VERY colo gesture by Kobe, indeed. I wonder if the number of students he chose had to do with his old number 8? hmm...

what's the url for kcal9's website

ELDER STATESMAN KOBE -

Hey I posted this before but it was at the very end of a thread and may have been overlooked.

Do you realize that except for McKie (who is likely on his way out) and new guy Shammond, Kobe is now the OLDEST player on the Lakers? Wow, times change quickly.

lakofan, you're not serious right?

Jayjay,

Remember 10 years ago, KB has this afro look, no tattoos on his body and very amiable kid. There is a complete attendance from the Bryant family in every game he played including in the summer league with Fisher at the Pyramid. When the season started the family followed him at the Great Western Forum. Jelly bean Bryant became a byword oltimer because of his famous son.

That's a noble way of inculcating to these American teens the italian values Kobe learned in his youth. If Kobe did not come back Merion High, PA, he could have been an international player, playing in the NBA or perhaps, representing Italy in this FIBA games.

The two biggst lunkheads in the league bumping heads, and on Christmas no less, again. Karma is a good thing.

Lakofan's comment was hilarious! And so was Elyse's calendar comment. LOL

Congrats to the 8 people, I'm sure the international experience will teach them a whole lot.

I think this is a great gesture. BUT, I remember Chick always "leaking" news of Kobe's charitable efforts back when Kobe was trying to keep it on the down-low. So, anyone who wants to paint this as some sort of repair-image thing, should really look back and see that Kobe has always been about the kids. That was one of the few things that both he and Shaq had in common.

Fearless,

I was thinking the same thing, this is nothing new to Kobe. But a lot of people are getting caught up in this "Kobe image repair" thing.

dan

Lakofan - Thanks for your pics. I guess Nike was behind this event. Do you know where this was happening?
Did you see the youtube link in which Kobe was kicking a soccer ball in the net? That was a real nice shot. It can explain us where he's got some quick moves.
Nash (learned it in Vancouver, Canada) and Dirk N. (in Germany) also used to play soccer, sometimes, in Dallas. In LA, I'm sure you can add Ronny(coming from France - Martinique) and Shammond (coming from Barcelona) can show some moves too.
That's it for today. Now, we go back to basketball.

LakerTom, Edwin Gueco - Guys, Do you think that we can expect from Mitch K. some big movements in our roster before Hawaï, despite Mihm and Cook surgeries? They are our main baits. And what about some moves after the beginning of the season?.
GO

Guy Owanlele,

It was in Hollywood, the pics say Hollywood and Highland, it was a rally to welcome FC Barcelona, and it was sponsor by nike.

But Kobe in an interview said he was a fan of FC Barcelona and a fan of Ronaldinho and Rafa Marquez.

I did see that commercial, I actually saw it on television. I saw the one about the nike soccer chain. Where Kobe does tricks with the soccer ball.

And by the look of this pic: http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/71593129.jpg?v=1&c=MS_GINS&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF193875DCB1DD8387ABB3E3B0C6E93937960 they are exchanging numbers, that's cool, like I said before the best soccer player and the best basketball player interacting is great.

Great gesture by Kobe, once again. We can think this or that about him, but the experience those kids get more than outweighs his at-large public image.

Guy O.

"Do you think we can expect from Mitch K. somebig movements in our roster before Hawaii despite Mihm and Cook surgeries? Any other moves at the beginning of the season."

Frankly, when you mentioned our Laker GM Mitch Cupcake, I'm completely BLANK and so with this blog. We don't really know what he has in his mind, there seems to be no excitement on Harrington deal in the Front Office except this blog. Well, the Warriors and T'Wolves as well as the Pacers have expressed their serious desire in their pursuits as reported in basketball news websites but with regards to the Lakers, the only stories we get is Kobe's generous offer for the teens to visit Italia.

