Thank you BK, you were unbiased and I like that, great report cards on all the players, you and your brother did a good job.

Can we now give you and your brother a final grade, for the season?

I was happier with the work you guys did last year, you also did a good job this year, but last year you took more time in player interviews, related basketball news, and things like that.

This year was more of just the extra extra and not a lot of other things.

But hey maybe you guys had more jobs than the year before, after all the lakersblog made you guys famous, so I guess we take what we can get, hahaha.

Thank you for the job that you guys do.

When's Kobe gonna start eating healthy?

Kobe grew up this year and came into his own. Strong leadership, unselfish play at an awesome level, and no blame on anyone else.

Now its up to young Jim and his manservant Kupcake to do the same. They've got to do WHATEVER it takes to field a team around #24 that will allow him to really use his talents for both a personal MVP and a championship for the Purple and Gold.

Kobe proved he was up for the challenge and willing to do whatever it took.

Now its on you young Mr Buss. You gonna man up?

LA guy

Idiocy is reading without comprehensing.
Making alegations about stuff nobody had mentioned.
And you are guilty here of both paterns.

Read again, dude.
If you can't grasp well the concept...
Read again and again, and again.
If that doesn't solve your misunderstanding....
Give it up.
Even idiots can recognize sometimes that they are hopeless.
I sincerely hope , that in you case, reality isn't worst than that.

I think Kobe did an admirable job this season. Not so much the in court stuff...which I personally think he can still improve (stay with your man Kob!) But the off court stuff. He's done a better job as leader of this team, when they're stinkin up the joint, he took them aside and talked to them, pumped them up when needed.

I believe him when he says he really doesn't want to have to shoot that much, and if the beginning of the season was any indication, he doesn't. However if there's one thing Kobe is, it's that he does what it takes to win. I don't think anybody questions how he singlehandedly brought us to the playoffs...however once there it was a matter of running out of gas.

Improvements...I'd like for Kobe (all nba defensive team)...to work out with his mates and get them to play defense. Defense is what wins championship and not only do we not play a lick of it (most of the time) it seems like we don't know how either. We aren't "smart" in recognizing situations, of communicating, I think after playing in many championship teams he's got a lot of knowledge he can impart on others. Like Eddie Jones and Byron Scott taught him. Defense is also a matter of being together, of playing for each other...I think it would go a long way if he could get the team outside of the training camp and stuff, to play together, to watch film together, hang out or something. Develop that chemistry, that togetherness.

One thing I do like is that how his "work ethic" seems to be spreading to his teammates. LO of years past (and this is undoubtedly up for debate) would probably not have played through pain...not to mention the tragedy (though in that sense, we would agree with that)...but this year, not only has he grown as a man, as a basketball player, as a leader, he's also grown in the toughness department. Kobe has always played with injuries, and he I think in part shown that you have to, you can...and I think some of his teammates followed his lead in that sense. Talking to Socks about watching films of greats and their moves with him, is very very valuable. The importance of hard work should never be overlooked and Kobe's a testament to that, so Socks take notice lol.

P.S. Off topic, but as a member of the "55 or bust" am I suppose to bust? lol, jk.

I know what I saw last year, but I don't know all the details behind what I saw. I don't really know where people were really trying to play hurt or making excuses. Smush is one thing, but most of the other guys were hurt at one time or another. That is why I can't say a lot about most of the others - including Vlad. Those evaluations I have to leave to Mitch, Phil & staff, and Kobe - they know all the details.

That said...I take Kobe's statements to mean he doesn't want anyone back who showed any lack of improvement or heart. I honestly don't think he was talking about talent - just desire and heart.

I think that is where the trade scenarios start this summer. Even if some of the trades don't net people we think make that much of an upgrade, we should be careful that they may be made to clear out some 'dead wood'. Don't assume that other teams can't identify some of this 'dead wood', so we may be just trading some problems in some cases - hoping a change of scenery will help both parties (like Smush).

With all this talk of desirable players we should be careful to identify those who are likely to function well in the triangle offense. Also, think defense - defense - defense.

I really don't want to comment specifically until we get near 1 July (after the draft). By then we may have made a trade or two and we will see how the landscape is changing.

With our salary cap situation the way it is, I think we need to take a gamble on a player. I think we should take a gamble on Ron Artest. May trade Kwame or Vlade and Sasha. On the floor he is the type of player that Kobe wants and needs, it's just his off the court issues that would be the gamble. Then we could have him start at the 3 and let Luke come off the bench.

