LOS ANGELES, July 23 (UPI) -- While some could say Kobe Bryant's tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers has bought him pause from critics, apparently it has also bought him pause from welcoming new teammates.
His tenure has also afforded him a contract that pays him $25 million at soon-to-be age 37.
But that wasn't the reason Bryant "made noise" Wednesday. Bryant, who has been known to have a somewhat stoic, somewhat abrasive personality when it comes to public communication, was brought up during a press conference featuring the Lakers' new additions: Roy Hibbert, Lou Williams and Brandon Bass.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin posted an Instagram video to document the moment, in which the players were asked by a reporter: "Have any of you guys heard from Kobe? And if so, what did he say?"
Instead of just responding to the question, all three players went stone-cold silent for a solid 10 seconds of awkwardness.
Bryant's off-court demeanor was also a factor while the Lakers were attempting to court then-free agent LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge has signed with the San Antonio Spurs for four years and $80 million, according to Yahoo Sports.
When Aldridge met with Bryant, the two "didn't quite gel," according to Mike Bresnahan, of the Los Angeles Times. "It's a little vague, but Aldridge apparently didn't quite get answers from Kobe he was seeking," Bresnahan tweeted July 1.
"With the Lakers, it wasn't anything crazy," Aldridge told Basketball Insiders Wednesday. "It was just the [first] meeting didn't go as well as I wanted it to, so I did another one. People blew it out of proportion about things happening in the meeting. That wasn't correct. It just didn't go as good as I wanted it to so I had one more...."
