"It's a business, and, like any other business, you can believe that your value can be greater," Bryant said before the Lakers faced the Sixers last night at the Staples Center.
"I've talked to him . . . I said, 'You have to be able to prove that you can command that top dollar, that you can do what they said you can't do. Just go out and play. If there's a team out there that feels you can command that value, then you'll get it.'
"But you can't take [the situation] as something personal or let it distract you from working hard every single day. You have to come out and perform."
"He has a lot [of upside]," Bryant said. "Just on the surface, his athleticism stands out.
"In a league crowded with athletic players, he's at the top of the list with some others. I also like his ability to handle the ball at his size, to create opportunities for others and to defend. That's a combination that's tough to find in the league nowadays. He gets after it on the perimeter, he's a good post player, he creates for others; that's tough to find."
Still, Iguodala is not necessarily viewed as a projected franchise player on a contending team.
"He's got the talent to be that," Bryant said. "That's nothing but responding to the challenge of taking over your situation, believing 'The team wins and loses with me,' believing 'These are my decisions, these are my teammates and I have to try and make them better.'
"It's a mentality, although it's a little different for him because he had been playing with [the dominant] Allen Iverson. It's tough to kind of make that switch, to go into that mode. It's difficult."
Full Article: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/ ... odala.html
Coming from Kobe is pretty impressive. What do you guys think of Kobe's remarks?