X-Man: I don't think Chucky is the answer. He may be a little more consistent with his shot, but otherwise he's virtually the same as Smush. I think there are some other point guards out there we might be able to get like Steve Blake or Charlie Bell (if the Bucks screw up and don't re-sign him).

Faith: I think that it's pretty evident that Kobe making the Defensive Team was by reputation only. But, I think that might inspire him a bit to live up to that nomination next season. Well, at least we can hope. I definitely agree with you that they need to work on that as a team. He can really only do so much, and seeing as how he's the vet, it's up to him to get the job done.

And no, I don't think you're supposed to "bust." Now that that's out of the way, I think a Beavis "Bust... that's like... awesome" comment is in order. Whoops, already happened.

Craig W: I think you're onto something there, what with the whole change of scenery trades thing. I'd tend to agree. I think if we were able to get some minor upgrades for players with better attitudes and work ethics, we'd be in a much different place right now.

The system is broken. Until that gets fixed, nothing is gonna work. Didn't we learn that with Karl Malone and GP? How in the hell do you field that kind of talent and NOT win a ring??? If we couldn't win with them, how in the hell do we expect to win with Kwame, Bynum, ad nauseum? Coach Phil, I implore you to dump the triangle and come up with a new system that works in the 21st century, with 21st century players. You have the vision and the experience. DO IT. That will be your legacy. Stop living in the past. Ever notice how nobody talks about our three consecutive championships anymore? How nobody talks much about Jordan's accomplishments? This is not denigration. It's moving forward into the future.

Phenomenal.

x-man-

You're kidding right?

Chucky is NOT the answer and I agree with generic_one.

I thought he was almost worse than Smush.

Anderw Z,
That is an oxymoron. Creative Cupcake.

REPOST

zen,
“This whole MVP argument is rediculous!! It's really this simple: Win your division and be the best player on your team. If you do that, you have a great chance at MVP.

It's not that hard to figure out. Every MVP's team has won their division.

Kobe has only been the best player on his team, but his team needs to win the division or conference for him to have a chance.”

I couldn’t have said it better. you usually have to be on a winning team to be MVP.

albert,
“We even managed to win one more game than defending NBA champions.
This should console you , my fellow Lakers fans ! LOL”

Who was the defending champs again??

gdchild,
“Ben Gorden (sp?) just said in the interview before game 3 vs the Pistons that Kobe should be the MVP this season.”

it’s a good thing that the players aren’t voting for the MVP. you can’t be a regular season loser and be the MVP. doesn’t make sense.

Kobe nee to be careful with what he saying and how he is saying it; if he don’t understand what am talking about go ask Shaq. Dr. Buss is a prideful man and want to win just as much as him but will not tolerate disrespect Kobe is in a power position at the moment Shaq was too

Andrew Z is right. We should throw away the bad apples in the team. Kwame, Radmanovic, Paker, McKie, Cook. Mitch should start getting creative. In fact he should do what he wants to do. He should be confident in what he is trying to establish in this ballclub. He should stop listening to the media and fans that are giving him advices which is killing his Job as a GM. He should be like Jerry West and start making choices on his own beliefs. Stop letting people push you around! For example KOBE!

Frankly, I want Mitch to surround Kobe and Lamar with players that move on offense, can hit OPEN shots, and will work on defense. If they are 'no names' or if they don't have famous reps, I don't care. Kobe is the financial draw on this club (and around the league) and this is not going to change. If only Laker fans can name the players it really doesn't matter.

However, the team must win, period!

Think Detroit in 2004.

Jay Jay,
"Kobe grew up this year and came into his own. Strong leadership, unselfish play at an awesome level, and no blame on anyone else."

What!? How does kobe's ass smell. Geez. You're freekin' crazy. What leadership?? The squad basically gave up towards the end of the season. KBiatch basically said that his guys sucked (great leadership) and KB "shot, shot and then shot some more" bruant basically shot the lakers out of the playoffs. What in the hell are you talking about. My goodness. When i hear dumbass comments like that, the beast is going to call you out.

Faith,
" But the off court stuff. He's done a better job as leader of this team, when they're stinkin up the joint, he took them aside and talked to them, pumped them up when needed. "

Good observation. I did notice an attempt to mentor some of the guys at the beginning of the season.

