Kobe's Passing the Torch

We all know the majesty that is prime Kobe Bryant.

Sure he took every shot under the sun.

But he made most of them.

Those were the days.

As in days of yore.

Now, however, Kobe's shots are coming up short, as the Black Mamba seems to have lost his deadly bite.

Even he acknowledges that he flat-out sucks sucks now, but Lakers coach Byron Scott seems to be the last guy to get the message.   

Are the Lakers actually being helped by the black hole that is 2015 Kobe Bryant? Damn right they are. The team's basically mailing in the season in order to keep its 2016 first round pick, which would go the Philadelphia Tank Commanders 76ers if the Lakers finish outside of the league’s bottom three.

However, a major part of rebuilding a team involves not only the acquisition of young assets, but also the actual development of those young assets. Case in point: Lakers 2015 first-round pick D’Angelo Russell.

Dude was expected to play a major role in the revival of one of the NBA’s most historic franchises, but it’s hard to do that when you spend your time rotting on the bench.

Coach Byron Scott has been blasted by reporters for his decision to limit Russell’s playing time for basically no reason. Recently, he decided to take both Russell and Julius Randle -- the team’s 2014 first-round pick -- out of the Lakers starting lineup.

Why? Because this new unit would have "better energy", of course. Yeah, because a 19- and 21-year-old are really lacking in energy. Well ... unless you count Joel Embiid.

Now, Bryant is infamous for being an extremely selfish -- although an admittedly exciting -- player, but even he knows that Scott’s benching of Randle and Russell is dumb. In quite possibly the most selfless act of his career, Bryant has endorsed the idea of letting the young Lakers play.

Kobe could easily have let his league-wide retirement tour continue throughout the season, but he's probably seen enough of the team this season to know that his playing time is hindering the team’s future. Only by letting Russell and Randle play can the Lakers have any hope of becoming a good team again in the near future.

Who knew that Kobe cared about somebody besides Kobe?

It’s gonna be a long year for Laker fans, but it'll go by hella faster the more they let the kids play.

And for Kobe, at least he has the past, because his present game is probably diminishing his legend one bricked shot at a time.