'07 Exit Interview- Phil Jackson
Strap yourselves in. It's long.
PART I- "We didn't finish the season the way we wanted to play ball. The way we expect to play basketball, and that we'll have to make adjustments to again play in the style we did in the first few months of the year." Why? Injuries in part, but not in total. "Our team became disenchanted with the play and the style we played earlier in the year. We have to reclaim that. As for Kobe, PJ knows his frustration. "There's a certain sense of dedication that players have to the game and the responsibility they have. Kobe matches that at all points. Sometimes he overmatches it, and the intensity he brings to the game is sometimes not on a level his teammates can live up to," Jackson said. "The disruptive element is that guys didn't work hard enough. We had some disruptive elements. There was some selfishness that came along with it, and the ultimate responsibility lies with me and with our leadership, which includes Kobe and Lamar." Was he satisfied with his leadership this year? "Obviously not. That's one thing I'm not satisfied with," Jackson said. He was disappointed he couldn't lead them through this season's adversity to a better result.
Interesting stuff in here, too, about what the Lakers need, both in terms of personnel and attitude, to improve. Download phil_jackson_exit_interview_1.mp3
PART II- Jackson dismissed the notion that you need to be a rocket scientist to play for him. "I don't think it takes a tremendous I.Q. to play basketball," he said. "But there is a certain sense of being able to play under duress and pressure that comes from being calm in nature and not frantic." Some of their problems revolved around youth (Editor's Note: The K Brothers are no longer accepting "We're a young team" as an excuse for this bunch not winning. As a group, they've spent too much time in the league to continue repeating that mantra. Frankly, it was a flimsy explanation this season.) and lack of experience, he said. There was a sense of teamwork the team had at the end of last year. "This year we (didn't have) that teamwork attitude, and (we ended up) falling and failing miserably."
Jackson addresses his health and when he'll likely have more hip surgery. It won't likely creep into the start of the season as it did this year. "September might be the best time. I doubt it will be October." In terms of how his health or lack of mobility may have affected this season, "I felt that this group of young men took advantage of me in situations where I wasn't on the court and as aggressive as I could be," he said. "Coaching from the sidelines. Having to sit through some of the practice due to some of the limitations that I had. That irritated me." Jackson said his impact in getting quick results on the practice court was mitigated by his physical issues, something he wants to make sure doesn't happen next season. Was this his toughest year? "I don't even think about it in those terms." Also some comments on how his health could impact the possibility of an extension.
Download phil_jackson_exit_interview_2.mp3
PART III- On the possibility of a major move this offseason: "I think that we'll get something accomplished this year," he said. "Sometimes it's important to understand that just small things can change chemistry in teams. A quality of player here or there sometimes makes the difference in the chemistry of the team. I don't think radical things sometimes are possible in this game." Jackson was asked about his patience being tested this season. He seemed to acknowledge that his belief that players would grow into their roles with patience was mitigated by the "liberties that this team took," which seems to suggest he didn't quite lay down the iron hard enough. But by any standard, "this year was a step in the wrong direction."
On the type of player they might need to get to the championship level: "Sometimes a role player can make a difference," he said, pointing to Dennis Rodman, who some consider a role player (Jackson doesn't). "We're going to have a different starting lineup to get to another level." It's not a question of one guy, two guys, star player or role players. It's finding the right guys. Injuries also hurt, because it damaged the ability to measure exactly what level the team is capable of reaching, because the roster wasn't playing to their fullest potential. So a lot goes into the offseason evaluations of how to improve the team. Download phil_jackson_exit_interview_3.mp3
PART IV- Jackson discusses Andrew Bynum: "We have to be patient with him, and encourage him to continue to work towards that future that he hopes to have and we hope he has," Jackson said. "He made great strides this year as a player, and showed what potential is there." Then there's Smush: "We were very point blank with Smush in saying we need to go in another direction at this position. We have to get better at this position... We wish him great success." He won't be back. Back to Bynum, and the questions of whether he'll be ready soon to contribute to championship basketball. They're going to be on him this summer to improve, no doubt. In terms of changing the roster, "You have to be prepared to do things that are going to change the team in a way that you don't get locked in a box." Meaning, be flexible.
Priorities? "One, we have to have a big guy that gives us the energy we have to have in that position on a full time basis." Meaning, a big that plays with energy and stays healthy. Then second, the guard play needs to improve. One that makes good decisions, and can keep his man in front of him. Download phil_jackson_exit_interview_4.mp3
PART V- Good lord, this is a long interview...
Phil discusses the state of the team medically, and how important it is to get guys back and healthy. Lots of pressure on the medical staff. And in terms of the criticisms and concerns of Kobe, they're taken into consideration. "We think that we've collaborated well as a group executing things and getting things done." While the team has a wish list, they understand present circumstances may limit the guys who are available. "Bridge the gap," so to speak. For the Lakers, it's a question of finding guys who can fill spaces for them, and plug needs. Not necessarily superstars, but upgrades in team weaknesses. Download phil_jackson_exit_interview_5.mp3
Whew.
BK
"that guys didn't work hard enough."
Is all I needed to know. I'd like to know how that can improve, you can't teach work ethic...it's black and white, either you have it or you don't. Sometimes you can have enough talent that it goes by the wayside (Shaq)...but in our case, that's premier. Our guys need to work, there is no question about it, they need to get their butts in the gym this offseason, and stop feeling "priviledged."
I agree with him that big changes don't have to be made (not that they're not welcome)...but impactful ones. I wrote awhile back that what we really need is a rebounder, well I think that would create the most impact. I feel like the guard position is an equal weakness, but a bit harder to meet lol.
Halfway through the 2nd half of the season, I felt like he lost this team. Really I was waiting for the time, what it would take for PJ to get fired (I didn't want him fired, but whenever you lose control of the team, you get canned, not to mention lose that much games)...and then I realized, for all his flaws, this team isn't that good, and he was doing the best he can. I still feel that there were changes that he could have made, among of which is letting the team know insubordination was not going to fly (Cookie throwing his towel at him, Socks talking heatedly, Smush sulking)...but I understand (I'm sure AK will bring up lol)...that in terms of talent, he needed everyone. At the very least, I think he could have stood firm on 3 point shooting and defense. But that's just me.
