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I don't know about youse guys, but after Shaq was traded Kobe was all smiles at the press conference. Of course Kobe wasn't the reason Shaq was traded, but you'd be dumb to believe he didn't help push the situation along. Kobe thought he could lead the Lakers to another title without Shaq and have his legend fully established. He guessed wrong. And how's he gonna bitch about front office moves when he was given an EXCELLENT supporting cast from 1997-2004? When Kobe was a free agent he had a chance to go to upcoming teams like the Clippers or the Bulls. It was his choice to return to the Lakers. Yes, the Lakers have made some bad moves (trading Caron Butler, using a lottery pick on Andrew Bynum) but instead of whining for a trade he should be the first one to step up and be a team leader. This is exactly the reason I dislike Kobe Bryant: he's all about himself.

Although, on the other hand, I can see the frustration of being the only top tier player on his team. But Kobe shouldn't be THAT frustrated. He has three rings, millions of dollars, the admiration of many and is pretty much deemed by most basketball fans the best player in the NBA. He himself should know that Los Angeles Lakers fans and employees will not stand for not being among the NBA's elite. He's only 28 and the Lakers have some money to spend on free agents this year.

I guess what I'm saying is that Kobe needs to relax a little bit. It just pains me that such a great player is such a huge asshole.
 
^Hater. :D

All I can say Dennis is read more about why Kobe did this now. He was angered by the fact a "Lakers insider" told the LA Times that it was Kobe's fault Shaq left which infuriated Kobe after all the flak he's already received from that ordeal...therefore he went public with Dr. Buss's comments about Shaq.

I don't think Kobe is any more selfish than any normal person...but if he re-signed with the Lakers to win championships and doesn't feel the team is doing its part to accomplish that goal, then he has every right to complain. Fact is the Lakers front office presently is not in good shape and hasn't done its job well. Realize it's been three years since Shaq left...and in those three years they have only reached as far as the first round of the playoffs. ..with this latest appearance not garnering much hope for the future with the current squad.

Kobe's not content with what he's already done...he wants to do more...and personally, I love to see that in any top athlete.
 
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Well... looks like Kobe's not going anywhere. Thank God. I cried for many minutes at work.

Let us not forget that the Lakers are not as bad as everyone's making them out to be. If you recall, this season they got off to a pretty good start until the lineup was decimated by injuries. They weren't looking too bad for the first 40 games, and everyone was on the bandwagon calling them a dark horse contender. Indeed, Bynum was looking like a brilliant pick at that point.

But then Kwame, Lamar and Luke all went down for extended periods of time. Why is everyone conveniently forgetting this? Lamar Odom and Luke Walton are not a bad supporting cast and even Smush Parker, before he shot his career in the foot by letting his ego run wild, is a serviceable point guard for the triangle. Kwame Brown is ridiculously sorry, but even he showed flashes of averageness. Even Bynum got injured and hit the rookie wall; he finished the year poorly but with better conditioning and a year of experience I don't see why everyone's so down on him. I'd certainly play him more minutes than Kwame Brown.

Given all that, it wasn't unreasonable for the Laker front office to sit on the players they had. 3 more years with Kobe in his prime, with Luke, Lamar, Jordan Farmar, Turiaf, Vlad (his 3 balls will start falling) and Bynum? A championship with that team is not as ludicrous as some people think, they just need to turn it up a notch on defense. They almost beat the Suns last year... thanks to clutch steals from a pitiful band of supporting characters. Of course, Kobe has now made it impossible for them to sit tight. They'll have to trade Bynum for Jermaine O'Neal- not a terrible loss, as long as they can hang on to Odom. For God's sake, get rid of Kwame.

Even the Kwame Brown trade; you can't blame Kupchak. They were logjammed at small forward and desperately needed size. Who knew Caron Butler would take off the way he did this year (besides people with any basketball IQ whatsoever)??
 
Benefit said:

Well... looks like Kobe's not going anywhere. Thank God. I cried for many minutes at work.

