November 1, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts after fouling Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11, not pictured) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 127-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant made it very clear to the media that he loves the Los Angeles Lakers and doesn’t want to play elsewhere.

The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t gotten off to a good start this year, and there has already been quite a bit of hate thrown in Kobe Bryant’s direction by quite a few in the media. Bryant has shrugged off the criticism and has focused on playing basketball, but did take a few minutes to talk to the media about his love for the Lakers’ organization and that he doesn’t want to leave L.A.

“I hear the chatter of Kobe should ask out and he should go and play for a contender in this latter stage of his career. But that’s not what I do. I’m extremely loyal to the Lakers. […] I believe in fighting through the tough times as well as enjoying the good times. It’s my responsibility to get us to be the best that we can be. It’s important that we approach that on a day-to-daybasis.”

Bryant also touched on the criticism that has been thrown his way for the Lakers’ being unable to sign bigger named free agents.

“It was really tough to land those free agents just because of the opportunities that they had. You got [Carmelo Anthony] going back to New York, LeBron [James] going back home to Cleveland. The odds just weren’t in our favor. But I took comfort in the fact that the Lakers did absolutely everything possible to make it happen. Absolutely everything possible. […] We offered Pau [Gasol] an incredible deal. I saw them put the work in. It’s much different than in 2007 when I felt like they were just sitting on their hands. This is not that case. They were going after it and being aggressive. I will fight for that till the end. They tried, tried and tried and it didn’t work out. I stand behind them 110 percent. I bleed purple and gold.”

Obviously Bryant is still very loyal to the only team that he has played with in his 19th season, and it’s good to hear him fire a response back to the media. He has always been one of the toughest and hardest working players in the league, and blaming him for not signing other big names is simply off base. There may be some players that don’t want to conform their game to what Bryant wants, but there are players that don’t like LeBron James for that same reason.

He has also taken some heat for playing a bit of a ball hog role this season so far, but honestly he’ll have to shoot a high amount of shots just to keep his team in games. There isn’t much talent on the Lakers’ roster this season, and Bryant is by far the best player.

So far this season in four games, Bryant has averaged 24.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He has shot 41.2 percent from the floor and 25.0 percent from behind the three-point arc, which obviously aren’t the type of numbers that he was looking to put up.

Needless to say, age and injuries are beginning to catch up to Bryant, but he still is more than capable of scoring at a high level. To blame him for all of the Lakers’ issues is completely ludicrous, and he obviously loves the team. Don’t expect Bryant to play a game in any other jersey than the Lakers’.