Posted by: Faith | May 19, 2007 at 12:55 PM
I hope we've all watched enough of the playoffs to realize something.........Small ball looks good, but can never beat Big ball in a playoff series or win you a championship. If we we don't come into next season with an Inside force..........Sorry, next season will be another sorry letdown.
Please come into next season with something other than the Triangle.....it's not worth it. and secondly........we need a defensive minded coach.
Posted by: Dion | May 19, 2007 at 01:22 PM
Phil Jackson is probably the best basketball coach of all time. Expectations aside, he has nine NBA world championships. BK understands that talent is the major issue on the Lakers roster. It is a wonder that the Suns have three first round draft picks in this upcoming draft (Hawks, Cavs). It is Mitch Cupcake's fault the roster has deteriorated so. It is a matter of fact that if you are not going forwards you are doomed to tread backwards.
B-Davis got traded from the hornets for speedy claxton and marc jackson
J-Kidd could have been had, but trigger wasn’t pulled. Who else thought this current roster couldn't get it done?
Not to mention other countless trades that could have involved Artest, Boozer...plus the Shaq trade could have brought us Dirk or Jermaine O’Neal.
The Lakers organization through the last three decade is arguably the best run franchise in all of sports. Decision making as of late has been very poor. Changes have to be made, and it should start in the front office.
Posted by: Nik | May 19, 2007 at 01:33 PM
ONLY TWO MORE HOURS....
STEVE "BEST PLAYER NEVER TO WIN THE TITLE" NASH
VS.
"I HOOK UP WITH THE SUNS EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME" GREEN GARBAGE BAG
NASH CLEANS OUT HIS LOCKER AGAIN IN MAY!
LAST THREE SEASONS - SUNS - 0 CHAMPIONSHIPS LAKERS - 0 CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIFFERENCE - THESE ARE THE GLORY DAYS OF THE SUNS FRANCHISE
Posted by: Jman449 | May 19, 2007 at 01:45 PM
HAHA
last night was the first time in my life i ever rooted for the spurs
lol
GO TIMMY
god i hate the suns
that nash postgame was hilarious
YESSSSSSSSSSS
Posted by: adam i | May 19, 2007 at 02:03 PM
I wanted to add that this roster needs more defensive minded players, with the exception of Ronny Turiaf and Lamar, every player on the roster including KOBE only play a full complete game if their offense is on point. Trading Bynum is a bad idea, pay the tax Buss, you have Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom on your team, you don't think you can't snag a free agent who will demand their team to do a sign and trade with Kwame's expiring contract, I mean we need a third player, imagine if we traded for boozer (it wouldve taken Butler, and Mihm) a few years ago wow, every good team in the league is three solid players deep, San Antonio (Duncan, Parker, Ginobli), Utah (Deron Williams, Boozer, Kirilenko/Okur), Pistons (Billups, Wallace, Hamilton/Prince), Cavaliers (their team would be a 5th/6th seed in the west not that good), Houston (Yao, Tmac, Battier), Phx (Nash, Amare, Marion), ADD THAT THIRD PLAYER (Ron Artest (Defense Baby), Billups (Nash will be so innefective with him on our team) ).
Posted by: Dirty Rotten Scoundrel | May 19, 2007 at 02:37 PM
I think I got my fill of Phil today.
Posted by: ajax | May 19, 2007 at 02:43 PM
Wow! How can Big Shot keep doing heroic things when he's not on our team any more? My love for this dude just grows. Horry has always been one of my absolute favorite players. Imagine my thrill when he came to the Lakers - the hero that just had thrown a towel in Danny the Dorks face. And now he helps out killing the Suns? Woohoo!
Speaking of the setting Suns, isn't it a load of fun that these guys are such a bunch of obnoxious a-holes? Think about it, it really spices things up. It gets your juices flowing and the games become more fun. Hatred can be such a beautiful thing, when it's in the world of fun and games.
(on someone's request:) Andy L from Sweden!!!
Posted by: Andy L | May 19, 2007 at 04:38 PM
On a more serious note:
I thought our biggest problem was the players we (don't) have. And now this Buss-gate-soap-crap hits us like mace in the face. I know you can't believe everything the media says, but what the hell kind of an idiot is Jim Buss?!? This snot-faced dork could actually kill this once proud franchise! Blood is thicker than water and I'm not sure Dr Pimp can stop this insecure a-hole from destroying this organization. I wish the good Doc could sell the team to Magic or someone with some sense, instead of handing it over to his imbecile son and somewhat unprofessional daughter.
For the first time in the 17-18 years I've been a Lakers fan I've actually considered what to do if that jerk forced away Phil and Kobe. Could I really stay loyal to an organization that did that? And I'm such a loyal sucker it hurts! It would put me in the same situation (if I may overexaggerate just a tad bit) as the non-nazi germans in 1930's Germany!!!
All this just because of one little man's desperate need to show everybody who's the boss - PATHETIC!
Posted by: Andy L | May 19, 2007 at 05:01 PM
Aloha everyone.
Just looking at the last few threads makes me realize just how unrealistic some of my fellow blogers are. We do not have the trading pieces to land 2 all stars i.e Kidd&KG, if we did we might still be playing. When thinking of trades keep in mind that the other team wants to improve as well. And I believe it will be difficult to go from this years team to the finals in one year. Management likes to say we are one player away, if you believe that i have some land here in Hawaii on the volcano that you maybe interested in buying. That said I really believe we can make real progress this year. All the injuries had another effect, they made it more difficult to truely measure where we are as a team but I do believe 5 things need to happen for us to grow.
1. Lamar has to return to his pre injury leval. He was playing at an all star leval and that was one of the main reasons we got off to a hot start. He presents a matchup problem for almost every team in the league.
2. We need to land one impact player. By impact I do not mean a super star because too many other teams have more to offer in a trade. I consider the following as examples of impact players:
Gerald Wallace- sign and trade
Mo Williams- Sign and trade
Ron Artest- trade
J Oneil- Threw him in because there is a slight chance there but it can not cost Lamar or we haven't made any progress.
3. Someone on our current roster has to take a big step in their developement. (I hope Mo was watching Bowen and Bell because he could become one of those guys, he is even more athletic then them)
4. We need to aquire some experience with our MLE i.e C Webb, Grant Hill , Jerry Stackhouse are example of guys that will be available.
5. We need to get lucky. We lucked out last year picking up Mo for a 2nd round no name and we need to pull off something similar this year.