Let us not forget that the Lakers are not as bad as everyone's making them out to be. If you recall, this season they got off to a pretty good start until the lineup was decimated by injuries. They weren't looking too bad for the first 40 games, and everyone was on the bandwagon calling them a dark horse contender. Indeed, Bynum was looking like a brilliant pick at that point.

But then Kwame, Lamar and Luke all went down for extended periods of time. Why is everyone conveniently forgetting this? Lamar Odom and Luke Walton are not a bad supporting cast and even Smush Parker, before he shot his career in the foot by letting his ego run wild, is a serviceable point guard for the triangle. Kwame Brown is ridiculously sorry, but even he showed flashes of averageness. Even Bynum got injured and hit the rookie wall; he finished the year poorly but with better conditioning and a year of experience I don't see why everyone's so down on him. I'd certainly play him more minutes than Kwame Brown.

Given all that, it wasn't unreasonable for the Laker front office to sit on the players they had. 3 more years with Kobe in his prime, with Luke, Lamar, Jordan Farmar, Turiaf, Vlad (his 3 balls will start falling) and Bynum? A championship with that team is not as ludicrous as some people think, they just need to turn it up a notch on defense. They almost beat the Suns last year... thanks to clutch steals from a pitiful band of supporting characters. Of course, Kobe has now made it impossible for them to sit tight. They'll have to trade Bynum for Jermaine O'Neal- not a terrible loss, as long as they can hang on to Odom. For God's sake, get rid of Kwame.

Even the Kwame Brown trade; you can't blame Kupchak. They were logjammed at small forward and desperately needed size. Who knew Caron Butler would take off the way he did this year (besides people with any basketball IQ whatsoever)??
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Good post.

Except for the part suggesting that Smush Parker is as much as a serviceable point guard on a potential NBA Champion.

That dude couldn't get playing time with the Knicks.

I do wholeheartedly agree that Odom and an (eventually) mature Bynum are excellent complementary players - but it's awfully hard to win a title without a dominant center OR a serviceable point guard OR a second-best player as great as an in-his-prime Scottie Pippen.

And, in fairness, the Lakers got a shitty draw - this year's 60-plus win Suns (despite their play-off "loss" to the Spurs) were an AWFULY good 2-seed - most years, a typical 2-seed is a beatable Mid-50's-win team (about as good as this year's Mavs had they not played every single regular season game like it was a play-off game, thereby compiling an inflated regular season record, not unlike the Jazz did in the Stockton-Malone years, and continue to do now).

Kidd, Kobe and my three nieces could contend for the title.

Jason Kidd is the man to get if the Lakers want to make a serious run NEXT year.
 
lebron was unbelievable tonight, great performance.
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"It was a transcendent performance".. I swear if that Sportscenter anchor were in the same room as Lebron he prolly would have gone down on him. twice.
 
so would david stern and a shitload of other sports media people. everyone who spends that much time on basketball has been waiting for this to happen

i personally think lebron is doing something D-wade did only a year ago but in most peoples eyes they see lebron to have the potential to surpass them all. nights like this add to the body of work of the legend, lebron james, the greatest basketball player ever...or for atleast the decade - crown him King James!

at least thats what a lot of people want to see
 
Very impressive, but it must be qualified. The Eastern Conference, in recent years, has been one of the worst conferences in professional sports history.

I'm bummed I missed Game 5, but the playoffs had been so atrociously boring this year I didn't think anything exciting was going to happen. Shame on me.
 
What about Rasheed Wallace acting like a total fuckin heathen and having a major blow-up crybaby fest when he snagged that 6th foul?

L.O.L.

I don't follow the Cavs as closely as I once did, but I'm glad to see them make it to the finals.
 
L O V E L I F E said:
Kidd, Kobe and my three nieces could contend for the title.

Jason Kidd is the man to get if the Lakers want to make a serious run NEXT year.
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They could've pulled this deal before this season's trading deadline. Nets wanted Bynum...Lakers said no.

Kevin Garnett is the savior of this team. If they can hold out one more year so KG can opt out of his contract in the summer of '08...they'll have a real shot at him. In the meantime, they could try to make a trade for Kidd again...and by the '08-'09 season, it could be the KGB attacking for the Lakers. That's championship caliber.