BlackMamba24, welcome to the blog. you nailed it my friend. i will admit, kobe has gotten a little better at being a better teammate.

mithcell (mr serious),
"Passing: B"

Right. Passing "B"? Don't think so my man, unless "B" stands for ballhoging. LOL.

"Likeability/Chemistry B" and "Leadership B+"

More like "C" on both counts. "C" stands for crybaby and cheap imiations of being "like mike" with the fist pumping. BTW, kobe-ball is a great way to win championships. have you been watching the playoffs? it's a team effort, not LBJ shooting 25-30 shots a game. Look at Utah, no "superstar", but 5 guys playing as one.

If the day comes that Kobe leaves the Lakers or gets traded, I will have to follow that team - and that team's blog.

I hope that day never comes.

"The system is broken. Until that gets fixed, nothing is gonna work. Didn't we learn that with Karl Malone and GP? How in the hell do you field that kind of talent and NOT win a ring???"

Easy, you have one of them dudes get a knee injury and miss the Finals.

Hey Laker Nation what’s up. Sorry to see you go out of the playoffs. Well there is always next year.

I am a bit confused by a lot of people here being skeptical about the Garnett trade. Most pointing out that it would mean giving up too much and that two stars in today’s game is not enough for the Chip. Well all of that might be true, but if you ask me you are greatly underestimating the two stars in question. Man this is KG and KOBE ya all talking about.

Just look at his picture of KG: http://getgarnett.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/heart.jpg

It just says it all. In my personal opinion KG is still the best player out there besides Kobe (and may even be better I just can not choose between them) and has been forgotten because he plays in an awful team. I believe Kobe and KG is a dream that if you have the chance you don’t pass up. Forget their talent and skill, forget that KG is aging and soon Kobe will be as well. They have something that just does not die with age or fatigue. An intangible that no analysis could properly break down. DESIRE and HEART!!

Currently there is no two other players with more heart and passion for the game than those two out there. Just seeing them on the court together would fire up any scrub that plays with them (and frighten the very souls of the other team). All management would have to do is surround them with good role players who have just a quarter of the passion and skill that those two dudes have and the Lakers are set. I don’t know if they would win it all but just watching that “Journey” would be the greatest thing that happened to the NBA in a long time. I say bring it on no matter what.

Cheers all!!!!

mitchell,
I hear you. However, the Lakers will NOT get 2 to 3 name players onto the club next year, never mind the 2-3 supporting players necessary to back them up. Can't be done with the salary cap and players available.

The key is, How do we develop those players. 1) Identify players now on the club that have this potential and DON'T trade/release them 2) Try to find some supporting players to trade for or sign, with the idea that one of them can be developed into a higher level.

Does this equal championship next year? NO!
Does anything equal championship next year? NO!

We are in the development business, period. We do have some starting pieces. Separate the wheat from the chaff and move forward. Will Kobe be happy. Maybe, maybe not, but we really have no choice at this point. Mitch HAS to do a better job of evaluating veterans or he must be replaced.

Let's say we get KG. We will have KG, Kobe and a bunch of minimum salary players. I say that = NO RING in the same conference with S.A., Phoenix, Utah, Dallas. Let's stop kidding ourselves with a 'Knicks' quick fix and get to work.

Great post iksaglam!!

Jorema - the spelling, grammar, and general logic of that comment is atrocious. And you're demanding reading comprehension? What the heck are you talking about?

Andrew Z

You're right. 9 million should be able to get us some consistent contributor. Although, there are some 9 million dollar busts. Mitch is gonna have to earn his lunch money, in the immortal words of Phil.

I was just day dreaming about seeing Kobe run with LO AND KG. In the old days, we could wait till KG opted out and pay him Stienbrenner money to come aboard. I'm not sure the salary cap has improved interest in the NBA. It helps the little markets but that isn't what built pro sports in the first place. I'm not for shelving it, just tweak it enough to get the next Laker great.

Andrew Bynum's January in 15 games:

10.7 PPG
9.0 RPG
2.33 BPG

Talk about awesome #'s. And that's in 28 MPG

Suns players are crying fouls.
Stoudemire say: Bowen, Ginobili `are dirty' players.

Same method that last year. They are influencing the referees to get calls in their favor.

What Amare never say is that as last year showed, Raja is the dirtiest player in the NBA, he get away with pushing and giving fouls because the league want to promote Phoenix as the NBA al TEam.

