The guy is a pure competitor and wants to win plain and simple. He's not content with losing like K.G. or some others have been throughout their career just to be "a nice guy". Not trading for kid by giving up Bynum was selfish of the lakers and what they are doing "building a secure future" is a slap in the face to kobe. The roster is complete joke.

6/20/2007 2:40:15 AM

Quote :

""Andrew Bynum? What the f---?" Bryant says in disgust. "Are you kidding me? Andrew Bynum? F---ing ship his ass out. Are you kidding me? We're talking about Jason Kidd. But they didn't even want to do that. Now we're here in this f---ed up position." The tandem then asked Bryant what he thought about Bynum's potential. Bryant smiled and started to shake his head as if he was about to go on another tirade. "You know what man? Let me tell you something. Mitch Kupchak had the nerve to ask me..." At this point the 24-second video clip ends abruptly and we are left to wonder what Bryant says next. "The Kobe Video Guys" say that Bryant went on to say, "How good do you think Andrew Bynum is going to be in 10 years? Are you f---ing kidding me? I'm trying to win this s--- now." A week later the duo again ran into Bryant in Newport Beach, after he had made his trade demands public, and pulled out a cell phone and recorded one of them telling Bryant, "Please tell us you're staying." Bryant responded by saying, "Get a Bulls uniform fellas.""

6/20/2007 11:00:01 AM

First of all, I hate Kobe. I hate how he carries himself, acts, and his arrogance. But he is a hell of an athlete and Bball player.

I like the idea of him bieng traded. I think LA's office has fucked up since the Shaq/Kobe days. However, I don't like the idea of him being a Bull. I can see and hear the MJ references already.

Also, what kind of team will Kobe have if traded there...won't they have to ship the whole team, the cheerleaders, and the mascot to match his ability/skill/charisma on the court?


III

6/20/2007 11:39:24 AM

i just know one thing

if he goes to the bulls theyre gonna be a decent team to use in NBA2k8

6/20/2007 12:00:21 PM

^^ it would almost certainly have to be a 3 team deal to move him and then the lakers still wouldnt get value.

6/20/2007 12:19:33 PM

I could happen...just look at the KG rumor going on

Looks like Boston is going to just unload with 3 or 4 current players / the #5 pick / and a future player to be named later to get KG to boston to play with Paul Pierce

6/20/2007 12:26:53 PM

^So is there a 3rd team in play? What 3 players would the Bulls be trying to send?



III

6/20/2007 12:27:33 PM

Quote :

"Scenario 1 Arenas isn't Kobe, in talent or stardom. But he is from Los Angeles, he's more than three years younger, he has great magnetism and, like Bryant, he can fill the seats. With Arenas saying he'll opt out of his contract with Washington next summer, the Wizards might want to start looking at ways to move him now before running the risk of losing him for nothing. Here's one potential trade, with Bryant headed to Chicago and Arenas to L.A. The Bulls would send Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown (sign-and-trade) to Washington, and the No. 9 pick to L.A. The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago. The Wizards would send Arenas and Etan Thomas to L.A. Under that scenario, which couldn't be completed until mid-July, the Lakers would get a star player (Arenas) and a high draft pick (No. 9) that, I'm told, they'd use to get Yi Jianlian if he's still on the board. The Bulls would be paying a very high price for Kobe -- two high lottery picks and this year's No. 9. But Chicago would keep Deng, something it desperately wants to do. On the other hand, the Bulls still wouldn't have a low-post scorer. The Wizards would avoid having to break the bank for Arenas next summer, would bring in two very talented young players and would get some serious cap relief down the road. Scenario 2 A similar trade could work if the Lakers were willing to substitute Boston and Pierce. While Pierce is almost 30 years old, I'm told the Lakers like him -- and he's from L.A., too. The Bulls would send Gordon, Thomas and Brown (sign-and-trade) to Boston, and the No. 9 pick to L.A. The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago. The Celtics would send Pierce to L.A. That deal would make the Celtics even younger than they already are, but it would also give them plenty of assets to continue making deals."

It would be a dream come true if these guys can move on

6/20/2007 12:36:00 PM

Interesting and really makes sense...I think I rather see Kobe in Boston than Chicago....But damn if he went to Boston he would have no team. At least with Chicago he would have Wallace and the white boy who shoot 3's.


III

6/20/2007 12:41:26 PM

yea no point in going from shit to shittier

6/20/2007 3:40:23 PM

plus chicago has deng

6/20/2007 3:42:26 PM

get ready for

6/20/2007 6:47:37 PM

More like:



Since the Lakers have no intention of trading him.

6/20/2007 6:55:31 PM

Yeah I don't really think he's going anywhere either. It's impossible to equal value.

6/20/2007 6:56:48 PM

^yeah thats why they didnt trade shaq for odom, butler, and grant

oh wait.....

6/20/2007 6:58:27 PM

Jerry Buss actually wanted to trade Shaq. He did it to make Kobe happy.