Odom will have to go though...no way he can be kept on w/ his salary especially if they are serious about going for KG next summer...which they should be.
 
The only way the Knicks could get Kobe would be if Isiah was 20 years younger, and was still able to run the point.

Otherwise, the Knicks best five players put together are worth SUBSTANTIALLY less than Kobe.

Eddy Curry and two to three first rounders, plus some other stuff is realistically what it would take to make a REASONABLY fair deal (and, imo, even THAT wouldn't be fair to the Lakers), but teams have traded superstars for pennies on the dollar before (think Charles Barkley), so there is always hope here in the greatest city in the world with the most frustrating and painful team to root for in the NBA.

For God sake - this is undisputably the center of the basketball universe and for some combination of reasons (horrendous management and coaching at times, Micheal Jordan existing, and Patrick Ewing being a fucing underachieving loser being the first three that spring to mind), a championship has eluded us for THIRTY-FOUR FUCKING YEARS (keep in mind, the league has had an average of only about 25 or so teams during that span) and there doesn't seem to be an end to that streak in sight.

So, with all due respect, Benefit, you've had your Magic/Karem, Shaq/Kobe dynasties within your lifetime.

Share the wealth, you lucky fuck. :)
 
I was only six years old when Magic retired. Showtime was too long ago.

Sure this city was spoiled by the unstoppable Laker behemoth of the early 2000s... but Kobe is something else entirely. He's bigger than the Lakers. He's bigger than basketball itself. He transcends all our pithy superlatives, pulls back the curtain on language and reveals its inadequacy. When he steps on the court he inspires respect, devotion, awe, hatred. He is raw power, pride, genius, the limit of the Divine invested in flesh and blood. He is capable of anything. He is the only person I have ever loved.

Kareem retired. He had a good run. They traded Shaq. I was glad. Magic got AIDS. These things happen. Derek Fisher went to Utah to jack off into his Bible with some Mormon school girls. Tough luck. Robert Horry jumped ship to another contender. Time heals all wounds. But to trade Kobe. Trade Kobe? Unthinkable. The thought is repulsive. It physically sickens me.

I have had the pleasure and the privilege of watching this human masterpiece step on the court 82 times a year and dominate, to crush his opponents, to destroy people, to exceed the limits of all rational human capacity. The depth of his greatness is unknowable, but to witness Kobe in the midst of a hot streak is to know God. You can't explain it. And now it's over? They're going to take that away from me? Absolutely sickening.

I watched as he hit 9 consecutive 3-pointers against the Sonics and tied the single game 3-point record; I watched as he hit the game-tying jumper against Portland and the game winner in overtime; I watched when he hung 52 points on the Rockets with a bum knee, capped it with a dunk on Yao Ming and basked in the glory as the crowd in Houston chanted "MVP" for the visiting swingman; I watched him score 40 or more points 9 games in a row; I watched him average 35 for a season; outscore a whole team through 3 quarters; hang 81 on some suckers from Canada; take the wind out of the Sun's sails; score 42 points in the first half on Jordan and the Wizards. I've watched him do great things. There are many more to come. Only they won't happen here.

A life without Kobe can hardly be called life at all.
 
Benefit said:

I was only six years old when Magic retired. Showtime was too long ago.

Sure this city was spoiled by the unstoppable Laker behemoth of the early 2000s... but Kobe is something else entirely. He's bigger than the Lakers. He's bigger than basketball itself. He transcends all our pithy superlatives, pulls back the curtain on language and reveals its inadequacy. When he steps on the court he inspires respect, devotion, awe, hatred. He is raw power, pride, genius, the limit of the Divine invested in flesh and blood. He is capable of anything. He is the only person I have ever loved.

Kareem retired. He had a good run. They traded Shaq. I was glad. Magic got AIDS. These things happen. Derek Fisher went to Utah to jack off into his Bible with some Mormon school girls. Tough luck. Robert Horry jumped ship to another contender. Time heals all wounds. But to trade Kobe. Trade Kobe? Unthinkable. The thought is repulsive. It physically sickens me.