Having a player like Kobe means the rest of the roster doesnt need to be as good as other teams but it does need to really improve. Building a champion is a process. If the following happens and our young guys continue to improve, then maybe next year we will truely be one player away like management likes to say we are now.
MH
Posted by: michael h | May 19, 2007 at 05:39 PM
TWO NAMES TO REMEMBER FOR THE 19th PICK OF THE DRAFT.
RODNEY STUCKEY - PG 6'4 EASTERN WASHINGTON
MORRIS ALMOND - SG 6'6 RICE
BOTH UNDERRATED. BOTH WILL BE SOLID CONTRIBUTORS TO WINNING BALLCLUBS DOWN THE ROAD. BOTH ARE SLATED TO BE AVAILABLE WHEN THE LAKERS HIT THE CLOCK.
EITHER ONE COULD MAKE AN EXCELLENT BACKCOURT RUNNING MATE FOR KOBE.
Posted by: jack in hollywood | May 19, 2007 at 06:12 PM
"Phil Jackson is probably the best basketball coach of all time."
If its argued that Phil is the GREATEST basketball coach of all time, it'd be hard to disagree with 9 rings in the modern era. But is he the BEST basketball coach of all time, I would say absolutely not. Phil is a leader and motivator and his 9 rings demand respect. And the one thing I really like about Phil is that he is always focused on the championship, he plays for the playoffs rather than the regular season. Thus when you have enough talent, Phil is a great coach. However, on the X's and O's of coaching, Phil is vastly overrated. His decisions and substitutions are questionable and sometimes I'm appalled at the play run after a timeout. But I don't think those things translates into a big difference in the win column. There are two problems though that I think keeps Phil from being a great coach. The first was hit on the head by FreakyLakerLover, and I totally agree, that Phil has shortcomings as a defensive coach. He seems mostly focused on the offensive side of things and it shows in his lineups and rotations. This team has shown flashes of playing good defense, but overall they've shown a lack of commitment on the defensive end. I think a lot of that responsibility lies with Phil. He must make defense a priority and emphasis, but at the same time, using poor defensive lineups and strategy will also kill a player's motivation to play defense. As a player, I can tell you nothing is more fustrating than putting 100% effort for 20 seconds only to have other people on your team get burnt. Over time, you just stop putting in the effort and this can then have a snowball effect on the team as well. The second is that Phil is just too stubborn! Well, I don't know if it's stubbornness or pride or what, but the point is Phil is completely rigid and inflexible and is adverse to change and adjustments, both in-game and over the season. While Phil has gotten a rep for making adjustments from game to game (in the playoffs) (oh and those adjustments always seem to take 2 games to implement....and also I wonder how much credit the coaching staff deserves for that as well.), but he simply doesn't make good in game adjustments. Also things like taking the whole season to play Shammond, or not playing Kwame at the 5 until he was forced to by the Mihm injury, or not limiting the mins of a completely ineffective Luke, or continuously being in love with oversized Gs, or taking 3 seasons to realize the triangle may not be the most effective offense for this group, etc....all these things just show that its not Phil's nature to change or adapt.
I think BK was pretty much right on though. I also agree the role of the coach is much more limited in the NBA than in college bball. (Although, I think now with the ability to use different types of zone defenses, the defensive aspect of coaching becomes more important.). I do think Phil could've done a much better job. But given our lack of overall talent and the many injuries, there's only so much one can do in that situation. Overall, I give Phil a C/C-.
Haha, but I think Bill Simmons (from ESPN) would have given Phil an F-. Bill is a hardcore Celts fan and all season long he was praising Doc River's masterful awful coaching that allowed his team to be in good position in the Oden/Durant sweepstakes. In that view, we had a team that was going nowhere, and in fact fading fast at the end, only to barely squeak by in staying in the playoffs (thus having no shot at Oden/Durant, but also hurting our draft position in a great draft class), only to get destroyed by the Suns. On how things turned out....I almost wish Doc Rivers was OUR coach just for this year. Then after landing Oden/Durant (or if picking 3rd I think Corey Brewer would be PERFECT for our team) we could bring back Phil haha.
Posted by: wiZo | May 19, 2007 at 06:15 PM
Thanks for the report cards/exit interviews, guys.
Just wanted to give a big thanks to the Spurs for taking care of the Suns. I usually root for the team that beats my team to win it all. But I will never cheer for the Suns. They are a classless organization that allows a tell-all book to be written, has assistants that make fun of an opposing coach with health problems, has stars that puts down opponents, and a coach that just can't stop whining.
Thank you to Robert Horry for swatting Steve Gnat. 2-time MVP comes up short again.
Thank you for the great game six yesterday. It was great to see Phoenix down by 20 and unable to make the comeback.
Posted by: mel | May 19, 2007 at 06:28 PM
It's not that long an interview.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon Kavulic | May 19, 2007 at 06:30 PM
I wish I was much younger.......like when Magic was playing and I wasn't old enough to understand the details in running a team, beacause to be honest with you.......the Lakers are in a MESS. Who's scouting overseas talent like .... Calderon ( Raptors) Parker (Spurs) Ginobili (Spurs) Okur(Utah) .........we went to Europe and brough back SHAMMOND WILLIAMS.....SAD!!
WHO'S in charge? Jim Buss, MIss Buss, Phil, or Kupchak.........
What's wrong with running some Pick and Rolls to penetrate, create mismatches, make the interior defense collape to dish to the open man, to draw fouls, and create open jumpers.........with soooo many benefits can't we run that more often than the Triangle pleaseeeeee.
Don't Resign Mihm.........you can find 100 better players to fill that position Having Kwame on the Roster for one more season is already begging for a failed season.
Please trade Kwame & Cook.......to whoever.....just dont bring them back. We need real talent and athleticism
This Draft is DEEP................phoenix is loaded with talent and yet they'll be picking in the top 5.........WOW!!.......that's to forseight by an excellent GM.
kupchaks 3 years of excuses about salary cap restraints.......now expected to make improvements in 1 year.........and 1 year to deliver
Posted by: Dion | May 19, 2007 at 06:45 PM
AK, BK
"A coach can make a difference, no question (especially on the downside- see Brown, Larry '05-'06 Edition), but if the basic building blocks aren't there, it's not going to matter. And, at least over the second half of this season, it's fair to say that by NBA championship standards, the Lakers had no blocks. No Legos, no Duplos, no Lincoln Logs."