In fact, Lakers missed the boat on a veteran PG, Steve Blake. All the while even this blog thought that the only time the Blazers would release Blake is to accompany it with Darius Miles. This week, there was a trade sending Blake plus two centers to Bucks in exchange of Magloire. I think Mihm is better than Magloire. Perhaps, Mitch K. did not really intend to shop for a veteran PG because he thinks we have enough PG in our roster. So far, the Lakers have still 18 players and they have to cut it down to 15 but only 12 can play, when is this going to happen? Nobody knows, we can speculate it for the next two months.

So Guy O, don't be surprised if there will be no more activity in the Lakers till next year.

Steven, self proclaimed truth-

Going abroad and learning about other cultures is invaluable. Maybe if more people within our own country had an appreciation for other cultures and a better understanding of the importance of being tolerant of differences, we might be able to aviod some of the present conflicts we are currently engaged in. Being bitter because Kobe is doing what he can to give people the understanding that he got by living in Italy, to people who otherwise would not have that opportunity is a wonderful thing, and has nothing to do with "image" or "corporate america". Image repair comes when he scores 81 points, not when he sends 8 kids to Italy. As admirable as it is, few people will read about it.

Elyse

The other truth

Elyse,

I totally agree with you, learning other cultures is great and it helps understand how other people think and act.
--------------------------

I don't know if someone posted this already:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-adande6aug06,1,5061180.column?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true

It's about yesterday's event of FC Barcelona and Kobe's presences.

I am glad Kobe is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, it's about time for him to start enjoying his life and career.

I admire Kobe's dedication even if he can't work out his knee, he works his upper body and does all these exercises without hurting his knee. That's dedication, not having the excuse of well I just had surgery so I'll rest, Kobe is not like that, he continues to work hard even after surgery.

First of all, people with money don't owe people without money anything. At all. Kobe is in a unique situation where he gets paid millions of dollars to play basketball, and whether it was through genetics, luck, training or unrelentless training, it's his money.

Kobe doing this is a great gesture, regardless of just *how* much he is doing.

Dan,

That is what makes me grateful that we have Stew. He's the only guy on the air that still mentions Chic and the stuff he brought to the broadcasts. It always seems like the other announcers are trying to forget about him.

That annoys me, because they all have a little bit of Chic in them. They can't help it -- he defined the position. He, Vin, and those guys from San Diego and Chicago are all the pioneers. I think they should just admit his contributions and accept who they are, followers.

The first year after he passed, no one used any Chick-isms. I've started to hear a few creap back into their vernaculars.

I'm really glad we have Stew. I think someone should tell him how important he is to keeping Chick's memory alive.

--Fearless

Guys,

Have you seen that teams can now bring all 15 of their players into the playoffs? They can also choose which 12 play BEFORE EVERY GAME. This is exactly what Phil complained about after the Phoenix series because of the effects of injuries he was battling with. This makes a real difference to how the playoffs will run. This makes the decision on which players to cut much, much harder because even the old crusty guys on the team are suddenly more valuable if they have past playoff experience. Having that choice last season may have saved us from the Smush melt-down.

--Fearless

Fearless,

Stew is definetly cool. Chick taught him well. They were a dynamic duo if there ever was one!
It's interesting, the role that Stew has now. When Chick was here, Stew was in the back seat. In the years since Chick died, he has had to step up and become the teams top radio-man. And through the last few years we have seen a different side of him. One that makes me appriciate him that much more.

dan

This is an article of Kobe's presentation yesterday with Barcelona(in FC Barcelona's website) there pictures and comments, but one thing the English translation is not as good as the original Spanish one.

English article:

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/noticias/noticias/n06080603.shtml

Spanish:
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/esp/noticias/noticias/n06080603.shtml

In the spanish one it says:

Muy probablemente, los dos mejores jugadores del mundo de baloncesto y de fútbol, Bryant y Ronaldinho, estaban juntos, haciendo con la mano el gesto característico del crack brasileño. El desparpajo del líder de los Lakers, muy acostumbrado a este tipos de actos promocionales (éste estaba organizado por Nike), ha conectado rápidamente con el crack del Barça. Ambos, que no se conocían previamente, han acabado intercambiándose el número de móvil.

