I know
@CantStop is in the "ghosted after he got caught lying" phase of this discussion, as is typical of him, but, um, wouldn't plenty of NBA fans see that replacing any of these players with Kobe would be strategically blockheaded?
Steph
Jordan
Durant
LeBron
Shaq
No matter who you replace with Kobe, you'd basically be exchanging higher efficiency shots for lower efficiency shots.
Shaq is the only 5 that works, so he's a given.
LeBron is the only elite distributor in the group, so you need him, plus he's the only player that gives you a body that can bang for rebounds and rim protection, and you know he isn't going to take shots away from higher-efficiency players.
Durant is your best safety valve due to his height, you want his efficiency from outside and willingness to not be ball-dominant. Plus you need his height defensively so MJ/Kobe aren't getting taken advantage of by tall forwards.
Jordan is the same player as Kobe but better.
Steph is going to spread the floor better than Kobe and is less likely to take bad shots when his teammates can get better ones. The ONLY argument I can see for Kobe here is defensively, but Kobe wasn't actually very good at guarding small fast point guards and you don't want MJ/LBJ having to chase them around all game. So unless the other team was playing a big point guard, it's gotta be Steph here.
That's a sane perspective, and
@Th3Birdman , despite our significant disagreements, is a sane poster. You seem to claim that no one can be a "true" Laker fan unless they are insane on Kobe's behalf and hate everyone else in the NBA even if they play for the Lakers too.