’d be shoving all my chips to the center of the table to try and acquire him as building block for today and the future. I always say you get the talent you can first and then worry about the rest of the details later. However, when we’re 5 years down the line and his contract is eating up a large portion of the cap and helping to contribute to what are likely to be large luxury tax payments, just remember that we saw this coming. The new CBA made it so.

From Jovan Buha, ESPN LA: Those expecting a major upheaval from the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason are likely to be disappointed. Unless Dwight Howard bolts in free agency or Pau Gasol is traded, the primary cast of this season’s underachieving squad is all but certain to remain intact as the Lakers look to preserve cap space for the summer of 2014, when only Steve Nash and Howard would be on the books and the team would be in prime position to reload. Heading into the 2013-14 season, the Lakers have five players under guaranteed contracts:Kobe Bryant, Gasol, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill and Nash. While Metta World Peace has an early termination option, he’s likely to remain with the team and not opt out. Jodie Meeks has a team option, meaning the Lakers decide his future, but he’ll probably return since his salary is relatively inexpensive ($1.5 million). Chris Duhon has a non-guaranteed deal and can be waived by June 30 to alleviate cap space.

From Suki Thind, Lakers Nation: For our second edition of historic box scores, we’ll take a look back at Magic Johnson’s legendary performance against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the Lakers’ leading scorer and rebounder at the time–badly injured his ankle during Game 5 of the Finals. Although he returned to the game to score 14 points in the fourth quarter and lead the Lakers to a close victory, he simply couldn’t go in the potential championship clinching Game 6. That set the stage for then-rookie Magic Johnson, who shifted his role from playing point guard to starting at center. Not only did he start at center, but he ended up playing all five positions! In one of his greatest performances–and certainly his most memorable–Magic Johnson led the Lakers to the 1980 NBA championship by putting up 42 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists.

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: On Sunday night, Kobe Bryant announced “Kobe up Close,” an Aug. 15 charity event to be held at Nokia Theatre. “I’d like to officially announce that I’m partnering with the Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness,” said Bryant in a pre-recorded video, aired at the Sports Spectacular 2013 gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. “You can learn about my past, present and future,” said Bryant of the event, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. “It’s for an incredible cause.”

From Zach Harper, CBS Sports: Internet rumors can spread like wildfire and lots of people will believe them without considering the source. A hoax Twitter account got the ball rolling on the idea that Kobe Bryant was going to say goodbye to the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA by retiring this summer. Bryant did have a major announcement this past weekend for his fans, but it had nothing to do ending his basketball career.

“I’ll push myself to exhaustion.”

If there’s one characteristic that defines Kobe Bryant’s career it is the work he has put in to become the player he is. As much as he’s been gifted his physical characteristics and that innate feel for the game that all the greats have, he’s also honed his skills through thousands of hours of hard work and made himself into the player he is. In a way, it’s that drive to be the best and the subsequent work it has inspired that has separated him from many of his contemporaries.

Kobe will need to call on that ethic now more than ever in staring down his latest challenge. His rehabilitation from his torn achilles tendon is the one of, if not the, biggest obstacles he’s faced in his career and in order to come back anywhere near the player he was before before the injury, he’ll need to push himself to levels that I can’t even imagine. Whether he can actually achieve this goal remains an open question, but if there’s one player who we can’t doubt will push himself that extra mile it is Kobe.

After all, his career has been built on putting in that extra time and, as the video shows above, vigorously working to become the player we’ve seen for 17 years.

Jovan Buha for ESPN’s Lakers Index writes about Lakers under and not under contract and who could fill in the gaps on one-year deals.

Drew Garrison from Silver Screen and Roll takes a look at free agent Raja Bell, an affordable veteran who hasn’t played in over a year.

The Kamenetzky Brothers’ latest podcast at the Land O’Lakers covers the Dwight scenario and the likelihood that it could be a long summer of waiting.

