Was Kobe happy winning championships? I believe he was. Was he more and more vocal when the team started to not do as well? Yes he was. Funny how this is only Kobe, yet again. Shaq had nothing to do with the bad blood between the two whatsoever? It was all Kobe who had the problem and the whole entire NBA world saw it that way? Right.....
You
BELIEVE he was?
?
Guess what westkoast? Lots of players start to complain about things when their teams start to lose. It is how that griping is perceived by their teammates that cause the rifts.
I didnt say Kobe was going to be the next Michael Jordan. So you arent bursting any bubble. Ive only said this on this board oh say 1,000,000 times?? What I was saying is that even the greatest guard of all time had players shift in and out of his team until the pieces fit. Just like EVERY other super star who has won a championship in recent history. Teams have to make moves to find the right pieces....yet this is something you want to take a jab at Kobe for? Makes no sense.
You are still comparing Michael Jordan and whoever they put out on the court with him to Kobe Bryant and whoever they are putting out on the court with him. While Jordan clearly was the glue that eventually brought the championships to Chicago, Kobe appears to be the solvent that separates cohesiveness. And as you noted, he is not getting any younger and his body has been beat up for a decade now.
But the point is, Jordan was a harsh, a very harsh, teammate, but he demanded respect and no one questioned whether Jordan was ever dividing the team. In Chicago - I believe that city to be a very harsh critic of its teams as well - he got some nasty press prior to his team winning some championships.
I also heard that players still wanted to be one of those guys being shifted in and out of Chicago so as to play with him. Are players doing the same with the Lakers these days to play with Bryant? You have to ask yourself, is having Bryant your keynote player really an attraction to quality free agents any longer? And with your head coach having embarassed him in print as
BEING a prima donna?
It is one thing to get the blue chippers in town, an altogether different thing to make them happy they chose to come to Los Angeles after several months playing next to Bryant.
Finally? LOL. Everyone knows this and I never once said Shaq was there to compliment Kobe. What I did say was that it was a two way street as Kobe got better. I think the whole NBA world saw that one JoMaL. And no, if they got Pippen instead of Kobe or Ray Allen they would not have had the same success. Neither of those players are as versatile as Kobe is on both ends of the court. Update the bait in your tackle box.
That's okay, my bait clearly caught the right fish.
And what you fail to realize is that Shaq was not going to get better as time goes on. He is on his way out. Kobe, who could not be replaced by many guards right now except maybe Wade, is in the middle of his career. The decision was made based partially on that. Shaq needs to be on the floor playing to demand serious attention.......in 2-3 years he wont be demanding any attention unless you are driving without your seatbelt in NJ. Kobe on the other hand will still command a double team. Im am very sure the Lakers are disapointed you cannot admire them for making the right move.
Ah, yes. The Laker plan is that Bryant is impermeable to injury and will last forever, or until the right mix is attained. Going into his tenth year of his career, you have to ask yourself when, not if, those aches and pains he has been feeling of late turns into a more debilitating injury. It can happen suddenly, as Webber found out. Even Jordan's knee gave out.
Until then, those double teams Kobe demands are going to be just easier and easier for him to shuck off, right?
Those don't take a toll on the body, right?
When are the Lakers planning on getting that special complimentary player to help him out?
No comment from JoMaL on moving the sac-town pre-madonna for the past 4 years? Couldnt imagine why.
Sheesh, westkoast, do you actually read, with comprehension what I am talking about? Or your own quotes?
The Kings
MOVED their prima donna franchise player. Exactly!!!!!!! :rolleyes:
JoMaL it is no secret your hate for Kobe Bryant has you making off the wall comments. I am a Kobe fan but you dont see me going to the extreme like you are without taking other things into mind. This site is searchable ya know, you can see the positive and negative comments Ive made about Kobe. Funny thing is that anytime your name pops up mentioning Kobe its always bad. So you tell me, who is more bias towards Kobe? Me or you? The site is searchable so you dont have to do much work.
Westkoast, my "extremes", as you call them, are hardy that. I said the Lakers should have traded Kobe and not Shaq. I said Kobe has not done the franchise any favors by keeping a negative light on things at a time when maybe it would behoove him to avoid that, just so the team might be able to rebuild without having to first placate potential players with assurances that Kobe isn't really a cancer, that he is misunderstood and to play him up to be a stand up guy and teammate when all of that should never be necessary with your star player.
Maybe I have not seen it yet, or the Lakers are just keeping the information secret until the new CBA is signed, but why have we heard nothing of potential free agents or sign and trades going on that will actually make a difference for the team other then bringing in Kwame Brown? Is that going to be it?
Players who have had to have players switched in and out......
Allen Iverson - Ah, how nice it would be if it were Kobe trying to placate his hometown fans instead of Iverson.
Michael Jordan - Always thought he made players around him tense, but better, instead of upset and peeved.
Charles Barkley- Barkley would have thought just about the same as Shaq does regarding playing along side Bryant.
Tracy McGrady - Equal of Bryant, and in some ways better, especially by being less of a pain to play along side, apparently. Lakers could do much better attracting him to LA as their franchise player and building around him instead of Bryant.
Yao Ming - He is the complementary player, because he will never be the dominant guy that Shaq was in his prime. He just does not have the heart. He could definitely fit in along side Bryant in LA, though, and do some damage there.
Shaq O Neil - You had him, you won three championships, and you "had" to trade him, and now you have to build a new team around Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, Shaq goes to Miami and turns them into a pretty good team that beats up everyone except the Pistons in the east, after the Heat suffered some awful seasons. I suppose it is possible that O'Neal has something left in his tank after all.
Karl Malone - In his prime, add him to any team and they could contend, but that's apparently it.
Pat Ewing - Personally, never liked his game much. Hate to be harsh, but I always thought he never had the brains to figure out how he should best help his team. I know for sure he never should have been the focus of the offense. As a playmaker, he just was not up to it.
Ben Wallace and Co. - All complementary players who work well in that system and probably would not flounder elsewhere. Wallace could help the Lakers as Bryant's sidekick and probably would not kill him right away. But I would expect that eventually, Big Ben would squish him, just to make a point.
David Robinson - Have to recall what he was like before his back gave out. Before, HE was the guy you build around; after, just a component to Duncan.
Tim Duncan -