He doesn't want to trade Kobe, so it won't happen. If Kobe threatens to sit out the year, Buss will call his bluff.

6/20/2007 7:06:38 PM

Kobe knows what he is doing,

he knows his lakers are shitty and he just watched "The King " take a shitty team to the Finals in the East

Kobe is going to force them to trade him

and he knows he gets to pick where he goes

and the best team for him in the East right now is the bulls

KOBE WILL BE A BULL NEXT SEASON

6/20/2007 8:30:21 PM

So how exactly is Kobe gonna force them to trade him?

By crying to the press? By threatening to sit out the season?

He doesn't have any leverage. And there are no trades out there that would make the Lakers happy.

6/20/2007 11:14:07 PM

^^Stop posting already.

Kobe has no clue what he is doing as shown by one day he wants to be traded and then the next does not and says everything is fine.

[Edited on June 20, 2007 at 11:19 PM. Reason : Isn't this guy one of our football players???]

6/20/2007 11:19:14 PM

Hypothetically, could one of these greedy idiots renegotiate a new deal and take a financial hit. For instance could Kobe, if he so badly wanted to get out of LA, renegotiate a new deal in Chicago for whatever they could manage, like 12-15M/year, or would making that little amount of money (joke) be a bruise to his ego and completely out of the question.

6/20/2007 11:23:43 PM

I'm pretty sure basketball contracts are set in stone, at least compared to football contracts.

6/20/2007 11:25:22 PM

^Not really. Business reality will lead to them letting him out of his contract if he wants to -- they are not going to pay the league max to someone who is not going to play.

6/20/2007 11:32:09 PM

yes they will, because the NBA has guaranteed contracts

6/20/2007 11:34:28 PM

Yea yea, I know the Lakers are screwed, I mean if nothing gets worked out, Kobe would be with LA and the Lakers would be required to pay him I think 19M next season, and at least that the year after before Kobe could option out. But could Kobe in essence, void his deal, to get out of LA, and take a lower salary of whatever the Bulls could afford??

6/20/2007 11:36:52 PM

^^ Obviously, they would trade him instead of pay him to do nothing.

6/20/2007 11:43:36 PM

im just saying there have been players who had career ending injuries and still collected the final years salaries on their contracts for doing essentially jack shit except for getting into the contracts in the first place

6/20/2007 11:47:35 PM

^ larry johnson

6/20/2007 11:49:51 PM

Quote :

"they are not going to pay the league max to someone who is not going to play."

Likewise, Kobe is not gonna sit out one of his prime years demanding a trade.

If it were to come to that, I think that Kobe has more to lose and would blink first.

6/20/2007 11:50:40 PM

I don't think Kobe has ever said that he refuses to play for the Lakers if they don't trade him. But he probably won't be as effective as he can be. Reference Vince Carter in Toronto for more details.

6/21/2007 12:04:53 AM

^^ He already believes he is wasting his prime years. That's why he wants a trade. He certainly doesn't have much to lose monetarily, and his actions indicate that he believes he has little to lose, already.

The Lakers, on the other hand, sell out because people come to see him play his hardest.

If he did come back disgruntled, it would be a vince carter type situation where he is phoning it in.

6/21/2007 12:09:38 AM

I dont see how anyone could possibly blame Kobe for all this.

Ive never cared for the guy either but he gave the Lakers THREE years to build a team and its obvious they are incapable of doing it.

They don't have many trade assets and the only one they have they are unwilling to move.

Their cap situation is fucked up beyond repair.

The Lakers cant keep Bynum AND Kobe that makes no sense. If they are unwilling to move Bynum that means they should trade Kobe. Its that simple.

6/21/2007 12:49:09 AM

I blame Kobe for being a whiny bitch. Sure, the Lakers fucked up in free agency, no argument here. But Kobe is pulling a bitch move by demanding a trade. He signed a contract, and he should honor that contract.

There are plenty of stars in the NBA who play for bad teams without whining about it or throwing management and teammates under the bus.

6/21/2007 1:02:30 AM

honestly i dont blame kobe for being pissed....he doesnt really have anyone around him...also la isnt just another regular basketball city....its a big city...its almost like the yankees of basketball...

6/21/2007 3:13:18 AM

Quote :

"There are plenty of stars in the NBA who play for bad teams without whining about it or throwing management and teammates under the bus."

Yeah, they're called "losers." They picked money over winning. They are also chumps who, instead of being the controllers of their own fate, let themselves be controlled by circumstance.

The Lakers management deserves to be thrown under the bus, and his teammates are big boys. In ANY job, no sane person would stay in a crappy situation because they didn't want to hurt the feelings of their coworkers. Suddenly, you don't want Kobe to do what everyone else would do?

One thing you'll learn once you get into the real world is that what's written down is not gospel. The best, most popular player in the league has the bargaining power to get out of his contract. He knows this and is rationally exercising his power to get a better situation for himself. Most players don't have this kind of power.