It says:
Probably the best player in soccer and basketball were together making the traditional sign of barca fans. The leader of the Lakers Kobe Bryant is used to all these kinds of promotional presentations(this one sponsor by nike). He has made an instant connection with Ronaldinho. They had never met before, but have finished exchanging cell phone numbers.

mientras Kobe Bryant, escondido bajo unas gafas de sol gigantes y vestido con una camiseta promocional de la gira con el nombre de 'Ronaldinho' a la espalda, esperaba en una punta de la tarima.

Meanwhile Kobe Bryant was hidding behind his big sunglasses and wearing a promotional tour t-shirt with "Ronaldinho" on the back, he was waiting on the stage corner( while the Barcelona players were talking to the crowd.)

I translated these paragraphs because their English translation was not written the same way, it was a different spin to it.

Steven may be a Kobe hatin', Shaq lovin', broke-backer (most of you) hatin' fan of NBA basketball, but apart from disagreeing with his assessment of Shaq's value as a reserve L.A.P.D. officer and Kobe's good turn with the eight children, I'm finding it difficult to see where the vitriol is coming from on this matter.

In my view, a core part of the problem is underscored in Elyse's comment: "Image repair comes when he (Kobe) scores 81 points, not when he sends eight kids to Italy". Really?

Petrie is a genius who may have called a bluff and is preparing to rake em' in, although I am still in the dark about Bonzi. Before all is said and done, could there be a sign and trade in his future?

Could it be that you'll end up with Bonzi for any two; Bynum, Mihm or Kwame?

cbs2 aired an interview with Kobe today:

http://cbs2.com/video/?cid=92 it's the second video, ah and there's an interview with Mr.O'neal, I didn't listen to that one.

Kobe talks about the schools he will open, high tech schools, also about team USA, his surgery.

Faith,

I used to like Joel until I heard about how he stabbed Paul Sunderland in the back to get the gig. I thought it was poetic that after all that, he didn't broadcast the 81-point game.

I thought that Paul was improving and had reached the level of competence of Joel, anyway. But, business is business. Karma is Karma, too. We must all remember that.

--Fearless

here's one you guys will find funny...lolz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8k3vRoC-jY

Summer school is over. The report card is in the mailbox.

http://lakernoise.blogspot.com/

Roland Lazenby
author of The Show

Faith - You can't be wrong in our/your blog. You're a member of the laker fan family that the only important thing!!
Yes, Mitch K. can't tell us his plan. But currently, I really don't see where he's going to. That's why I was asking to Edwin G. his view. Again there're still many dark clouds. Are we playing for a championship or waiting for a future nice roster...? I mean after 2008 when the salary cap would be more lighter.
In the past years, our likely trades were easy to guess. After the shaq's departure, our moves seem difficult to predict. Kobe's body begins to suffer a lot. Our best player is 28 years old with 10 or 11 seasons. Despite, his work ethic, love for the game... he won't be the same productve guy every year. We need some hungry players to support him. Mitch K., do you read this blog?

GO

Thank you Roland, the author for another inspiring article about the two coaches who are now in the autumn of their lives namely: Phil Jackson and Tex Winter. This is a MUST READ by any Laker fan who is interested to knoe the kind of preparation coaches do during offseason. This is the time when they plan their personnel, the strategies and reviewing the past performances both the previous team and summer league applicants.