WELL SAID.
Posted by: Ventriloquist (AKA: Cyrus) | May 19, 2007 at 09:44 PM
I wonder who tthose didn't work/play hard Lakers were. Get rid all of them. Work ethics can't be teach and without the dedication to the games, they won't play well enough for a contending team. My guess would be Kwame, Cook, Smush, and Bynum.
Posted by: gdchild | May 19, 2007 at 11:13 PM
PJ did a good job, the team was just plagued with injuries.
Odom, Kwame, Radmanovich, Walton, & Mihm.
Those were important guys for us, and they all had down years.
We will be a better team next year if we are healthy. But in order to win the Pacific, we need to take a risk and get Artest. He is a defensive stopper and clutch scorer. He isn't gun shy, he will take a big workload off Kobe's back.
Posted by: 07 | May 20, 2007 at 04:07 AM
gdchild -- I feel YOU on that!!
On Gerald Wallace -- he would be EXCELLENT for our team, I say we make a run for him...Then see what we can do to snatch Artest away from the Queens, and hopefully pick up a BIG who has a NOSE for Dfense (in the mold of Mourning) and can make hussle points underneath the basket!
By the way, we STILL need somebody who can consistently knock down a JUMPER! From what I witnessed this previous season, we DIDNT have a soul who did that, excluding the Kobester....
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | May 20, 2007 at 06:16 AM
I think PJ had a better season as a coach than most people give him credit for. He has a philosophy about basketball that has been consistent throughout his career. He believes in treating his players as adults and expects them to return the respect. He was much more active during games this season, being much more aggressive in calling time-outs than in the recent past. He dealt with the injury card as well as anybody could. Let's review what happened player-by-player.
KOBE. By working on his relationship with Kobe, PJ got the most out of this great player than anyone could believe possible.
LAMAR: Without the injuries, this would have been Lamar's greatest season ever. PJ gets enormous credit for Lamar becoming a team leader.
ANDREW: The kid had is own coach - Kareem. What more could the team do for a 19 year old. Unfortunately, the kid is no LaBron James.
SMUSH: Phil kept him in the lineup way longer than he deserved. PJ's approach was to show confidence, hoping it would translate into results.
Smush lacked the character to turn his performance around. That's not on Phil.
KWAME: Never lived up to his potential before. Not much PJ could do with this basket case.
WALTON: PJ was forced into having him start when Vlade couldn't learn to play in the system. Walton's wrongheaded sense of entitlement prevents him from consistently performing at the level required; especially lackidasical on defense. PJ gave him more minutes than he deserved since no one else stepped up to fill the role on a consistent basis.
EVANS: Could have been the answer to the Walton problem, but injured when we needed him.
TURIAF: PJ gave him confidence by rewarding him with an increasing number of minutes.
FARMAR: Wish he'd gotten the D-League experience earlier, so PJ could have subbed him for Smush sooner. I do question PJ's reluctance to do this sooner.
WILLIAMS: Showed he was not capable of playing the minutes required of a starter. But PJ should have gone with the Farmar #1, Williams #2 rotation at PG sooner. Perhaps this is 20/20 hindsight.
SASHA: Given plenty of chances to earn more minutes.
COOK: Couldn't have asked for more opportunities. Inability to play defense did him in, not coaching.
In short, there wasn't much more PJ could have done with the roster he had. Biggest fatal flaw was sticking with Smush, hoping against hope that he'd respond to the opportunity.
This roster lacked confidence in themselves and each other, and for good reason. Too many players lacked the character to consistently deliver, which is what a winning team is all about. Coaching can only go so far.
Could Pop or Pat Riley or Larry Brown or Avery Johnson or Don Nelson done more with these players? I truly doubt it.
Posted by: Rick Friedman | May 20, 2007 at 07:03 AM
I gotta say that reading the papers here is much more palpable these days. Now that the hype machine that is the Phoenix media has slowed down again. I don't mind listening the all of the D'Backs stuff or the ASU stuff, but the Funs crap drives me nuts. Were the Suns overrated? Yes. Barbosa is going to be a great player one day, but he isn't yet, and San Antonio showed that. Steve Nash only makes his fellow Suns better when other teams don't respect his passing abilities. If he is the first option on offense, then the Suns are toast. The Spurs made it look easy. Play the passing lanes and defend the paint, make Nash a scorer, and minimize turnovers. Easy formula when you have the players to make it happen. Amare is a beast. Period. I want that dood on the Lakers. I like his cockiness and his swagger. He reminds me of Kobe at that age. 22 with the promise of titles at his fingertips. I loved that attitude with Kobe. He still has it, but his teammates don't. I smiled a lot about it yesterday morning. It has worn off, but I will relish it as long as possible. I am getting anxious about the Lottery and what may come this week. I would love to see the Lakers get Artest and maybe trade down in the draft. A straight up Kwame for Artest exchange with draft picks swapped as well might be nice. Or just the deal with no picks. Whatever happens, I think the offseason really gets going this week. Probably gonna start to see some deals going down in the next few weeks. We shall see.
From the Blessedly quiet streets of Phoenix
LkrFan
Posted by: PhxLkrFan | May 20, 2007 at 08:35 AM
a little off topic....does anyone know when USA bball play this summer? I'm excited to see Kobe play in a USA uniform for the first time.
Posted by: HanSoulfood | May 20, 2007 at 10:34 AM
Fatty, PhxLkrFan -
Have they taken off the "Eyes on the Prize" billboards yet? I would imagine it would be a tad ironic/akward if they were still up.
lol
Posted by: bobie | May 20, 2007 at 11:03 AM
REPOST:
Peter,
“I think that Kobe has been disrespected enough by the media and the league office.”
