I just heard on ESPN Radio during lunch that Kobe is interviewing with Stephen A Smith and said he does not want to be a Laker anymore.

I can't find any links to the story yet.

5/30/2007 1:01:13 PM

lolzers at this thread

5/30/2007 1:01:42 PM

seems kinda contradictory to what he said yesterday

5/30/2007 1:02:12 PM

i dont really want him to be a Laker anymore

Dirk 4 Kobe

5/30/2007 1:04:23 PM

no idea what this picture means

5/30/2007 1:05:20 PM

Its now on the ESPN front page...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927

5/30/2007 1:08:14 PM

Quote :

"Bryant says Buss mastermined trading O'Neal ESPN.com news services Updated: May 30, 2007, 12:35 PM ET * Comment * Email * Print The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said team owner Jerry Buss masterminded the trade of Shaquille O'Neal -- and Shaq later confirming Kobe's account. The Laker vortex reached new heights, beginning with Bryant voicing his displeasure with the club's direction, his suggestion that Jerry West should return to fix things, West's statement that he has no intention of undermining GM/good friend Mitch Kupchak, and, unrelated but bizarre in its timing, Buss' arrest early Tuesday for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol. But Bryant was left "beyond furious" by a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times that read, "as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant's insistence on getting away from Shaquille O'Neal that got them in this mess." Kobe Bryant on ESPN Radio Kobe Bryant talks about the past, present and future of the Lakers while addressing reports that he may want to be traded. Listen O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season, and the long-held belief has been that the deteriorating relationship between O'Neal and Bryant was a factor in O'Neal's departure. In response to the Times' story, Bryant, who was interviewed by Stephen A. Smith for a Philadelphia Inquirer, said Buss "called a meeting with me after he spoke with Jim Gray [of ESPN] to talk with him about Shaq's future in the middle of the 2004 season. "He met with me at the Four Seasons Hotel here [in Los Angeles] across from Fashion Island, which is now the Island Hotel," Bryant told Smith. "I went up to his penthouse suite. [Buss] looks me dead in the face and says: 'Kobe, I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he's getting older. His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait. "This is my decision. It's independent of you. My mind is made up. It doesn't matter to me what you do in free agency because I do not want to pay [Shaq], period.' " "Dr. Buss said that," Bryant told Smith. "And I haven't said anything for years because I've always felt like folks were just looking to create controversy. Now I know. I realize what extent [the Lakers] will go to, to cover themselves." Reached afterward, O'Neal told Smith that be believed his former teammate beyond reproach. "I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent. "I would have respected Dr. Buss more as a man if he would have told me that himself, because I know he said it. But he didn't [tell me]. He never said a damn word to me." Buss was unavailable for comment Tuesday, as was Kupchak. Buss, 74, was booked early Tuesday for investigation of drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above. The Lakers missed the playoffs in the first season after O'Neal was dealt for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a first-round pick, and have been eliminated in the first round the last two seasons. O'Neal and the Heat won the NBA championship last season. "Sure, Shaq and I had our issues," Bryant told Smith. "So what! We always did and we won three titles. That doesn't change what was told to me. It doesn't change the fact I never, ever, said to get rid of him." While Bryant re-signed for $136 million for seven years the day after O'Neal was traded, he has pushed for trades -- he wanted Carlos Boozer, then Jason Kidd, then Ron Artest -- that the Lakers were unable to pull off. Meanwhile, Odom has undergone shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for training camp in October, Kwame Brown has undergone reconstructive surgery on his left ankle and might not be ready for the start of camp. And now Bryant, who reportedly has made it clear to the Lakers that he may see fit to terminate his contract in two years, told Smith he wouldn't continue to wait for Buss to build the roster around him. "Promises made to make this team better have not been kept," Bryant told Smith. "So where does that leave me?""

5/30/2007 1:09:31 PM

Rome is talking about what is going on out in LA and said its crazy with this story

5/30/2007 1:11:14 PM

booked for a DUI...this sounds like mutiny and the captain is worried

5/30/2007 1:18:07 PM

Do you think ESPN will go overboard on covering this throughout the summer?

5/30/2007 1:19:40 PM

^oh man

5/30/2007 1:24:02 PM

yeah, the Jim Rome show is going fucking bananas right now.

