The 'Kobe Bryant Will Leave The LA Lakers' thread

The Bulls work well because they play great teamwork. Kobe would ruin that.
Last season, there were so many times when Kobe's teammates looked surprised when he passed the ball to them. Like they didn't expect the pass and usually a turnover would result.
I like Kobe, sometimes, but he ruins teams.

 

Big Game, you are a Kobe fan. That's fine. Your criticisms of my posting and your claim that I have lost my ability to discuss Kobe objectively would seem to suggest that I might fit the profile to be ignored by you. Feel free to do so. I often choose that option with you, I just do so without using the ignore button. You want to protect Kobe, so I am your 'sworn enemy.' I believe the audience is aware of our respective stances on He Who Outed Shaq to the Police.

I have heard a number of die-hard Lakers fans saying that in the wake of Kobe's insistence to be traded these past few days, they are giving up on the All-Star MVP. And I'm talking about people who were total 'ride-or-die' Kobe fans.

I do agree that the Lakers will survive just fine without Kobe, as they did before he first entered the league. The fans who have the illogical attachment to Bryant in the wake of the Shaq-Kobe split are the ones that worry me. It is looking as though Kobe is out as the Laker #1 and he doesn't have anything to show for it but a duo of first round exits, while Shaq is brandishing another championship ring. That is, Shaq won and Kobe lost their feud, and the whole world knows it.

I understand your distress at the situation you and other Bryant fans find yourself in. The "Good Ship Kobe" is taking on increasing water by the day, and you all's arms are getting tired from working the buckets to dump the water back overboard. My advice: Batten down the hatches because it ain't going to be getting easier anytime soon. Kobe is a walking Murphy's Law of PR.

Of course, you and other Bulls fans hope that the Bulls give up the least amount so that Kobe (and the Bulls) have the maximum opportunity to get Kobe his cherished post-Shaq ring. In fact, Kobe may be purposely driving down the Lakers' leverage so that Kupchack and crew get reamed in negotiations. That is, so Bryant's new team has as many good players left for Kobe to play with as possible. Kobe employing such a tactic makes sense to me, even though one apparently has to cede common sense, consistency and dignity when utilizing it.

I stand by what I said about the Bulls' chances as Team Kobe. Detroit laid an ass-whipping on the Bulls like what hasn't been seen in some time. So, I'm good with picking Detroit over the Bulls for now. Last time I checked, Tay Prince shut that ass down one-on-one.

We all saw what Cleveland did this year. I'm not ready to pick the Bulls over the defending Eastern Conference champion. They do need a lot of work, but their main cog is much younger, stronger and healthier than Kobe has been. So I'm ok with that pick as well.

I'm also ok with picking the Heat over the Bulls. The Heat got eaten up by them this year, but that was with Wade as a shell of himself. Shaq will be older, but he will still tear up a soft CHI front line, at least as it is presently constructed. Just as he showed he could do this playoff year. The Heat need to get younger and more athletic, we'll see how that works out. But in my mind, Dwayne Wade is the best player in the NBA, not Kobe. Advantage Heat. We'll have to see how the rest of the teams' rosters shake-out, but I'm still ok taking the Heat over the Bulls for now.

I guess we'll have to see how the Lakers do in their negotiations with the Bulls, if that is how things end up going. A lot will be determined by those potential negotiations. If the Lakers get taken to the cleaners, perhaps CHI could make a run soon. Perhaps.

Of course, if the Bulls were to advance to the Finals, they would face a likely-superior Western Conference foe. That is my ultimate trump card here. I just don't see any Eastern team defeating a Western one right now. The Heat were an exception because of their toughness and because of Wade. And Dallas still had to gag for the Heat to win.

Kobe to Phoenix? Sure, another loaded team to buoy the championship hopes of Kobe fans everywhere. I would be stunned if this deal occurred, but never say never. From Jack McCallum's book you don't get the sense that Phoenix's coaching staff or its players care much for Bryant. And Phoenix is one of the arenas where Kobe is booed every time he touches the ball. I'm not feeling very secure about this deal happening.