I read your post and it’s very interesting…..a little x-files…….but very interesting. Suppose I stipulate to your hypothesis, kid kobe brought this upon himself by being an arrogant ungrateful punk-a$$ during his 1st six seasons with the Lakers. Iskaglam gave me a lot of inight into the kobe, shaq and kobe-shaq dynamic and I’m starting to see the picture more clearly. Kobe in his single-minded quest to be the “man” and prove his “greatness” stepped on a lot people’s toes and now is not going to get any help because he’s simply a narrow-minded jerkoff who doesn’t look out for anybody but himself…….i believe the simple definition is kobe’s is too selfish and doesn’t know how to pretend (aka play the media, fans and other stakeholders) to be a team guy. Now the ramifications of his past behavior is rearing its ugly head. Kobe’s too good and too proud to ask for help, kobe thinks that just because he’s the “best player on the planet” that other players should be knocking down his door to play for the great kobe…….Prince Kobe. I would argue that a majority of players in the league (I don’t care what they say, it’s what they do that matters) who take my position, don’t trust that coming to LA to play alongside kobe because at the first sign of trouble, kobe’s going to point the finger. I’ve watched kobe for 11 years and this guy has increasingly pointed the finger at someone else for his problems increasing exponentially since the CO debacle when he called out Shaq. Like my opinions or not, even when there’s cap space, LA’s not going to get the "Vince Carters" of the world because if I were Vince, I wouln’d trust kobe a bit and I would never want to play second fiddle for a stab-in-the-back jerk like kobe. I’d rather go to a contender like PHX, SAS, Miami, Det, Chi or DAL and try and win a championship ceteris paribus. End of the day, Princess Kobe brought this upon himself by being a big jerk, now not very many people besides kobe’s friends and family and kobe-lovers want to see him succeed. I would add that once kobe's skills begin to deminish, so-called kobe-lovers will be a lot less supportive of Dominic Bryant (or is it Kobe Wilkins?).
Jo=kobe in disguise,
“Basketball wise...you are a failure.
Even a English scond language speaker can understand that.”
Ouch!
“Kobe is the most loved player in the Lakers.”
Agreed, by kobe’s family and friend and by kobe-lovers…….that’s about it. Just wait until his skills begin to diminish……..the so-called kobe lovers will start to waiver just like the shaq-lovers now call him fat, lazy and undeserving of shaq’s accomplishments. Just wait kobe (jormea), when your skills diminish you’re going to get what’s coming to you. You’ve got 2-3 year (barring insuries) to prove that you’re more than a little punk-a$$ whiner who can’t lead a team. If you can’t win a championship you’ll be forever known as the “greatest robin of all time” to batman (aka Shaq “DME”, “Big Aristotle, “Diesel” O’Neal). Haha! LOL. How do you like watching the playoffs at home and eating Doritos?
Cesar,
“Kobe is not perfect...he is not God(that 81 point comment was a joke btw).”
I knew it was a joke and that’s why I went extreme the other way about kobe being “me, me”. I’ve said on the post that I was very pleased with how the laker TEAM was playing in the beginning of the season, but I liken the 26-13 start to a honeymoon period. I wanted to see how kobe would respond once adversity hits, that’s when the true face emerges…….will kobe be a strong leader and teammate or will kobe revert to the kobe of old blaming others for the teams problem. I think the kobe of old prevailed. You see Cesar, it’s hard to change when one thinks everyone’s the problem but themselves. Kobe will never admit that he’s part of the problem.
“Yours probably doesnt either.”
Bro, believe me, my poop smells sorely……….LOL. good chat. Keep em coming.
mamba24fan4life
“KL you need to bow down...”
Wassup East Coast! Cesar’s the man among men. How’s that??
Posted by: KL | May 20, 2007 at 11:06 AM
Faith,
“Sometimes you can have enough talent that it goes by the wayside (Shaq)...but in our case, that's premier.”
You’re lucky that AK deleted my comment to you because I use the word (“Shite” <-- AK, I didn’t use the “S” word) instead of poop.
Having said that, don’t act like you’re poop don’t smell. What the hell do you know about b-ball and professional sports? Shaq’s lead 3 different teams to NBA final appearances and has won 4 rings. Your princess kobe has penis envy for the longest time and you seem to have the same for Shaq. I’ll predict to you that princess kobe will not win a title as the #1 and Shaq will win at least another. Shaq’s already lobbying to get Vince Cater to play in Miami.
Posted by: kl | May 20, 2007 at 11:14 AM
A lot of our players looked slow on the court. That's not just b/o their physical limitations (we actually had several players with atheletism), but they were slow to read situations and reacted accordingly. That's why Phil said the total IQ of this team was as an earthworm.
Posted by: gdchild | May 20, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Lets just make this deal:
Kwame and Bynum for Gasol. This gives the Griz two big young centers and we get someone who can catch a basketball and can actually jump; plus, we don't loose Odom, the only Laker who bothers to rebound.
Then, keep hope alive that Garnett opts out.
This still leaves us needing a point guard...trade Vlad for one
Wes
Posted by: wesjoenixon | May 20, 2007 at 12:03 PM
michael h…Kwame Brown for Andre Miller? I like Jordan, too, and sure would try to keep him but if Philly would do a straight up Kwame for Miller trade, I would do it. And if pushed, I would probably throw in Farmar. I really like Andre Miller. He is tough minded, can get into the paint against anybody, is an excellent passer, and plays good defense. He ain’t Jason Kidd but he would give the Lakers a solid veteran point guard and would complement Kobe and Lamar. Now if we could send Luke and Cook to Sacramento for Artest…then Kobe, Miller, Artest, Lamar, and Bynum/Mihm would be a pretty big improvement as a team. I would go for that in a minute.
leelo...Trade Lamar Odom? ”…and whatever we do this summer, we have to keep Odom.” Damn straight. Trading Odom for anybody except possibly KG would be a step backwards. One factor that I put down as positive despite the dreadful end to the season was seeing what a warrior Lamar was. He is untradable as far as I am concerned. We just need to add a third star or a third and fourth solid player to go with Kobe and Lamar.
Fatty & PHXLakerFan…Smiling in Arizona! Got to say I was rooting for the Spurs, too. When the Red Sox beat the Yankees, I still rooted for the American League over the National League…Same with the NFC over the AFC…NBA Western Conference over East. But when the Suns won, all I wanted was somebody to put these a$$holes to rest. The Suns have set.
