Kobeeeee wants trade; first wants 4th Laker title

[JoMal]

Little known to Kobe, his fans like to video him, especially in parking lots. 

So when confronted by some strange strangers in a shopping center mall lot, he unhesitantly bashed the non-trade Kupckak had denounced that would have sent Andrew "Are you Kidding Me" Bynum off to the Nets for Jason Kidd.

Kupchak values Bynum over Kidd.

Makes you wonder if he has ever seen Bynum play.  Basketball, that is, not video games. I think there is a difference.

So Kobeeeeee went on record with, you know, these parking lot fans that his official reaction to that Bynum-for-Kidd news was, "Are you kidding me"? Kobeeeeee is reknown for his clever cleverness.
But then, Bryant over the Memorial Day weekend went on record in his radio interviews as stating he would never play for the Los Angeles again - - as well as committing himself to winning a fourth title with the Lakers.

Ehh???

This called for some clarification and a personal, like, mano-a-mano, one-on-one meeting with officials with the Spanish League - - or with Jerry Buss, whichever one showed up first at his hotel. Or was he supposed to go to Buss' hotel? Whatever. Turns out, he never was considering selling his best-basketball-player-of-his-mirror-image to the Spaniards. That was just made up stuff made up by, well, me. No, he had the important announcement to make to Buss that he still wanted to be traded.

Buss said no. Phil Jackson, after talking to Kobeeeeee, also felt Bryant would be playing for the Lakers this fall, without a doubt. All is settle in Kobeeeeeeeland once again.

Except Kobeeeeee is measuring doorways in Chicago and New York to see if the Kobeeeeeeego can squeeze into those frames. Apparently, it can not. Too bad. Kobeeeee has done nothing but strengthen his trade value as he tears Kupchak a new one publically. But first, Kobeeeee has been checking to see if Mitch ever HAD one to begin with. His probing has been fruitless, but oddly satisfying to him.

After clarifying he (Kobeeeee) had nothing to do with Shaq being traded, and Shaq proving his math skills by mentioning tough statistical concepts like percentages regarding how likely it was that Kobeeeee was correct, Buss apparently does not want any part of being wrong about which player he thought he could build the future LA Laker team around.

Jerriiiiiiiiiiii Buss can't be wrong, so he is, like, totally right about keeping Bryant in Laker Purple, and avoid any unwanted trade talk.

Except he can't convince Kobeeeeeee not to talk about it.

Even with him.

Jerriiiiiiiiii went all the way to Spain, for crying out loud, to avoid talking the "T" word involving his superstar tongue-wagger. And the bastard found him anyway.

But at least in Jerriiiiiiii's favor is that Kobeeeeeee's trade value is shrinking. Few teams covet players who are nuts. I mean, a show of hands, please, if you want a superstar player with these types of issues, who constantly will undermine your management team and insult his teammates, will actually pout on the court if naughty media types accuse him of not being a team player as you scorer 50+ points, and can't go to Colorado without legal advice?

We SacTown fans would certainly pay to see that wellpaid smirk doing his best to fricassee Geoff Petrie as our loyal GM tries to unload questionable talent for immediate championship quality players.

Somehow, Kobe has managed to make Ron Artest look sane in a Kings' uniform. 

[westkoast]

The truth of the matter is that Buss' son is the one who found Bynum.   He is in love with Bynum, not Mitch Kupchek.  Mitch may like the kid but I guarantee any attempt to move him is going to get a solid NO from Buss' son.   I think most Laker fans would agree that since he has large shoes to fill that finding the next 'great Laker center' is his ticket to stepping into that role with ease.  He is banking on Bynum turning into something great and he wants the credit for that, for reasons I stated.  If Bynum was to leave and be something great he would be known as the guy who found Bynum but didn't keep him.  He doesn't want that.  Much like his father doesn't want to be known as the guy who traded away Shaq and Kobe.

New York is not where Kobe wants to go and I think the media has hyped that up because they showed interest. That interest is one sided though.    Kobe specifically stated he would only go to Dallas, PHX, or Chicago.  The first two being obvious choices as they are contenders.  The last one, regardless of all the MJ comparisions coming up from nay-sayers, has a young team that could get to the finals.  With Kobe on that squad they would have better players then the Cavs squad that just went to the finals for a butt kicking.

Sorry JoMaL..no matter how bad you want to make your resident head case look better then our resident head case it is not going to happen.  Kobe is pulling a John Kerry by flip flopping...he is not pulling a George Bush like Ron Artest and dropping bombs on innocent people in the crowd

[WayOutWest]

Somehow, Kobe has managed to make Ron Artest look sane in a Kings' uniform. 

Much like Pirates of the Carribean III At Worlds End, the ending sucked!  I'm bummed!

