National Basketball Association

Does Kobe Bryant really want to 'hand the keys' to a successor?

Published Mar. 12, 2015 1:30 p.m. ET

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Kobe Bryant will eventually hang his sneakers up and call it quits.

More so than ever before -- perhaps because of the multiple injuries and his increasing age -- Bryant has been willing to publicly acknowledge his basketball mortality. It's easy to see where this is eventually headed.

Still, the one thing that remains to be seen is who will lead the Los Angeles Lakers into the next era, essentially serving as Bryant's successor in the process.

Even though that particular player hasn't revealed himself quite yet, Bryant has an idea of what he might look like.

"Win championships or nothing. To lead this franchise, you've got to be that way," Bryant told Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. "Look, there's different ways to skin a cat. They won't probably be as sarcastic as me or something like that. Magic [Johnson] was the same way, but he smiled a lot and was much, much nicer to [the media] than I was. There's different ways to go about it."

As usual when Kobe talks, there's a lot to digest.

Perhaps the most notable takeaway is the idea that Kobe is ready to pass the torch. This, of course, seems to stand in stark contrast to his rumored recruiting efforts over the years, his Alpha Dog mentality and his affinity for dominating the ball on the court. But at least it sounds like Bryant is ready to turn over a new leaf, and his public recruitment of 2015 free agent-to-be Rajon Rondo lends some credence to that theory.

Of course, it might be premature to give credit before it's truly earned. Fair or not, elite professional athletes often have a tendency to judge their successors by how closely they align with their idealized vision of how they themselves played. Shaquille O'Neal's dogged criticism of Dwight Howard seems to stem largely from that, for example. Ditto for Charles Barkley and his thoughts on Blake Griffin.

That's not to say that Bryant's relationship with the next "chosen one" for the Lakers will be contentious by default. Rather, it's highly unlikely he'll be satisfied. Even if it's a subconscious evaluation, he'll be looking for himself in the new player, and there is only one Kobe. The insinuation that his successor will match his borderline psychotic competiveness and drive is, well, just as insane.

What might be most interesting here, however, is Bryant plainly stating his desire to find that successor and leader, even if it needs to happen when he's already retired. That certainly appears to be the likeliest outcome given his $25 million salary next season and his never-relenting grasp of the spotlight in Los Angeles.

We can speculate as to whether Bryant is implying that he will obtain a meaningful player-personnel role within the organization once he's done playing or whether he just simply understands that the Lakers' legacy is tied with his own, but it's clear he's invested in how the future will play out.

It's important to remember, however, that this is the same player who once fought tooth and nail for the chance to prove he could carry a Lakers team on his own and to gain a level of ownership he previously had to share. And with all respects paid to the Zen Master and Pau Gasol, he succeeded magnificently on both fronts.

Even if he may be willing now, Bryant has to understand that what he acquired in the process can no longer be simply returned. Handing the keys to someone else and taking a step back is a nice sentiment, but Kobe dedicated a great deal of his career to make that act virtually impossible.

Until he calls it quits, Kobe is the Lakers, and the Lakers are Kobe.