I have had the pleasure and the privilege of watching this human masterpiece step on the court 82 times a year and dominate, to crush his opponents, to destroy people, to exceed the limits of all rational human capacity. The depth of his greatness is unknowable, but to witness Kobe in the midst of a hot streak is to know God. You can't explain it. And now it's over? They're going to take that away from me? Absolutely sickening.

I watched as he hit 9 consecutive 3-pointers against the Sonics and tied the single game 3-point record; I watched as he hit the game-tying jumper against Portland and the game winner in overtime; I watched when he hung 52 points on the Rockets with a bum knee, capped it with a dunk on Yao Ming and basked in the glory as the crowd in Houston chanted "MVP" for the visiting swingman; I watched him score 40 or more points 9 games in a row; I watched him average 35 for a season; outscore a whole team through 3 quarters; hang 81 on some suckers from Canada; take the wind out of the Sun's sails; score 42 points in the first half on Jordan and the Wizards. I've watched him do great things. There are many more to come. Only they won't happen here.

A life without Kobe can hardly be called life at all.
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Great post.

As you know, you're preaching to the choir.

I defy ANYONE to watch tapes of Jordan, and then watch the things that Kobe is doing now ON A REGULAR BASIS, and tell me that Jordan was a more dominant player.

And I'll call you a liar or an idiot - your choice.

And Kobe's STILL getting BETTER.

*licks lips at the mere thought of Basketball God playing in the World's Most Famous Arena*
 
^nice fantasy to hope for...but we all know it won't happen. The Knicks roster is so disgusting as far as a trade is concerned it's not even funny.

Kobe in a Bulls uniform...more realistic.

Don't worry B-Fit...Kobe's not going anywhere. It's hilarious to hear all the hate so many Laker fans have for the Buss family at the moment. To trade Kobe would be the worst thing they could do. And let it be known that Bill Plaschke does not speak for Laker fans even if he writes for the LA Times. His opinion of the situation is beyond ridiculous, as is the case usually with his crap writing.
 
Oh I know they won't trade him this year. And I can't imagine that his competitive spirit will allow him to sit-out any games in protest.

It's next year I'm worried about. If they don't make a big time trade (and Kobe has severely handicapped their trading leverage because everyone in the NBA knows they are desperate to appease him and will take twenty five cents on the dollar to do so) Kobe's going to opt out. Then they will HAVE to trade him or they risk getting nothing.

Not only that but I'm worried about this year. He has shown that he will go to extremely childish lengths to make a point... like not shooting at all after being called a ball-hog. If he really doesn't want to be there next season, he will make life hard on the Lakers, to the point where they may have to seriously consider trading him.

Sad, sad days in Lakerland. Hopefully Phil can come to the rescue.
 
I also would like to point out that, although Mitch Kupchak is a mediocre to sub-par GM, the Lakers are not that bad. They were destroyed by injuries last year. Maybe they should have pulled the trigger on that J Kidd trade, but it wouldn't solve their size problems.

Lamar, Kobe, Kwame, Smush, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Ronnie aka The Black French Mark Madsen, Bynum, Phil... this is not a terrible team. They just never recovered from injuries.
 
Haha... yeah. Steve "Snapper" Jones once called a Laker game with Bill Walton and the disgust in his voice every time he mentioned Mark Madsen was hilarious.

So... Lakers were in talks with the T-Wolves to get Garnett for Odom and Bynum. I really like Lamar, but that's a good trade for the Lake Show. Now they are reporting talks stalled and the Suns are jumping in there... those motherfuckers! And the deal they're talking about is a three-way trade with Boston where the Suns give up... Marion! They wouldn't even give up Amare! If the Lakers lose out on KG to the Suns... I hope Steve Nash burns in a fiery hell where Kobe Bryant dunks on his fucking face for eternity.

If the Lakers do get KG... boy... my happiness at that point in time will be indescribable. Come on Mitch Kupchak, show the world you aren't a complete fucking moron.
 
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