And finally, I subscribe to what Riddick is saying here, the 'subtraction by addition' theory. Kobe alienates teammates, and kills team chemistry. I'm very convinced that any team Kobe goes to will end up being less than the sum of its parts. Kobe's diva nature is well-documented, and I'm not sure that will be changing as he goes to become 'the man' on another team. Particularly with a coach like Skiles, who won't give an inch to Bryant's hijinks.

I guess we'll see. Thanks for joining in with your Bucher-esque take on the subject, as well as your assessment of my writing. You can be assured that I will give both of your opinions the weight which they deserve.

 

That team would be great ... if the Lakers' goal were to win the draft lottery next year.

 

Well...NOW I know why Lakers nose bleed seats never made their way on to the Price is Right...

 

It isn't that this thread won't end well, it's that because the Lakers are involved that this thread will not end AT ALL!

 

Common sense Rok(I asked this to my 7 year old sister and she answered it correctly):
Do you need talent to win? Yes

Ok, here are some big boy questions:
Does Kobe have talent to win? Hell to the motherfucking no.

Was he the reason why all the talent(Shaq) left? No(Shaq has already said this).


P.S. I love how you say "OH, THE LAKERS WERE FINE BEEEEEFOOOOOOOORE KOBE". In case you haven't noticed Rok:
THEY WON 3 RINGS WITH HIM THERE! 3!

Oh please, Kobe tried that "Im gonna be passive" stuff for most of the year, remember? The Lakers would've missed the playoffs if he hadn't gone off.



EDIT: If the Bulls end up getting that team....holy crap. They'd probably reach the Finals every year. And please stop this "Kobe isn't willing to pass" stuff. He's already shown that the past 2 years. Watch some bball before making that kind of statement.

 

Isiah will give up Quentin Richardson, Channing Frye, David Lee, Jammal Crawford, cash and draft picks for Kobe.

 

I can't see Isiah and Kobe getting along really well, although from a marketing standpoint, it would make major $$$ for both sides. As a Pistons fan, I'd rather see him in New York than Chicago. The Bulls will become the instant-power of the East unless the Pistons or Cavs can pull something major.

 

What would the ballhogging factor be on Kobe and Marbury starting together in the same backcourt? Would the other three starters ever have to worry about catching a pass?

 

Just because you say it in a pretentious manner doesn't make your opinion, right. Get over yourself for a second.
And, obviously, you didn't read my entire post. If you had, you would've come away with the fact that I'm a Laker fan, above all else. I even stated that Kobe is not bigger than the franchise. Yet you twist my words around for those who may only decide to read your posts, in order to make me look bad. Those are the tactics of a lazy debater (i.e., you personally attack someone, re-state your own arguments and ignore the other person's points and hope that everyone will forget what the other person said). I never said Kobe Bryant was completely innocent in the situation. I just said he gets an inordinate amount of blame and that Shaq should share in some of that.

Finally, I'm not going to hit the "Ignore" button on you just because you disagree with me. That's childish. If you don't want to interact with me anymore, then by all means don't. I know 75 percent of the people on this thread despise Bryant and they state their opinions. However, I focused on you because you started this thread (and a few other Kobe-centric threads that seem to go nowhere). If you can't take someone disagreeing with you, then by all means, "Ignore" me. But, I think we're all adults here and we can handle someone challenging our opinion. At least I'd hope so.

 

By the way Rok ... the only part of my post directed at you was the first sentence where I stated that it's obvious that you have an obsession with Bryant. If you deny it, all I have to do is see how many Kobe-centric threads you've started and how many individual posts you've written with Bryant as the subject. Deny the obsession all you want, but I'm sure the actual numbers would state otherwise. But, that was all I said about you.
The rest of my post was just stating my opinion on the situation.

 

...and draft USC rental O.J. Mayo...