5/30/2007 1:41:20 PM

Quote :

"Do you think ESPN will go overboard on covering this throughout the summer? "

Just imagine if a Kobe/Dwayne Wade trade rumor ever surfaced. Or a Kobe/#1 overall draft pick.

5/30/2007 1:57:17 PM

Holy shit I want this to happen, I love seeing big names change teams

just think of this year in the NBA if AI, KG, JO, VC, and Kobe could all be changing teams

not to mention guys like Jamison, Randolph, Kidd, Lewis, etc

this could set off one of the biggest shake ups since the merger

and guess who is sitting there with all that cash: THE BOBCATS

5/30/2007 2:01:48 PM

Quote :

"THE BOBCATS"

AHAHHAHALMFAOROFL

Yeah, Kobe is upset because he feels he is playing on a team that is too young and isnt contending. Where should he go?

The Bobcats, of course! A contender chock full of veterans with loads of playoff experience.

He is already making a shit-ton of money...he wants to be the best and probably realizes that he only has a few years left at the absolute top of his game. He wants to go somewhere where a solid core is already in place.

Seriously, Dallas, Houston, New York (strictly b/c they are comparable in publicity to L.A.), Indiana, New Jersey, etc are teams I could see him playing for.

5/30/2007 2:12:49 PM

Kobe will be on the Dan Patrick show in ~1 hour.

ESPN Radio is free off of ESPN.com

5/30/2007 2:15:49 PM

double post

[Edited on May 30, 2007 at 2:28 PM. Reason : >.<]

5/30/2007 2:27:45 PM

i wasnt talking about Kobe coming to Charlotte, he wouldnt even play here as a rookie

anyway, we are a major player possibly in moving someones contract in return for players or picks

we could get anyone, and oh yeah, Kobe said earlier he would only consider being traded to one team

The Bulls

but that was before he demanded a trade, Dalls could get him, or the Suns

read the Bill Simmons Chat

5/30/2007 2:27:45 PM

double post.

Terminate.

5/30/2007 2:28:57 PM

see above.

5/30/2007 2:29:35 PM

problem solved, cap room for everyone!

5/30/2007 3:02:58 PM

this stuff is bigger than the nba finals, man if Kobe could end up along side LeBron

5/30/2007 3:13:47 PM

Morrison and KG would hang out all the time

5/30/2007 3:16:08 PM

this shit is blowing up right now

its crazy

i cant wait to see what happens and yeah, I think this could overshadow the finals

and im glad, the Finals are going to suck

just give SA the trophy and lets start trading and get the draft over early

5/30/2007 3:17:22 PM

even though kobe wanted to play for LA when he was drafted (the Divac trade was all but done before we technically picked Kobe), he obviously doesnt like LA at the moment and who knows, maybe Jordan could convince him to come to Charlotte?

Sign free agent Vince...sign and trade send Vince, Morrison and Felton to LA for Kobe and Jordan Farmar

Starting Lineup:

Mike Conley
Kobe Bryant
Gerald Wallace
Emeka Okafor
Roy Hibbert

5/30/2007 3:22:51 PM

Kobe live in 20

http://www.am570radio.com/pages/streaming.html

5/30/2007 3:28:06 PM

too bad Hibbert's staying in school genius

Jesus and I thought you were one of the smart ones

5/30/2007 3:28:08 PM

well Hibbert is staying in school

Kobe is on Dan Patrick right now

but I think Jordan could possibly get him here

and it WOULD be worth trading the farm for him because it would bring TONS of fans

haha, Kobe just said he would waive his no trade clause and hed even play for Atlanta

5/30/2007 3:33:11 PM

staying a Laker

5/30/2007 5:01:11 PM

Jordan will convince Hibbert to leave early, obviously

5/30/2007 5:12:50 PM

its gonna be traded for ben gordon and luol deng

heinrich
bryant
nocioni
thomas
wallace

meh

just as long as kobe goes to the east

5/30/2007 5:13:33 PM

Quote :

"its gonna be traded for ben gordon and luol deng"

how is that going to happen when the salaries dont match up

5/30/2007 5:17:50 PM

JO? JO fucking sucks. I've watched the Pacers for a while and he has never really lived up to the hype. Kobe is just fucking with the media now because he called another radio saying he will stay with the Lakers.