San Antonio were submitting yesterday to the league some videotapes of more than 15 custionablem calls happened last sunday.

Referees are in their job to guaranteed Phoenix some wins.

If they call with any sense of fairness, San Antonio would have swept them.

Greek dude posts:

"Andrew Bynum's January in 15 games:

10.7 PPG
9.0 RPG
2.33 BPG

Talk about awesome #'s. And that's in 28 MPG"

And remember, when we first signed Kwame, the Busses and management were all saying "If he can just give us 12-15 ppg, and 10 rpg, we'll be a contender".

And now we have a young guy with much better skills who most likely can give us that and we're talking about trading him and keeping stone-hands-cunningham (Kwame)????

If we start next year with Kwame and without Bynum, I'm outta here (and I haven't missed a Lakers game in 9 years). I'll be back when Kupchak is replaced.

"Remember, the Lakers lost that year, Fisher was a free agent, Gary Payton didn't work out, Malone was injured and they also had not won the previous year. Things were going downhill fast at the end of 2004. They weren't going to be better in 04-05, even if Kobe and Shaq stayed together.

We were at the end of our championship run, regardless what we did. Maybe we could have handled the end better, but that is now water under the bridge."

No! That can't be true! How could Shaq and Kobe not win championships together if they were both MVP candidates? That would automatically disqualify them!

(for those who can't tell, I'm being sarcastic. Now do you get it?)

Craig W.,

Good post. I won't relive the shaq/kobe debacle. All i'll say is that lakers could have gotten more for shaq if kobe signed first, then trade shaq. i won't debate why the lakers traded shaq first then signed kobe.

Having said that, rebuiling is difficult. remember after 1989 when the lakers and detroit swept their way into the finals, then Scott and Magic went down, then the lakers went down in flames in 4 striaght?? it was very though watching Worthy, Cedric Ceballos, Nick Van Excel, Eddie Jones lead the way. I will say those guys at least had heart.

"Now we have some promising players who have gone through a crucible season. Whether it makes them or breaks them is yet to be seen. Get rid of the heartless/lazy players and let's move on"

I 100% agree. We do have some good pieces of the puzzle like Walton, LO and Turiaf. Mihm was decent too when he played 2 seasons ago. if KB can be a better teammate and leader the team could win a playoff series....maybe.

One more thing Laker friends

What I don’t get in this blog is that you either have the uber Kobe lovers or the ones who blame Kobe for everything that goes wrong. The most confusing are people like KL “the beast” who can’t say enough about the importance of being a team yet put all responsibility on one man.

The way I see it Kobe showed us a lot of things this season. For one he showed that he could play the way everybody dreamed he could: sharing the ball and getting everybody involved. Many here seem to have forgotten how when Kobe played in the backcourt as the primary facilitator of the triangle offense how good the team was playing. Remember all the comments about the best passing team in the league or PJ’s comments on how this group of players were the ones who were best executing the triangle offense. Well Kobe was responsible for a lot of that as he was the primary facilitator. He showed the world that he could still get his and involve his team mates and get them to play at a better level. But Lamar with his post play and Luke with his ability to move the ball and burry open shots, Kwames post defense and the over-the-head play of nearly all the bench was also a big part of it as the injuries bluntly pointed out.

However there are things than Kobe still can not do properly. Most glaring of all is his inability to get his team mates involved while playing in the wing position as the primary scorer and not as the facilitator in the backcourt. To be honest he did try during the months of January-March to both get team mates involved and try to be the deadly force down in the post but lets face it that experiment resulted in a lot of Laker losses (6 and 7 strait loosing streaks!!). But the resulting solution of unleashing Kobe lights out was maybe good enough to get the team to the playoffs but, as was obvious to everyone, didn’t stand a chance when it came to getting them out of the first round. Plus it resulted in most team mates standing around instead of trying to play basketball.

The thing is, the responsibility of bad play should not be put solely on Kobe shoulders as some bloggers like Mt or KL “the beast” try to do. Don’t you think other guys are just as guilty? Phil Jackson, Lamar and all the rest are also to blame as it is also their responsibility to run the offense smoothly. I for one will never understand why PJ made the switch to put Kobe in the wing and give the facilitating role to Lamar who just cannot direct the triangle offense properly. If Kobe is responsible for jacking up to many shots and not getting people involved while in the post, his team mates are also responsible for not doing a good job of rotating the ball well enough to find other open shots or giving up the ball to Kobe even though he had not established a good position. Too often did Lamar or Walton give up the ball to Kobe who was being double teamed and being pushed out of the post instead of trying to move the ball in another direction. Great example is Pippen who always made sure that the ball got to Jordan’s hand at the right time and also made sure that it not always landed in his hands just because he wanted it (for references check Lazenby's blog and Tex winter).

