Kobe Bryant Won't Recruit LeBron James, Paul George To Lakers Actively

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant won't actively try and recruit the duo of LeBron James and Paul George to his old side, but is open to giving advice to any free agent who is interested in a move.

With a player option in his contract, James looks likely to become a free agent especially after he and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals last week.

A number of teams are interested in securing his services from the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets and the Warriors themselves, but the Lakers seem to be one of the leading options, with Bovada recently giving them 7/4 odds of landing the best player in the league.

George meanwhile, is set to become a free agent this summer after signing a one-year deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year. According to reports in recent months, the five-time All-Star could sign with his hometown club in a move that could further attract James to the Staples Center.

Bryant however, will not play any part in trying to recruit the pair if Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and president of basketball operations Magic Johnson asked him to sit in on any potential free agent meetings.

"Well, no. I mean, I’ll call, but I’m not going to be in the meeting," Bryant said, as quoted on 247Sports. "Listen, I’m not part of the organization in any kind of professional way, right? If the players themselves have questions, [I’ll talk to them]. Or if the Lakers want me to reach out and call a player or something like that – if they want me to talk to the player and give my two cents on what it was like to play here and what this market is like – I’ll certainly do that. But in terms of being part of the meeting in any official way? The answer is no."

"But Rob and Magic both have great flexibility when it comes to the cap and they have great young talent. And I’ve known Rob for a longtime; this dude is as smart as they come, so he’ll figure it out," he said.

It was reported last month that George was as good as "gone" from the Thunder but recent reports state the Oklahoma side have a better chance of retaining him than initially expected when they crashed out in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Nonetheless, George was recently at a Fortnite event in Los Angeles and was queried by TMZ about the prospect of playing on the same team as James.

"Yeah, I'm with LeBron every All-Star [game]," George joked. "Every one of my All-Stars, I've been teamed with LeBron. Yeah, we got a losing record but I like playing with him. It was fun playing with LeBron [on] All-Star weekend."

"I’m from L.A. I can say I love L.A. because I’m from L.A.," George added, being very selective about his words when asked about moving to the Lakers.

George finished the regular season with 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while James posted an impressive 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game during the NBA playoffs.