It is not that I would like to promote the need of improving our line-up by being active in getting Al Harrington, the article expounded by Roland shows that there are still large holes to fill in this team. I suspect that there are two forces clashing within the Laker organization today. One faction may want to improve the team dramatically to support the waning years of Phil and Kobe to give them support at the height of their prime, while the other faction wants to continue in experimentation hoping that developing players would eventually jell, continue investing less until they clear large salaries while letting the prevailing players grow in the triangle system and absorb team philosophy. Roland mentioned the case of Devean George that despite of his athleticism and major contributions to some Laker victories, overall, he had a luckluster career with the Lakers. It is the same outlook with Bryant Cook who is 6'10" and a set-up shooter but other than that, he could not provide a decent defense that could swat a pesky power guards on his way. Tex liked our new draftees like Farmar and Pinnock but both needed time and exposure in the NBA before they could fully be productive. What makes it difficult to analyze are the players that are still unknown tho'they will perform major roles in defense and in filling out the inadequasies of Smush and Sasha in the point guard positions like Maurice Evans and Shammond Williams.

I wonder whether Mitch and Ron gave more attention on the inputs of their coaches when choosing their draftees and F/A. I guess I am pretty bias when I say that they represent the family interest first, which determines their continued tenure rather than risk their tenure by fighting for the real needs of the team. Just an opinion.

WoW, Tex Winter really knows his stuff,

First of all I agree about Pinnock, he is a "keeper" and he will help the team, so their is no need to sign Kareem Rush. I just think the Lakers were and continue to be lucky to have a gut like Tex around.

This is a note mentioning that Kobe was going to welcome fc barcelona on Saturday. I think it's great promotion for Kobe and the Lakers. FC Barcelona is famous around the world(the best team) and like the article notes, the picture of Kobe and Ronaldinho will make its rounds around the world.

http://www.fcbarcelona.cat/esp/noticias/noticias/n06080420.shtml

By the way Kobe was at today's game, he was shown on TV.

Sixonezero,

R u Serious about trading LO KB to Indiana Pacers for Jermaine Oneal and J.? No way that's gonna happen, man, LO is way too valuable 2 trade these year. Hopefully they'll make a smart a decision about it before they make one. They can trade anyone in Lakers but definitely NOT LO or Kobe though.

Hey Shady,

I'm not endorsing it. For next season at least, I would rather have hung onto Bonzi for sure. He worked up here. Many have said he was the best player on our team last year.

Bonzi has the talent, and should be steady, but who knows when or if he'll shine again. I have a sense that with either the Kings or Brokebacks he will, which is also why, short of acquiring Bynum in exchange, the deal won't go down.

As you know, great GM's (and agents)sometimes do things that baffle the mind. But who knows? Bonzi is a smart, assertive and skilled player (who needs to fire his agent) and who would instantly elevate the Brokebacks to top three in the west.

I'm rooting against it.

Sixonezero,

That rumor is close to impossible cuz' it would discrupt the whole set up. Could you clarify again it might be Mihm and Kwame? huh!

Ronald,

Great link! Man, that insight into Jackson is illuminating. It explains perfectly how Phil was able to so quickly repair the relationship with Kobe. The combination of the Colorado thing and subsequent need to repair his image has set into motion a pre-made "Us against them" situation.

Everyone knows by now that if you wind up in this type of pickle, you want Phil on your side -- whether you acually like him or not.

Kobe is smart enough to immediately realize that. And, it is clear that Kobe was correct.

--Fearless

it was also being talked about on sports talk radio.

No surprises in Roland's column. Bynum and Farmar are both still question marks, and will be for at least another year. At this point, the team has no proven depth, with three of the starters being mediocre at best. That may change if 4-5 of the Lakers make significant improvements during the season, combined with the newly acquired veterans picking up the offense quicker than normal. But it is unlikely that that all of those coin flips will come up heads. And, of course, they can't have any injuries.

Roland's article brings up the Rush question again. Why haven't we done this? I've asked in earlier threads and no one's given an opinion recently. We could have gotten him instead of Shammond for the same amount. Given that the Lakers want to give Kobe more time at the 3, why didn't get Rush for cheap money to slot in at the 2? He already knows the system.

Maybe as Roland says, there's a split in management about this but it really doesn't seem like it should have been that big of a deal for Phil to put his foot down. Was it a situation that the management really needed to justify overseas scouting with some type of purchase for the season?

Dave M.