Jay Jay…Trade for Ron Artest? I know, I know…But that was before we finished the year like we did and now I am desperate and Artest seems like a reasonable gamble to me. It’s Rodman 2 for Phil so maybe it could work. At any rate, I can’t take another season of watching Luke get beaten to the rim or left in the dust by every small forward in the league. We need to rebuild the team for defense. Artest should be good for at least one year before he blows up and hopefully by then Bynum will start to assert himself. This may be our only chance to improve the team’s defensive ability significantly…And, you know as they say, he may be an a$$hole but at least he’s ours. lol.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 01:22 PM
Are you serious. Nothing can save the Lakers except for one thing. Trade the poison which is Kobe Bryant. I have never seen one man dismantle a dynasty. The Lakers have always been a dominating force in the NBA. Now they are a bunch of castoffs led by the most selfish player in the NBA. Kobe Ball will get you no where folks. Trade the cancer before it is too late.
Posted by: Later Gator | May 20, 2007 at 02:05 PM
KL,
You're very right about Kobe. When i was watching his exit interview, in all the questions that was ask to him about what they need as a team, what players they need, he always deferred to management.
yes, it's management responsibility but if you are a player in this league that everyone talks to and everyone respects you and wants to play with you, you can easily make a phone call or two and say, "why want you come and play in LA." Everyone does that, but not Kobe.
You would think by his 11th year in the league, he would have developed this strategy, but no, he just want the guy or guys to show up here and then show you who's #1. I even blame LA's media because they seem to be on Kobe's jock so hard too. Why no one made the comment to him in the media, "Hey Kobe, if you feel you need help, why don't you lobby like Shaq does?" I would be very happy to hear his comments.
I bet his comments would be, "Oh no, that's not my style." Then you'll really know if he wants help. I think the best way to reveal this fraud of Kobe Bryant is to surround him with two more scorers. And watch how selfish he gets with the ball.
The wrong thing would to surround him with Jason Kidd or some unselfish players because they would just feed the Gunner's ego.
Posted by: gunner24 | May 20, 2007 at 02:51 PM
AK, BK,
Phil Jackson's card pretty much concludes the exit interviews. I don’t know what else you are cooking but I would like to make a suggestion:
Reading the comments, it seems to me that many guys here are discussing future trades; KG, JO, Gasol, Artest etc. That should give you enough material to write about and for us to discuss.
Posted by: Ventriloquist (AKA: Cyrus) | May 20, 2007 at 02:59 PM
Andy L: "I thought our biggest problem was the players we (don't) have. And now this Buss-gate-soap-crap hits us like mace in the face. I know you can't believe everything the media says, but what the hell kind of an idiot is Jim Buss?!? This snot-faced dork could actually kill this once proud franchise!"
Absolutely agreed. Jim Buss can go to hell.
Dion: "Don't Resign Mihm.........you can find 100 better players to fill that position"
Not for the money he'll be making.
"kupchaks 3 years of excuses about salary cap restraints"
Uh, yeah, that's because we've been over the salary cap as we will this upcoming offseason.
lakersrydeordie: "On Gerald Wallace -- he would be EXCELLENT for our team"
I think we've gone over a billion times that Gerald Wallace isn't going to sign for the MLE. He's looking for a big paycheck.
Posted by: generic_one | May 20, 2007 at 03:05 PM
Phil is a great coach when he had great players. I did not see KObe and Lamar played better, that made me very upset. Chicago Bulls did not treat Phil good, they did not give Phil a raise, but after this season, i don't blame Jerry Krause, he must knew something . Lakers pay Phil very well, he had everything in LA, Phil will take a hip surgery in Sept, so another dissapointed season ? Lakers and Phil did not have a vision, how to build a team, how to put players in position to win, Phill said Lakers players are earthworm, this is not smart statement , because we need to trade players in the future. Phil should spend more times with players, coach players to win games, don't wait after the game, and then talk to the media....this player is not good,....that's B.S. Game 1 against Phoenix has shown to me that Phil lost control of this team, he can't coach, can't made an adjustment in fourth quarter, he complained about players after the game, we need a coach on the floor, we don't need Lakers spokeman.
Posted by: bluesky | May 20, 2007 at 03:29 PM
wes:
Kwame ($9M.0)and Bynum ($2.0M) for Gasol ($13.7M)? Only problem is that the Grizzlies are probably going to get the #1 pick in the NBA draft which means they will draft Greg Oden as their center of the future and would not want to trade for two back up centers. And Kwame is really our only big dollar player to trade unless we want to deal Kobe or Lamar. That’s why I think it will be tough if not impossible for the Lakers to make a deal for Gasol, unless the Grizzlies lose in the lottery and end up with the #2 pick, which would be Kevin Durant. Then they might be interested in a Brown and Bynum trade for Gasol.
A more likely scenario would be trading Kwame ($9.0M) to the Kings for Ron Artest ($7.8M)straight up. The Kings need big men and Kwame would be a good fit there, with less pressure than being on the Lakers. And the word is that nobody wants to take Ron Artest and the Kings may think that they are going to stick the Lakers with Ron Ron and end up getting the last laugh. And they may be right but I think it is a good gamble for the Lakers to take at this point in time.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 03:30 PM
I see the ‘KLansman’ is back!!
So much hate from you KL against Kobe can not be good!!!
But at least you follow a long list of of envious haters from history.!!
Next you be telling us that 'Black Music' is made by the devil.
I guess I have to blame Kobe for the 3 years we did win titles!!!
I with you on that, get rid of Kobe because according to you the ball hog was not the leading assist man on LAKERS 8 out the last 10 yrs and it was all Shaq who won titles!!. Please explain the stats below!!!