What I am trying to say here is that it should be teams that should be accountable for wins and losses. That is the glaring problem of the NBA right now and its insistence in trying to create one man gods starting with MJ.

The Kobe haters and the Kobe uber lovers are the same. They put just too much emphasis on one man. For example as great a player as Nash is (I think he certainly is a unique talent of great proportions) why didn’t the same type of play that he put out in Dallas receive the same love? In Dallas was he a player who just could not make his team mates better? When he suddenly moved to Phoenix did he just all of a sudden “get it” (the magic formulae to make team mates better). I think not. In Phoenix he got surrounded by great players and a system that fully utilized the talents of everybody on the team and mostly Nash’s as his is the most unique. The same as MJ when the right players and right system were found his talents were fully utilized.

Surviving playoff rounds, winning championships are team efforts. Whether its Garnett, Kobe, T-Mac, Wade, Nash (if his team again can’t win the chip), penalizing or crowning a player as god for a team accomplishment is ridiculous.

cheers

Players like Kobe, Magic and Jordan are rarities, they are naturals and they surface only every 10-20 years and just a handful in NBA history. We are lucky to get entertained yet by another great talent and that in our home team.

Unfortunately, Lakers owners and incompetent management have kept the cash flow going in selling tickets for Kobe’s one-man shows with Bryant breaking individual record after record some over 45 years old.

Those one-man shows are not enough, not enough for fans, not enough for the team and certainly not enough for Kobe in his prime years.

Voicing his frustration publicly, Kobe is taking a giant step in leading this franchise to the desired and overdue elite level.

Awarding the MVP title to Nowitzki is a pure financial decision by NBA, because Kobe’s Jersey is already number one selling NBA item. So, why not put some other players on the board of fame to sell more. Nowitzki MVP is a joke, just a bad joke.

There is only one MVP: KOBE BRYANT

GO LAKERS. GO KOBE.

Tom states, "The targets I like are Ron Artest for small forward or Andre Miller for point guard, both of whom make in the same area of salary as Kwame. The combo of Kobe, Lamar, and Artest or Kobe, Lamar, and Miller with Bynum and Mihm at center would be a definite step in the right direction. It is obvious that Kwame will be the piece that gets moved."

I agree. I can envision the Artest deal....

"We'll trade you our stiff for your problem child".

The only problem is that we KNOW Artest is one helluva player and we KNOW Kwame is a bust. Likely, we'll have to throw something else in to make it go through (Cook? Sasha?).

"Awarding the MVP title to Nowitzki is a pure financial decision by NBA, because Kobe’s Jersey is already number one selling NBA item. So, why not put some other players on the board of fame to sell more. "

Wow...that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. (well, compared to the real world, not compared to other things said on this blog) First of all, the very idea that it would happen is idiotic - making an undeserving and unpopular player the MVP does not make your league more popular. And how exactly did the NBA change the votes of all the non-NBA payroll people who vote for MVP? Are all those journalists who follow the league lying about their vote while they explicitly state that they're not voting for Kobe?

"The only problem is that we KNOW Artest is one helluva player and we KNOW Kwame is a bust. Likely, we'll have to throw something else in to make it go through (Cook? Sasha?)."

There is another problem in that Ron Artest is crazy as hell (although I'd still trade Kwame for him in a second).

Jason F,

I love the fact that Kobe urged management to do something. I was losing patience wth the lack of progress just like the rest of us, and I can't even imagine how frustrated Kobe felt. We all knew that changes needed to be made for the Lakers to become elite, so what Kobe said is nothing new. As the best player in the leauge he has earned the right to voice his opinion, especially after the fact that management promised him to build a contender around him. Kobe has lived up to his end of the bargain, now it's time for Buss and company to live up to theres.

i'm starting a rumor with absolutely NO truth behind it RIGHT NOW in hopes of stirring up enough support to make it happen.