I think of Bynum more for the future. We must win with the team we have now. If Bynum is not ready, that is even more reason to keep Mihm around at least for this season.

It was always the other way around.

Fearless and Bynum Supporters,
"He won't be coordinated and fluid until after he finishes. He's a good 4-6 years from finishing his last growth spurt."

I dont believe that. Being coordinated is something that is innate and that is learned over years of basketball that's been played. Just because he gets taller doesnt make it harder for him to shoot.

Does that make a high-school sharpshooter any less of a shooter when he grows 5 inches in college?

What about the young ballhandler as a kid, does he all of a sudden lose his dribbling skills as he gets taller and matures?

I would say NO. It's not about height really, it's about skill and developing a fluidity with the game. That is why the best players usually have played since a young age. That is when you spend time just fooling around with the ball, getting comfortable with the game.

They say Hakeem was great and didnt play, but he had played soccer so much that he had fluid footwork. His athletic style was defined.

I dont want to harp on Bynum like I did a month ago and I hate to say "I told you so" but I TOLD YOU SO.

Tex Winter agrees with me at least about the Bynum RED Flags.

Tex like I, remarked at Bynum's surprising lack of gamelong intensity. I suppose the tape shows how Bynum would go long stretches in a summer league game without touching the ball, without fighting position, and just floating on the court.

I'm not sure the kid needs coaching as much as the kid just needs to learn how to play.

Anyway, I hope BYNUM can be a more than serviceable center.

Fearless,

Kobe can't wait 4-6 years. We go to war with what we have. Our starting line up is so much weaker than top teams in the league. So to believe the lakers can be succesful, i.e. win a championship in the near future, is to believe that our man kobe is greater than anything the league has ever seen. I believe this to be true

#24 will carry whatever bunch of fruties cupcake fields on the court.

In Kobe we trust
Go Lakers

***CHECK OUT ROLAND LAZENBY’S BLOG***

Roland Lazenby, who has always been a valuable contributor to the Lakers blog and a big Tex Winter fan apparently now has a complementary blog called "LakerNoise by Roland Lazenby."

Laker fans will find his recent post about the summer pro league interesting as it contains numerous comments by Tex Winter about both Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar. I was a little disappointed by the reality of Tex’s comments but he is probably right.

I think that LakerNoise by Roland Lazenby is more of a complement to the LA Times blog than a competitor and it gives Roland a regular venue on which to share his inside view of the Lakers with us.

Here again is the link to Laker Noise by Roland Lazenby:

http://lakernoise.blogspot.com/

Add it to your list of Laker favorites.

Thanks.

Tom

joninjapan

Kobe will ask for 30+ per year and Kobe will get 30+ per year! If that one big dude would have been in the shape he was in when he started out with Miami he would have been paid too. Players like these are 30+ per year, it just comes with the territory. Granted, these players are VERY RARE, and they can find buyers all around the league. Kobe shouldn't have to cut his salery and he won't have to.

dan

Glenn,

If in a hole season, all you can hold onto is 1 play, something is wrong. I say trade bynum whilst his stock is high. Frankly speaking I say trade anyone not wearing #24 or #8, those are the only two players that are untouchable. Of course we need to get something better in return. Bynum for Lue...umm we ain't crazy....Bynum for Jason Terry...umm they ain't crazy. So looks like the kid is here to say, and that's fine with me. Just tired of hearing about the kid's potential...in the words of cuba gooding jr "show me the money"

In Kobe we trust
Go Lakers

Glenn,
'After a first season in the NBA, including a very exciting but ultimately disappointing playoff series, like Bynum had, perhaps it is possible he may be feeling something akin to a "comedown" playing in the Summer League. "

Bynum better not be. If he feels the Summer League is a comedown after hardly playing at all his rookie season, then he is a guaranteed future disappointment.

Bynum can be the difference...

Andrew could be the difference between getting the franchise back all the way and waiting patiently through early exits. This version of the Lakers is one consistently, contributing vet away from serious contention and Kid B is just the bait to lure one.