2000-2001 Lakers Regular Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaq 74 74 39.5 .572 .000 .513 3.90 8.80 12.70 3.7 .64 2.76 2.95 3.50 28.7
Kobe 68 68 40.9 .464 .305 .853 1.50 4.30 5.90 5.0 1.68 .63 3.24 3.30 28.5
2001 Lakers First Round Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaquil 3 3 43.7 .484 .000 .618 6.00 9.70 15.70 2.7 .00 1.00 2.67 2.30 27.0
Kobe 3 3 39.7 .481 .333 .750 1.30 3.00 4.30 7.7 2.33 .00 2.00 3.70 25.0
2001 Lakers Second Round Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Kobe 4 4 43.3 .473 .200 .864 3.30 5.80 9.00 4.3 1.25 .50 4.00 3.50 35.0
Shaq 4 4 41.0 .598 .000 .492 6.50 10.80 17.30 2.3 .50 3.25 3.75 4.00 33.3
2001 Lakers Conference Finals Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Kobe 4 4 42.0 .514 .357 .769 1.80 5.30 7.00 7.0 1.50 .75 2.75 3.30 33.3
Shaq 4 4 39.0 .541 .000 .516 4.00 9.00 13.00 2.5 .75 1.25 3.50 3.00 27.0
2001 NBA Finals Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaq 5 5 45.0 .573 .000 .513 6.20 9.60 15.80 4.8 .40 3.40 4.00 4.00 33.0
Kobe 5 5 46.8 .415 .333 .842 1.00 6.80 7.80 5.8 1.40 1.40 3.60 3.00 24.6
2001-2002 Lakers Regular Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaq 67 66 36.1 .579 .000 .555 3.50 7.20 10.70 3.0 .61 2.04 2.55 3.00 27.2
Kobe 80 80 38.3 .469 .250 .829 1.40 4.10 5.50 5.5 1.48 .44 2.79 2.90 25.2
2002 Lakers First Round Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Kobe 3 3 44.0 .353 .400 .828 1.30 4.30 5.70 5.0 2.00 1.67 2.67 4.30 26.0
Shaq 3 3 42.3 .563 .000 .657 2.70 8.70 11.30 4.0 .67 1.67 2.67 3.00 25.7
2002 Lakers Semifinal Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Kobe 5 5 43.8 .455 .231 .581 1.80 3.60 5.40 4.8 1.00 .20 2.00 2.60 26.2
Shaq 5 5 39.0 .447 .000 .639 3.00 9.20 12.20 3.2 .60 3.00 3.00 3.60 21.4
2002 Lakers Conference Finals Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaq 7 7 41.1 .532 .000 .638 4.40 9.10 13.60 1.6 .43 2.43 3.57 4.00 30.3
Kobe 7 7 43.9 .419 .368 .796 1.70 4.60 6.30 3.9 1.43 1.14 3.00 4.00 27.1
2002 NBA Finals Statistics
Player G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF TOT APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
Shaq 4 4 41.5 .595 .000 .662 3.30 9.00 12.30 3.8 .50 2.75 3.50 1.80 36.3
Kobe 4 4 43.8 .514 .545 .806 .80 5.00 5.80 5.3 1.50 .75 3.75 2.80 26.8
We await your hate filled responses!!!!
Aaarrrhhhh!!
Angry_Laker
Posted by: Angry_Laker | May 20, 2007 at 03:53 PM
Just watched the tailend of a webcast in very crappy quality of the Spurs-Jazz game. Sigh... Where are my Lakers? Two of them were opposing each other on the court. I miss you guys.
At least that evil smirk on my face showed up when they showed Nash's face among the active players who played most playoff games without reaching the finals - WA HA HAAA! What was that Suns motto this season again? "Eye on the demize"? >B-D
And finally a bright idea! To solve our problems at the 5, why don't PJ take one of those exotic fishing trips with Bison Dele and lure him out of hiding? And then we sign Anthony "Pig" Miller. Oink oink. And Von Wafer of course. Oh Yeah CHAMPIONSHIP!!! What? No..?
Posted by: Andy L | May 20, 2007 at 03:58 PM
Well said Lakertom...among the many things this team needs (brains better than earthworms lol) are defensive players. If for nothing else Artest will bring that. Best case scenario, he dominates like he did against the Spurs (last year in the playoffs)...allow us to have a man that can take the stars of the league...and adds toughness to our team. Of course we know what worst case is lol.
Posted by: Faith | May 20, 2007 at 04:15 PM
Lakers trade news…
Eric Pincus, HoopsWorld: “Lakers: Thinking Big”
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21954.shtml
Eric has some interesting tidbits about who the Lakers might be looking at and gives his odds of trading for various Laker targets. Good article. It will be interesting to see what actually happens. I remember when free agency started and when the draft started, most of the blog was surprised at who we signed and drafted. Will that happen again?
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 04:20 PM
Rick,
I agree with a lot of your assessments (on an individual basis), but disagree on some.
Kobe: I don't think we can attribute or credit Kobe's greatness to Phil. Guys like Kobe or Jordan have greatness in them and the individual work ethic to achieve that greatness. I'm sure Phil has helped, but I think a lot of people definitely saw his potential for greatness since entering the league.
Lamar: I actually remember Lamar last year being some what critical of Phil being so critical of Lamar. It seems to me that Lamar actually credits Kobe more for his development as a leader than anyone else. And also Kobe was the one that convinced him to even play this year at all.
Shammond: Yeah he's not your ideal starting PG...but he was a better answer as our starting PG than Smush and even Farmar. I think Farmar should be good enough to start next year if we don't bring in a veteren PG, but this year, Shammond was the most balanced of the PGs. He actually was the best defensively and he could knock down open 3s. Phil should've played Shammond more WAY sooner than he did.
The rest of the team I will agree with your points. Except, I think you are missing the point all together. Its not the primary role of the coach to enhance each player individually. Its first and foremost his job to implement his offensive/defensive system, and to utilize and maximize his player's abilities in his system. Thus Smush starting the entire season, or giving too many minutes to Smush, Luke, Cook, Sasha, and not enough to Shammond, Mo, and Turiaf are in fact coaching mistakes. To send out lineups where we are slightly better offensively but leaves 2-3 defensive liabilities on the floor at the same time are coaching mistakes. To be unable to adapt and evolve and be flexible and play to your player's strengths are coaching mistakes.
So would Sloan or Pop make Kwame or Smush all-stars? No. But we probably would've won more games (not that that mattered much this year). But at the end of the day, they are better coaches.
And I'm not trying to hate on Phil too much....but it is partly his fault that we are in the talent deprived state we are in today. There's no doubt that coaches with the status of Phil, Pop, Sloan, etc have a lot of influence on who they draft and bring in. Phil's mentality of only playing for the present during our championship years really handicapped us now....while great organizations like the Spurs and Suns know how to maintain good teams yet still always plan for the future. And speaking of Pop, it reminds me of another mistake, of letting Robert Horry go. Pop said he surprised Horry was let go and jumped at signing him. He said he noticed Horry just played way too many mins in his last year as a Laker. Great coaches notice those types of things. Then again, it doesn't take a genius to realize Smush is not the answer at the 1 (I mean, gee, its nice of Phil to try to be confident in Smush, but I think we could all tell he wasn't the answer after his meltdown in the playoffs last year. And I can't believe Phil still didn't give him the axe when he was throwing his little hissy fits.). And lack of defense did Cook in and not coaching? Well, thats the point. After 4 years, its insane Phil still even plays the guy as much as he does after 4 long years of horrendous defense. If Cook can't play a lick of D, or Sasha can't hit shots in games, or if Smush gambles too much on D and melts down at the end of games, or Luke happens to have a bad matchup where he is getting burnt....its on the coach to do something about it.