TRADE KWAME BROWN for RON ARTEST.

supporting facts:

Sacramento has no big bodies. Check: old brad miller, old shareef abdur rahim, and unloved and undersized kenny thomas.

the maloofs are dying to get rid of ronnie and his nutcase antics. plus, he makes a similar $ per year as kwame.

they have fransisco garcia and kevin martin emerging as wings (who play for less money and cause less aggravation) making artest more expendable.

kwame is a big body with an expiring contract. if he works out, good for them. if he doesn't, that's 9M coming off their books at the end of the year.

if ANYONE can get thru to ronnie, it's Dr. Phil..... Jackson, that is.

negatives:

even if it does make awkward sense to Sac, they'd never do ANYTHING that might benefit the Lakers.

LA would have to run an odd line-up of Kobe, Luke, Lamar, Artest, and whichever big man shows up to camp the most ready, with no breakout speed to defend quicker guards.

on the plus, the Luke, Lamar, Kobe, Ron, 1 thru 4 would make it impossible for teams to run screen and rolls at those positions b/c they wouldn't be able to create any mismatches.

C'MON LAKERLAND. LET'S GET THIS BALL ROLLING!!!

LA GUY,

Wow, That name says it all: tough LA guy....

There is no need to use that kind of tone correcting somebody's mistake. Maybe I am mistaking but don't forget we live in a country where presidents are elected by the supreme court.
And, If you and I knew how than it would defy the purpose.

I give it you, maybe it was an overstatement. However, Nowitzki is undeserving of the MVP.

Sean P,

Did you watch the Laker games this year, or just the playoffs?

1. I agree with you that Kobe does too much whining at the refs, BUT have you ever seen a star player receive less calls than Kobe, ever? I, for one, cannot name a single star player in the last 20 years that got less love from the refs. That being said, yeah, he needs to stop complaining because that's not going to get him more calls.

2. You have a point that Kobe freelances too much, but how can you blame him? I see his freelancing this year as trying to cover for his teamates' deficiencies on defense. Bynum is a decent shot bloker, but he is completely lost on D. Kwame is a good one on one defender, but he is also completely lost as well. Smush, Luke and Cook are three of the worst defensive players in the ENTIRE league. Lamar is an average defender. Now add the fact that most of these sub-par defensive players were injured as well. The coaches took that into account when they voted him first team all-defense. Just remember, good defensive teamates make you look better than you are on defense, and with the same logic, bad defensive teamates make you look worse than you are.

3. Kobe has to "move the ball". Again, did you not watch the first 2/3 of the season, when he was moving the ball, and getting praise, even from the Kobe-hating media about what a team player and excellent passer that he had become this year? Is your short term memory that bad?

4. "Individual first Kobe" Again, you're short term memory is acting up again. Do you honestly think he cares more about scoring championships than winning championships? If you say that he is selfish because he is more concerned with his OWN legacy than the team's success, than you are making NO sense. The only way for Kobe to secure his legacy is to have the TEAM win. Isn't that obvious? He has been doing everything the coaching staff has asked of him througout the year, whether that is to fascillitate or to dominate. That's my definition of a team player.

5. Kobe has "not admitted" his part in the Shaq breakup. What's the point when the ENTIRE media and Phil's book already unfairly blamed Kobe? Look, any objective person can see that it was BOTH Kobe AND Shaq's immaturity, along with other factors, that led to the breakup. They are BOTH at fault here. Yet, the entire media made it seem as if this was 100% Kobe's fault, which is ridiculous. And gullible people like you bought into it without even looking at the facts. He was in a no-win situation.

-Don't let the media infulence you Sean P. Watch all the games and look at the facts before making your absurd accusations.

LA guy
KLbeast

Are you kidding me?
You two talking about grammar, common sense and writing with property?

You, both, are the worst blogger hear.

Same topic, same argument,. same complain, same logic, same, same, same.

Nobody read a KLbeast post completedly.

LA guy is a blogger-recicler. He wait for somebody to post any idea and he try it in other post and as his own perception. In others words, plagiarism is the resource of the mediocre.

Why you two heat Kobe.
Is clear you two are overwhelmed by greatness.
Let's see...
Fisrt NBA team....this year.
NO ShAq....No WaDe...No LeBron.
Wao!
I know you two are suffering the selection of Kobe instead of Lebron, "make me a superstar out of nothing '. or Wade "please, referee give another foul to score. Or Shaq, "make look good guys, don't play defense.

