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The only way this makes sense is if Hill/Davis/Sacre is on the way out, otherwise why?

Everyone else is/was/will be talking about this at some point, so here are some numbers.

With Kobe: 8-19; Without Kobe: 1-2
With Kobe: 102.1 points scored, 109.2 allowed
Without Kobe: 102 points scored, 106.7 allowed

A quick statistical comparison of LA players not named Kobe Bryant with and without Kobe.
FGs
118-280 (42%) without Kobe
797-1744 (46%) with Kobe

3pt
28-71 (39%) without Kobe
139-377 (37%) with Kobe

FTs
42-58 (72%) without Kobe
360-494 (73%) with Kobe

AST/TO
66/36 without Kobe (.647 ast/(ast+to))
416/232 with Kobe (.642)

So the non-Kobe Lakers shoot worse from 2 and better from 3 without Kobe.

LOS ANGELES — Here’s one thing Byron Scott has accomplished.

He has left no question about it, and it’s good to know: Kobe Bryant no longer can do everything and be everything for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Chalk it up to Bryant’s career mileage, sure, but consider this, too: Bryant never really had a chance to show if he still had it.

That might sound crazy considering Bryant’s league-high 35.8 usage percentage (Russell Westbrook's is higher, but he has barely played half of Oklahoma City’s games) and 37.2 shooting percentage.

Because of how his coach over-trusted and overused him, Bryant never got to ramp himself up for all to see what would’ve been his peak performance—and therefore the Lakers’ peak performance.

By building a team that was all about Bryant, asking him to do more than he was ready for, and casting him in the role of leading man based on past history instead of current reality, Scott guaranteed that Bryant would falter.

So the Lakers played at Staples Center on...