Who are all these great centers that took time to develop? Every great center I can think of dominated, some inconsistently at first, immediately. Socks doesn't even look dominating. Kobe looked great shooting air balls in Utah. He's not J Oneill, D Howard is. Oneill didn't develop so much as he just got time which he couldn't get on a team with Sheed. AB got plenty of minutes in summer league and Tex saw what some of us saw.

We all know the game, we know what great players look like, we know the intensity... it's not there with Bynum now. Could it emerge? Can we afford to wait? The answer is, NO, not with Phil looking out the door, Kobe at his peak, and RIles and Co. celebrating while Shaq guarantees back 2 back. No, not while charging a king's ransom to see a game. No, not with the health and longevity of our owner and Jimmy boy in the wings. No, 'cause the Lakers don't settle for middle of the pack mediocrity which, let's face it, is what just making the playoffs is.

4 years? By that time Kobe will be starting his descent, Phil will be gone and B Shaw will be calling time outs. This team needs one more piece and cannot afford to wait to grow one.

Vman,
You go. That's about as concise a summary of the circumstances as I've seen. Like Tex said, "The Lakers face some tough choices."

Roland Lazenby
author of The Show

I have to agree with Vman, about the intensity/attitude. My biggest worry about Bynum is the attitude, he just doesn't seem to want it as much. All else being equal in the nba, attitude is what makes you great. Lord knows Shaq was never really in shape, yet he used his attitude of I'm big and better (and his physique) to dominate (and I can admit that even though I hate Shaq). Like Vman, I'm not sure as it stands we can say the same about Bynum. Now, the trump card is that he's just so young, no one really knows who and what they are at 18...and for that reason alone...I'm willing to hope we see in Bynum what we need to see. Not to say I'm not worried lol. Plus if he did turn out to be that next great center...we'd regret letting him go for sure.

And while it's obvious I'm just as skeptical as Bynum as all of you....let's face facts. Bynum is earning what? Like in the 700,000 range, to like 2 million? (I don't know it exactly, but I know it's a small number)...so trading him for value is out of the question unless it comes with someone else of value. In my opinion, bust or not, as it stands, Bynum is much more valuable than Al Harrington...I mean he was "asked" for during the Artest trade (and in my opinion, as it stands Artest is more valuable than Harrington). I'm all for getting Harrington, but I'm not sure it would be smart to use Bynum to do so.

Fearless, I don't think Kobe can wait 4 years...and let's face it, neither can the franchise. I think it was Eric Pincus (or BK, I'm not sure) that said, we need to be careful toeing the line of winning now and winning later...it's a very thin line. That said, I think our franchise is doing the best it can under the circumstances.

Xodus,

I'm not really sure...I think only time will tell. I will say this though, Bynum is earning 2 million a year (http://www.hoopshype.com/salaries/la_lakers.htm) for that kind of money, I don't think it would hurt us much to get help for the "now" while still keeping him in the loop (in terms of playing time). Now I know it's not realistic to get Harrington, or anyone good for that matter without giving someone up...all I'm saying is that maybe it wouldn't hurt us to still rely on him for the future, while making sure the present is secure. Although I'm well aware that's a tall order to follow.---and since I just said that, I probably lost all credibility LOL.

In any case, as one of the "original" AH to LA supporters (if there ever was one lol)...what made that deal ice to me, is that essentially we'd be giving up noone that is part of the "core" or the future as it were (though I just brought up core again, runnnnnnn lol), since they weren't looking for long term deals. Still maybe you guys are right (after all we're a team of few tradeable commodities, and Bynum might be our biggest one).

Faith,

I understand your thinking and if HoopsHype is correct we won't have significant cap space until the summer of 08 and what we will have won't be enough to sign a big name. And that's only if we don't re-sign key guys like Luke Walton and Ronny Turiaf. I think we need to stop hoping someone will come along and make something happen.

I'm not saying Bynum I want Socks to be traded but I don't think he's untouchable either.