Your trio is considered second class order.
Seal your lips, my friends.
Calling idiot to others doens't hide your own bogus mind set.

Kobe is laughing in both of you.
Loosers.
Hahahahaha. Kobe is the man.
He is the man in the Lakers, the man in the NBA, the super-duper-star.

The others? Pretenders. Pretenders.

Eat your own medicine, puzzycats.

Repeat after me, be my echo.
"We heat Kobe because he is great".
Repeat.

Typical Kobe! No Nonsense.

Kobe is exceptional on and off the court. Focused, Blames nobody, and lays it like it is!

He singlehandedly got us in the playoffs by his 5-game winning streak.

We (and he) needs help.

Baywood

Andrew Z:

My wife is happily fine. Thanks for asking. The entire experience has reinforced my personal sense of optimism about life, which in turn has refueled my optimism about the Lakers. GHF all the way, thank God! Lol.

While we were never as good as I had thought we were earlier in the season, I still think we are only a player or two from being among the elite teams with a chance to win it all. Half of me wants the Lakers to pull the plug on the Kidd deal and give up Bynum as I think that Kobe, Lamar, and Kidd would be a pretty powerful combination. And Kidd is one of the few players that can help our scoring, assists, rebounds, and defense. The other half of me supports holding onto Bynum and instead trying to get Artest from the Kings for Kwame, who I actually agree would be a great trade for Sacto.

Came across my $30 internet betting slip last weekend and burned it along with all of the bad karma from last season. Now I can be full bore GHF without having to worry about all of the ill karma from this season. Are you saving your betting slip as a souvenir? Lol. It should be fun to see what kind of moves the Lakers will make as well as how much Farmar and other key players can improve during the offseason.

One thing I think we all agree upon is manning our roster with guys who are tough players. When you look at the Golden State – Indiana trade, it is easy to see that the Warriors moved their weak minded players and in return got Indy’s tough minded players. That’s why we need to look at getting rid of Kwame, Cook, et al. Even if it means putting up with a guy like Artest.

Tom

KL "the beast"
i see kobe pass the ball and whoever screws up, then kobe gives that stupid glare, then i know, forget it, it's going to be kobe jacking up bad shot from now on. ya dig?

Yeah I have to agree with you their a little bit. But to Kobe's defense I think he was doing a good job of not making those faces and being very patient and supportive of the other player in the beginning of the season but as the season went downhill that glare did come back and he started to become more impatient and less supportive. I too would have liked him to be more patient and burry some of his anger inside. This is still an area were Kobe needs to develop as a team leader.

But there should be a line drawn. Being like KG is also bad where no one seems to realise that they are playing with an exceptional talent like KG. So being too nice and supportive is also bad. We also don't know the whole story. For example as Phil stated if his team mates did not show the same passion and work ethic (not just in games, even in practices) I don't see a competitive freak like Kobe handling it and maybe they do deserve the bad looks.

As for making team mates better, I really believe that he does all of it if he is in the backcourt as the faciliator but once he is down on the wing that part of his game is just not the same. But I blame that on PJ more than anybody else. After two seasons it should be obvious that Kobe makes the team much better and himself becomes more deadlier when he is the facilitator of the triangle offense. I mean a 26/13 record (even when playing without Lamar and Kwame) or the way they nearly eliminated Phoenix the year before speaks for itself.

fkillah,

I agree that Kobe was justified in calling for management to do something. The problem I have is with the WAY he did it. Yelling, "Do something now!!" to the media, rather saying so to Kupchak et al in person, seems kind of spoiled-babyish to me. Also, it doesn't seem to speak well to his relationship with management. Did he think management WASN'T thinking of doing something now (although if he was, that might be justified).

Also, we've been talking Artest because 1) we need to "do something now", 2) we're limited in what we can do, which means, 3) we're going to have to take a chance on someone else's cast off.

As Doug Collins said at the end of the last game against PHX, the Lakers are probably going to have to take a chance on an aging star who's overpaid, or a star who's been injured. Artest fits the latter category, although his "injury" is between the ears.

Mike,

I believe Mihm's under contract for next year. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Maybe, Michael, it is because Chris Mihm has been injured for a year and a half, and didn't play a game all last season. That might have SOMETHING to do with why other GMs won't give him 4 or 5 million dollars.