And when management makes contracts with megastars like Kobe, they know their position is not as secure as with other players. It's a risk they have to live with but a risk they can control by treating their player well.

[Edited on June 21, 2007 at 3:28 AM. Reason : a]

6/21/2007 3:13:39 AM

^Exactly

Prawn star, Shut the fuck up, it sounds like you are the bitch that is whining.

You just hate Kobe cause he is the best and that is your only reason. You never have any input that makes any sense whatsoever. I was beginning to wonder if you were some 10 year old who gets on his daddy's wolfweb name and displays his own ignorance

6/21/2007 9:42:35 AM

yeah regardless of what you think of Kobe's attitude, dude wants to win...one thing you canNOT say about Kobe is that "he's only playing for the money"

6/21/2007 9:59:07 AM

Even tho I hate Kobe, I feel he doing the right thing. It bothers me to see a great athlete, a star, sit and struggle with a team and no one in the offices do anything to help that person. I see KG and I am just troubled at how the Timberwolves still exist...KG has had no support. Then I look at Boston with P. Pierce - they trade anyone that he relies on for support to win.



III

6/21/2007 10:27:02 AM

lets just get rid of the Timberwolves and maybe the....Grizzlies

then make a team with Kobe, Pierce, Gasol and Garnett...ballin!

6/21/2007 10:28:11 AM

^Totally down for it...


III

6/21/2007 11:04:17 AM

do you have a signature setup or do you take the time to write out


III

everytime

6/21/2007 11:08:42 AM

Take time to write it out each time.


III

6/21/2007 2:27:10 PM

i bet if you had as many posts as me you wouldnt type it out everytime

6/21/2007 2:48:37 PM

attn: mchale...plz to unite the big ticket and the truth

6/21/2007 2:59:55 PM

Quote :

"^Exactly Prawn star, Shut the fuck up, it sounds like you are the bitch that is whining. You just hate Kobe cause he is the best and that is your only reason. You never have any input that makes any sense whatsoever. I was beginning to wonder if you were some 10 year old who gets on his daddy's wolfweb name and displays his own ignorance"

Does anyone else not find this post funny? This guy is on the same level as Earl when it comes to Sports Talk.

6/21/2007 3:28:53 PM

Its Willie Young

6/21/2007 3:40:24 PM

Kobe is the best player in the league

he is also a firey competitor, much like Mj who many say is the most competitive person they have ever met.

Kobe watched LeBron get in the Finals with nothing and said, "Screw being in the West, I can do it with anyone in the East"

He has the leverage to pick the team and conference he wants

If they get a decent offer that will open the door, but I think it will take 3 teams

6/21/2007 4:27:30 PM

^^^I LOL'd when I read it

[Edited on June 21, 2007 at 4:28 PM. Reason : 2]

6/21/2007 4:27:50 PM

^^ Hunt... I agree Lebron didn't have the roster that Jordan had, but some of us are overdoing it when we say that he had nothing. Don't forget, his TEAM was one of the best defensive teams and that is a big reason how they got to the finals.

Also, there are some very good players on that team starting with Gooden (pretty consistent), Big Z is aite, Hughes when he wasn't injured, Marshall hitting big shots, and Gibson who played his ass off in the east.

6/21/2007 5:04:00 PM

Quote :

"Also, there are some very good players on that team starting with Gooden (pretty consistent), Big Z is aite, Hughes when he wasn't injured, Marshall hitting big shots, and Gibson who played his ass off in the east."

You overdid it a little there man.

They've been trying to trade Gooden for two straight years with no bites. He sucks on defense. His only skill is rebounding and that he manages to hit just enough jumpers to ALMOST average 10 ppg.

Zydrunas is alright as long as he's playing against teams with no interior players. (See Toronto and NJ). He sucked against Detroit and San Antonio (sans game 1 vs Det...) He's too slow and Lebron needs to be surrounded by guys who can get up and down the court a little more.

Hughes is a decent player because he's such a terrific defender. However, he's got about 15 feet of range so he's a terrible fit offensively with Lebron. Lebron's strength is freeing up outside shots for shooters and Hughes is anything but a shooter. Hughes has played well for all of about 20 regular season games in the past two seasons and maybe ~4-5 games in the postseason. This is a guy making like $14 million a season for gods sake.

Marshall hitting big shots is just blatantly false. He had ONE good shooting performance the entire playoffs. Remember the 0-3's every night and even the 0-7? He is an atrocious rebounder and his outside shooting has totally left him I always thought this guy was underrated but he died about 2 years ago apparentally.

Daniel Gibson lets be honest here. He was absolutely HUGE in game 6 but other than that he was a borderline non factor in the playoffs. I wouldnt let one brilliant shooting performance fool you into thinking he's a legitimate NBA starter.

6/21/2007 6:44:48 PM

In his defense he would be starting for the cavs, which isnt a stretch for anyone.

6/21/2007 6:50:38 PM