Chuck Schiliken for the LATimes writes about the highest-paid athlete in Los Angeles and fourth-highest in the nation, one Kobe Bryant.

Mike Trudell from the official Lakers blog offers a player capsule for Jodie Meeks. The shooter has a team option for the upcoming season for $1.55 million.

Finally, a cool article by Alex Wong aka Steven Lebron for TSFJ about Kobe’s musical musings.

***

Most of the recent stories about Derek Fisher have centered on his continuing quest to win one more ring. With the Thunder now embarking on their summer vacation, Fish’s last best shot may have passed. He’ll be 39 in August and will no doubt continue to be a free agent news item until he finally makes it official and hangs them up for good. The reports of Billy Hunter’s new lawsuit against Fish and other interested parties brings us back to a different but all too familiar saga. Hunter is seeking to prove in a court of law that Fisher circumvented the bounds of his own contract by negotiating secretly with handpicked NBA owners.

There’s a couple obvious hurdles that Billy Hunter has to cross. For starters, the NBA lockout and resulting negotiations were hardly a matter of secrecy. The whole mess was covered in excruciating detail not only by sports outlets but by the national media on whole. The players association was joined in its efforts by some of the heaviest hitters in the fields of mediation and litigation, namely George Cohen and David Boies. The association ultimately disbanded and filed anti-trust suits which achieved the desired result of forcing the owners back to the bargaining table. Whether the final agreement was good for the players or the NBA in general is debatable. One of the linchpins of the case however, is a claim that an unnamed NBA player and his representative called Hunter on October 27, 2011 to apprise him of a backdoor agreement between Fisher and certain owners.

Does Billy Hunter have a winnable case? Probably not but the Machiavellian quest for revenge and redemption will continue to roll. Hunter will never again serve as the head of the NBPA but his latest legal action is simply the logical extension of a power struggle with long and bitter roots. There will be parties within the association’s executive committee as well as media members with personal motivation who will gladly keep this thing going throughout the summer and well beyond. This lead-out bumper was actually going to continue along the free agency topic – see how easily I get sidetracked?

If you’ve followed the Lakers at all over the course of Kobe Bryant’s career, one theme that is revisited often relates to the stagnation of the Lakers’ offense and how that relates to Kobe’s shot volume.

On one side of the coin is the argument that Kobe shoots a lot because his teammates stop moving, instead choosing to watch him work with the ball in isolation. Kobe’s a gifted scorer in these situations, and the argument says when he gets the ball it’s easy to sit back and hope that he can do something positive with it.

The other side of the coin is that players stop moving because Kobe’s not going to pass them the ball anyway. We’ve all seen possessions where Kobe narrows his focus on the basket and, in the process, doesn’t pass the ball to teammates who may be open. That argument always ends with Kobe being a “ball hog” and someone who would rather shoot than pass.

I’ve always subscribed to the theory that it’s a little bit of both and that you can’t paint Kobe with any broad brush when it comes to his playing style. I’ve seen him force shots over multiple defenders when there was seemingly no need to just as I’ve seen him pick apart defenses with deft passes and high level decision making. There is no definitive Kobe Bryant style, he’s a chameleon on the court and, whether you like him or not, an offensive basketball genius.

That doesn’t mean he’s always right or that he’s infallible. Every player is prone to having bad games and making mistakes, the great ones included.

In any event, the video above is a nice snapshot into one part of Kobe’s game that has always been true (at least to my eyes). When the game is starting to slip away, Kobe tends to try and do more in order to help his team win. Where others might try to get their teammates more involved, Kobe tries to impact the game in the best way he knows how — by getting buckets. The interesting part is that, as the video explains, Kobe actually is more efficient when his team’s deficit swells and he’s trying to get them back into the game.

What this all means in the bigger picture is a topic for another day, but enjoy the clip above. Because while we may never get a definitive answer about why the Lakers’ offense stagnates, this video really does give us some insight into what Kobe could be thinking when the Lakers start to find themselves down big.

(h/t to TrueHoop for the video)