5/31/2007 12:12:36 AM

Quote :

"Deal No. 3: Atlanta trades Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Ty Lue and the No. 11 pick for Kobe and Radmanovic. Comments: Love this trade for the Lakers because Johnson replaces 75 percent of Kobe's scoring; Williams and Johnson give them two perfect triangle guys; they'd get a quality rookie like Joakim Noah or Al Thornton at No. 11; and they'd even get to dump their one shaky salary in the deal (four more years of Radmanovic at $25 million) for Lue's expiring deal. That's a pretty good haul. Also, Atlanta hasn't had someone who could sell tickets since 'Nique; they could build around Kobe, Josh Smith, Josh Childress, Zaza Pachulia, Shelden Williams, Free Agent Signing X and the No. 3 pick. They could tinker with this deal and substitute the No. 3 and Childress for the No. 11 and Williams and see if L.A. bites on that. Here's the problem: I can't see Kobe accepting a trade to (A) a young team (even a young team with as much potential as the Hawks), and (B) a moribund NBA city like Atlanta. Seems too far-fetched. But this would be the best-case scenario for the league itself -- sticking Kobe in a big Eastern city, instantly getting another marquee franchise and ending up with a third superstar in a depleted conference. If David Stern has any juice left -- and it's unclear after the tragic events of May 22 -- he'll make this deal happen. "

I dream for the day this deal happens

5/31/2007 1:46:40 AM

Kobe staying put

Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown for Jermaine O'Neal

Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd

Lakers Starting 5

pg- Jason Kidd
sg- Black Mamba
sf- Luke Walton
pf- Jermaine O'neal
C- P.J. Brown (free agent to be)

5/31/2007 6:50:55 PM

Quote :

"Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown for Jermaine O'Neal"

yeah, lets just swap injury-prone players

5/31/2007 6:56:12 PM

Jermaine O'Neal won't be able to do a damn thing on Western Conf. power forwards. He only succeeds in the East because most of them are 2-3 inches shorter than he is

5/31/2007 8:00:23 PM

O'Neal is a pretty damn good player

5/31/2007 8:16:03 PM

^when he isn't limping around.

5/31/2007 8:18:48 PM

yeah well

5/31/2007 8:22:12 PM

It's from the statements he gave police during the rape stuff in Colorado. I think it's at thesmokinggun.com if you want to read them.

5/31/2007 9:17:52 PM

he wants to be traded to denver

5/31/2007 9:41:11 PM

i think kobe was talking about trading bodies with lebron. then it happened and lebron went into kobes body and was like "im staying a laker" then kobe came out and played this game tonight

thats the only logical explanation

5/31/2007 11:51:33 PM

If the Lakers were in the East and the Cavs were in the West

They're a very good chance Kobe and Lebron's roles would be reversed right now

6/1/2007 12:01:43 AM

i doubt it. the cavs are one of the best defensive teams in the nba and lebron isn't their top defender. the lakers are probably the worst defensive team in the playoffs.

even if kobe could do what lebron is doing or better there just wouldnt be enough help defensivly to win 3 vs detroit. may not even have been able to beat new jersey. the lakers would have certainly beaten washington.

6/1/2007 12:05:39 AM

Did LA really sign some high school punk who was considered a "project" for college?

Yeah, Kobe's an immature bitch who should keep his mouth shut, but he has a point. What little room LA has had to work with, they fucked up...but they need some more room, and the only way they get some more is by really, really sucking it up.

[Edited on June 1, 2007 at 1:48 AM. Reason : LOL...do I sound cool and knowledgeable and whatnot?]

6/1/2007 1:46:33 AM

Quote :

"high school punk who was considered a "project" for college"

are you talking about Andrew Bynum, who they drafted 2 years ago?

6/1/2007 1:47:40 AM

I'm not sure. Just relaying what I overheard in a bar earlier tonight.

(Like that time you PMed me stuff to stay... )

But seriously, my understanding is that they don't get many lottos (or something), and they wasted one on a high school kid...?

[Edited on June 1, 2007 at 1:51 AM. Reason : smiley]

6/1/2007 1:49:48 AM

Kobe was a high school kid...Lebron was a high school kid...etc


Kevin Garnett...Tracy McGrady...Amare Stoudamire...a lot of the best players in the league

6/1/2007 1:51:20 AM

I know, but didn't UConn consider him a "project?"

You do have to gamble in this sport, but not like that...right?

6/1/2007 1:52:49 AM