[JoMal]

Somehow, Kobe has managed to make Ron Artest look sane in a Kings' uniform. 

Much like Pirates of the Carribean III At Worlds End, the ending sucked!  I'm bummed!

Yeeeeaaaahhhh

That similarity jumped out at me as well, it is so apparent. 

[JoMal]

Sorry JoMaL..no matter how bad you want to make your resident head case look better then our resident head case it is not going to happen.  Kobe is pulling a John Kerry by flip flopping...he is not pulling a George Bush like Ron Artest and dropping bombs on innocent people in the crowd

I'll take my $7.1 million headcase, good for only three more years, the last year at the player's option, and match him up against your $17.7 million headcase, with an escalating salary scale scheduled to put him up to nearly $25 million per by 20101/11 any day.

The cost of therapy alone in LA would dwarf any similar street-angst hustlebusler to be found in SacTown, where all the crazy people are shipped to Fresno anyway.

And now that we have Reggie Theus to play the "Why me?" dirge after several early season close (20+ point) losses, you can expect Kobeeeeeee's agent to contact Geoff Petrie for a straigth-up heading-butting trade of malcontents.

Which in the Kings' case, would mean that Kobeeeee will finally have the team he has always wanted - him and a benchful of varnished chairs. 

[westkoast]

Sorry JoMaL..no matter how bad you want to make your resident head case look better then our resident head case it is not going to happen.  Kobe is pulling a John Kerry by flip flopping...he is not pulling a George Bush like Ron Artest and dropping bombs on innocent people in the crowd

I'll take my $7.1 million headcase, good for only three more years, the last year at the player's option, and match him up against your $17.7 million headcase, with an escalating salary scale scheduled to put him up to nearly $25 million per by 20101/11 any day.

The cost of therapy alone in LA would dwarf any similar street-angst hustlebusler to be found in SacTown, where all the crazy people are shipped to Fresno anyway.

And now that we have Reggie Theus to play the "Why me?" dirge after several early season close (20+ point) losses, you can expect Kobeeeeeee's agent to contact Geoff Petrie for a straigth-up heading-butting trade of malcontents.

Which in the Kings' case, would mean that Kobeeeee will finally have the team he has always wanted - him and a benchful of varnished chairs. 

Toss in the fact of that powerful no-trade clause and you might just be right lol.  I mean if Ron Artest starts beating up the Maloofs at The Palms after losing 100k on the craps table at least they could ship him off.  If Kobe beats up Buss' two sons for not wanting to move Bynum on Rodeo Drive there is not much they could do to get rid of him if he didn't want to go.

I do remember there being a number of hotels in the Sacramento area and plenty of white females so maybe it would work.  Maybe if they put a white girl clause into his contract he would make the move....that would mean I would have to put my heart into rooting  for the Kings when they don't play LA.  I've been a big Kobe supporter but I don't know if I could do that.  That is asking too much of meeeeeeee

[WayOutWest]

If Kobe beats up Buss' two sons for not wanting to move Bynum on Rodeo Drive there is not much they could do to get rid of him if he didn't want to go.

Man...that would be SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.  Kobe putting a "Men on Film" two snapps in a Zoro motion beat down on those rich biznatches would be classic!  I know he wouldn't try that on Jerry himself but he'd go for it on his sons.  Both Jerry and Jeanne would snap Kobe's neck in one push of a speed dial button to their "crew".

[JoMal]

Laker fans must be so pleased to know the future of their franchise is in such capable hands for years to come.

[westkoast]

Laker fans must be so pleased to know the future of their franchise is in such capable hands for years to come.

Not quite as pleased as us Las Vegas fans who sit on solid diamond toilets at the Palms because the Maloofs decided to cut back on players so we can relieve ourselves after a 6,000 dollar burger combo from Carls Jr.

[JoMal]

Laker fans must be so pleased to know the future of their franchise is in such capable hands for years to come.

Not quite as pleased as us Las Vegas fans who sit on solid diamond toilets at the Palms because the Maloofs decided to cut back on players so we can relieve ourselves after a 6,000 dollar burger combo from Carls Jr.

Now, now. While diamond studded toilets might slice up your tush a bit, I would think your biggest apprehension would be those shorty-short bathrobes they provide the elite Palms clients. While wearing it to step outside to pick up your morning Wall Street Journal, conveniently provided by the staff of the Palms, you would be a bit self-conscious about looking like the last chicken in the window as you display your wears to the world.

[Skandery]

Has anyone seen this video?


==============================================================================
Circus act
 
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
June 19, 2007


So now we have Kobe Bryant trashing teammates and management alike on some covert amateur commando video.

This coming after a statement on his Web site spoke of continued dissatisfaction with the direction of the Los Angeles Lakers and a new interest in being traded. Which came after Bryant flew to Barcelona to meet with owner Jerry Buss and, according to the Los Angeles Times, figured out he still wanted to be dealt.

