After the Lakers embarrassing loss to the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night the questions surrounding the Lakers are growing increasingly numerous.
One of the big issues in Washington was the shot selection of Kobe Bryant, and the fact that he missed more shots (22) than big men Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined to take (19). This prompted Lakers head coach Mike Brown to question Bryant’s shot selection, and now has Pau Gasol seemingly unhappy as well.
According to Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie blog, Gasol had some choice words concerning the Lakers lack of teamwork.
During an interview with a Spanish radio station on Thursday, Gasol spoke about the Lakers selfish attitude on the court. (As Dwyer points out, the following quote was placed through an internet translator.)
“(There is) lack of concentration, overconfidence and a certain level of selfishness, in general. I’m not a person or a selfish player, but we have to move the ball more, and we have to look further the team game, because we have enough talent to use different players.”*
If indeed the translation is correct, this is a troublesome sign for the Lakers. Even though Gasol doesn’t say any names directly, there’s only one possible player he could be referring to. There’s no doubt Bryant’s shot selection deserves to be scrutinized after a 9-31 shooting night.
The implications of Gasol’s comments could go far beyond a minor fissure in team chemistry. With the team already shopping Gasol around the league, this isn’t going to help convince the front office to keep him around.
The growing dysfunction that is the Los Angeles Lakers continues to unravel before our eyes. When the team’s most professional and level-headed player begins making comments such as these, big-time trouble is brewing.