KL,
I don't even understand your posts. How do you know Kobe is such a big jerk? Cuz he shoots the ball a lot on a team sorely lacking in talent? Cuz he demands from his organization to help him by surrounding him with better players? KG does that every year, but with KG its "wow, he has such a passion for winning" or "he's so loyal to stay" , yet Kobe is in the same boat as KG. The organizations convinced them to stay, promising the ability to contend, and neither organization has come through yet. Kobe really hasn't complained at all the past few years and even last year was very supportive of his teamates after their playoff loss.
And how do you know no other star wants to play with Kobe. Especially when many of them has specifically SAID they would love to play with Kobe. Unless you happen to be friends with Vince or Kidd or Baron, I think we'll just trust what they say over what you say. And you can't say look at what they do not what they say. Last time I checked, players can't just hop on a plane to LA and start playing for the Lakers. A statement like that is just foolishness. Its like me saying you don't want to play in the NBA cuz look at you, you're not in the NBA.
HanSoulFood,
Aug.22. Here's the schedule , http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/2007/07_moq_results.html
Posted by: wiZo | May 20, 2007 at 04:27 PM
“NBA Market Watch: Los Angeles Lakers” by Eric Weiss
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2051
Interesting discussion of the Lakers current situation and their options. Good luck at the salary cap situation for those who haven’t read the NBA Salary Cap FAQs.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 04:37 PM
TRADE BABY DREW FOR KID
TRADE KWAME FOR ARTEST
TRADE LO FOR TYRON LUE
SO TRADE ALL OF OUR BIG MEN FOR POINT GAURDS AN SMALL FORWARDS,AN WITH PHIL JACK-ASS COACHING LEAVING US WITH
BRIAN COOK
CHRIS MIMHS TO DEFEND THE PAINT WOWWWWWW IM GOING TO LET U FEEL IN THE BLANKS.
Posted by: COMPTON'S FINEST | May 20, 2007 at 04:48 PM
Is Jason Kidd over the hill?
That is the question that is at the heart of the Lakers decision making with respect to whom to go after. After watching Kidd average a triple double in the playoffs this year, you have to wonder how many years does JKidd have left in his tank. He seems to be one of those athletes who seems to be getting better as he gets older.
Here’s another HoopsWorld article about Kidd and what New Jersey is going to do this summer:
“Maxey: Carter, Kidd's Future In New Jersey Remains In The Air” by Wendell Maxey:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21991.shtml
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 04:51 PM
“Bring in Artest” by Kevin Ding
http://blogs.ocregister.com/lakers/archives/2007/05/bring_in_artest.html#more
Kevin says: “I guarantee you Bryant wants Artest. The Lakers would be wise to make it happen.” Artest for Kwame or Luke and Cook in a sign and trade.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 05:00 PM
TRADING ARTEST WON’T BE EASY
By Scott Howard-Cooper. Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/177884.html
Good review of what the Kings can expect in trying to trade Artest. Here is our chance to get a star player to go with Kobe and Lamar without giving up Andrew Bynum. How can we resist the opportunity. I predict our first move this offseason will be to trade for Artest. The Lakers will probably surprise us as they did with Vlade and Farmar as our free agent and first round draft pick last year, but Artest would be a big step in the right direction without sacrificing Andrew Bynum. Then if we could just get a veteran point guard to tide us over until Farmar is ready…
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 05:06 PM
Jim buss is my hero
he's pretty much saying what every laker fan want's to here, nobody's safe were looking at everybody from top 2 bottom,holding every-one accountable yes even phill jack-ass.
phil girlfriend is the one that's making this a soap opera.
My brother has no right to say anything bad about (MY BOYFRIEND)
she said my boy-friend like thousand times,thats so mutha f-ing high-school
why on earth are you mixing personal feelings in to this.
JIM BUSS YOUR BIG BROTHER (SLAP) HER ASS AN SEND HER TO HER ROOM.
Posted by: COMPTON'S FINEST | May 20, 2007 at 05:07 PM
“Bhattacharya: Something Has Got to Give” by Preetom Bhattacharya on HoopsWorld:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21876.shtml
Excellent article on the Lakers possible trade for Jermaine O’Neal.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 20, 2007 at 05:15 PM
thanx wizo
Posted by: HanSoulfood | May 20, 2007 at 05:19 PM
wizo,
by the way, do you know if theres a schedule for tv broadcasts?
Posted by: HanSoulfood | May 20, 2007 at 05:22 PM
WIZO
I AGREE WITH U 110%
AN LET ME ADD SOMETHINGS
WHY ON EARTH BRIAN F-ING COOK PLAYING AHEAD OF RONNY T
MAKING HIM A 3RD STRING CENTER BLAME PHIL
PLAYING SMUSH OVER FARMER BLAME PHIL
PLAYING WALTON 30 MIN A GAME BLAME PHIL
YES ANY OTHER COACH WOULD HAVE TAKEN US 2 THE SECOND ROUND
WITH THIS SQUAD
FARMAR
KOBE
LO
RONNY T
KWAME
LUKE 15-20
VLAD 15-20
SMUSH 10-15
BABY DREW 15-20
THIS LINE-UP WOULD'VE GOT US IN TO THE SECOUND ROUND
INSTEAD OF TRYING TO DEVELOPE BABY DREW AN KWAME THEY SHOULD'VE BEEN TRYING TO DEVELOPE RONNY,WE HAVE A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH,PUNK ASS PHIL KEPT AT THE END OF THE BENCH,U SEEN WHAT HE WAS DOING 2 THE MAN CHILD THEY HAVE IN PHOENIX, IMAGINE WHAT HE CAN DO IF HE PLAY'S 25-30 MIN A GAME
Posted by: COMPTON'S FINEST | May 20, 2007 at 05:26 PM
i never knew how much of a whiner Robert Sarver, D'Antoni and the rest of the Suns were until now...
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0520sunsnb0520.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/0519sunsnotes0519.html
Posted by: socalife | May 20, 2007 at 05:28 PM