All of this, of course, comes in the wake of his Memorial Day weekend schizophrenic radio tour where he alternated claiming he would never play for the Lakers again and affirming his commitment to winning a fourth title in L.A.

You follow all of that?
 
What a couple of weeks this has been, even by Kobe standards.

Slowly but surely, day after day, bizarre act after bizarre act, he keeps hurting only himself. All of the goodwill, good soldier, good teammate stuff that he painstakingly built up after Colorado is eroding with each passing episode.

It's not that what Bryant keeps saying is all that incorrect – it's that he keeps finding worse and worse ways of saying it.

Web site open letters? Radio flip flops? And now some strange rant in a shopping center parking lot, mouthing off to a couple of strangers whom he may or may not have known were filming him? Was this really the best place to rip teammate Andrew Bynum and general manager Mitch Kupchak?

Bryant is essentially correct about this entire deal. He is the most talented player in the NBA and in his prime at 29, and the Lakers have done little to surround him with enough talent to compete for a championship, especially in the brutal Western Conference. This isn’t the easy breezy East where LeBron James can reach the finals with similarly average support.

Kupchak has been bad. Just about every Lakers fan wishes Jerry West was still running the team. The idea that L.A. used a lottery pick on Bynum, a high school project in 2005, was questionable enough, but the idea that they wouldn’t pursue Jason Kidd because they wanted to keep him?

"Are you kidding me?" asks Bryant in the video.

Well, are they?

The thing is, if Bryant had an ounce of savvy, he could have spun this completely to his advantage. When the truth is on your side, when your core argument is that you just want to win, you shouldn’t come out looking like the bad guy – petulant, power hungry, ungrateful and unstable.

But what everyone is seeing is an irrational tantrum, stranger and stranger each time. And Bryant sure isn’t helping himself get traded. The past three weeks have done nothing to convince a contender to gamble on him, an owner to believe in him, a fan base to trust him. His handling of this has been career suicide – burning bridges on both sides of the island.

What a disaster and no amount of Phil Jackson talks are going to settle it down. Bryant’s true feelings are evident. His desire to get out of L.A. is real; it wasn’t just frustration and emotion talking. The temporary backtrack was the emotion – guilt, loyalty, embarrassment, whatever.

At this point, the Lakers are going to have to actually consider the unthinkable: trading him.

Buss understandably wants no part of that. Or at least he didn't three weeks ago. He banked the franchise on Kobe and dealt Shaquille O'Neal for what has amounted to little. He can't now give up Bryant for what will assuredly be below market value.

First off, the list of potential destinations dwindles by the day. Second, even a sound basketball trade can't replace the star power of Kobe. In L.A., you can’t sell three dimes for a quarter. The fans want the bright lights guy. Bryant, no matter what, remains that.

But he is also a wild card, a wild child and no one knows what he'll do next. One time, when he was getting criticized for shooting too much, he pouted and stopped shooting, passed the ball every single time like a wise-guy fifth grader.

If he doesn't want to be in L.A. next season, he can sabotage things in a million different ways. Really, at this point, do you put anything past him?

Bryant is a spectacular talent who has a deep desire to win, to compete, to get his front office and ownership to help make it happen.

But he has no idea how to tell them that. No idea at all. He just keeps thinking of the newest wrong way. And so it keeps getting worse, for the franchise, for the franchise players.

First a radio tour, now a bootleg internet video?

Are you kidding me?

[WayOutWest]

The video is not out yet cause the owners are trying to get paid for it.  The Lakers and ESPN turned down paying for the video so not sure if they are just going to give it away to try to get paid by someone else.

[Reality]

Maybe Kobe and his lawyers bought it.

Some are thinking Kobe has bi-polar.  For real, in addition to his prima donna drama queeness.

[WayOutWest]

Maybe Kobe and his lawyers bought it.

Some are thinking Kobe has bi-polar.  For real, in addition to his prima donna drama queeness.

Kobe was the first one contacted for payment, he refused.

Some should not be thinking, it doesn't seem to suit them.

[JoMal]

Maybe Kobe and his lawyers bought it.

Some are thinking Kobe has bi-polar.  For real, in addition to his prima donna drama queeness.

Kobe was the first one contacted for payment, he refused.

Some should not be thinking, it doesn't seem to suit them.

Since this is quickly becoming old news, and on the Kobeeeeeee front, nothing is older then yesterday's quote's committed to sound bites, the guy with the shopping mall opus is already out of luck regarding any payment for his superstar Egotravaganza.

The best way to wash away the stink of another annoying taped quote by Kobeeeeeee is to make more of the same annoying quotes in the next few days.