The thing you have to remember, Mike, is that this is pro sports - there is this thing called salary dumping. GMs will want Kwame because, despite the fact that he demonstrated this year he is definitely NOT worth 9 million a year, they will only have to pay him for one year, as opposed to paying another player for three or four years. They then have more flexibility to go out and sign someone else, or simply save the money.

Remember, this is a universe where Philly decided it would be better to pay Chris Webber 95% of his multi-million dollar contract so he WOULDN'T play for them anymore, then had everyone talking about how great a player he was. It doesn't always make logical sense.

The Lakers worst move over the last three years was not the Shaq trade, it was trading Caron Butler for Kwame. When you consider that Caron was an All-Star this year and Odom was on his way to being an all-star until he got hurt, we could have had three potential all-stars like the old days. Caron would have ended up being that 2nd scorer we needed and Odom would have been our glue that held everything together. But, instead we have Kwame! nuff said!

No question about it, Kobe earned his A.

Highly unlikely that Artest is headed to the Lakers. No one in the Western Conference is inclined to help the Lakers, especially in the Pacific Division.

We've got to be looking to the East. If the Nets go down as they are expected to, the word is everyone but Jefferson is on the block. We'll also have to look to teams like the Bobcats, New Orleans, Memphis, the Pacers, and Atlanta to make any deals. I'd include Miami, but except for D-Wade, those guys are just plain OLD.

Guys like Kwame and Cook who can't compete in the West will do better in the East, and especially young Andrew Bynum.

As for getting Kevin Garnett, McHale has proven to be as bad a GM as Kupchak, so maybe he might take Cook and a three dollar bill with Kwame's picture in the middle :)

Rick,

You may be right, but I think if a Kwame-Artest trade were to go down, each side would be snickering to itself....

SAC: "Hee, hee....they took our basket case!"

LAL: "Hee, hee....they took our overpaid stiff!"

TEAM SYNERGY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS TALENT!

Watching the Golden State Warriors womp the Utah Jazz on TV in the first half of their game in Oakland reminded me of how well the Lakers were playing earlier in the year. The disappointing finish and constant negative posts from the GHEers almost make you think that was in a dream or a previous life or something. But it wasn’t. It was just a demonstration that synergy as just as important as talent to winning in basketball.

By synergy, I mean that combination of chemistry, drive, focus and energy that allows five players to produce results that are greater than the sum of all their individual efforts and defeat teams with more talented players. It’s a multiplying factor that can jump a team a level or two above the raw talent of its players. It’s what the Lakers never got back after being decimated by the injuries It’s what made so many of us jump aboard the 55-Win Bandwagon only to be left high and dry on the 42-Win Smushcalade. lol.

I’ve been thinking about what went wrong with the Lakers after the injuries. I think a key incident might have been the Jason Kidd trade deal that did not go down. The team was in a precarious state at that moment with all of the injuries, Smush’s attitudes and antics, Cook’s rebellion against Phil, and Bynum’s inconsistent play and demeanor. I think the trade talks hurt Kwame’s feelings, reminded Andrew this was a business, and – most importantly – told Kobe that the team was NOT completely committed to winning now as promised. I think that the failed deal killed any hope that the Lakers would get their mojo together. The only games we won after that were really when Kobe went off. Think about it.

In retrospect, the Lakers should have realized how NOT pulling the trigger on the trade would sit with Kobe Bryant, especially if the team did not get its A-game back in time for the playoffs, which is exactly what happened. There was a definite sense of frustration and anger in Kobe after the deal didn’t go down. To his credit, he still played his heart out, but he wasn’t haven’t any fun doing it and I think down deep he was hurt and felt that the team should have made the deal. What we are seeing now from his exit interview is exactly what was pounding in his heart the last few weeks. I was opposed to giving up Andrew in that deal originally but later acquiesced that Jason Kidd would have really been a perfect fit for the Lakers. Now, I am starting to feel for the first time that the Lakers may be forced to trade Bynum now just because they did not pull the trigger earlier. We need to restore Kobe’s faith in the Lakers and their commitment to winning. That is why I think it is very possible that we will trade Bynum. Otherwise, to hold Bynum back again and not get the help the team needs to win now will eventually cost us Kobe.

Tom

The biggest reason to sign Mihm, beyond the notion that he's a decent player, is that he's one of the only players they'll have access to in the FA market. They don't have the flexibility to go out and sign a bunch of players, so their Bird guys become that much more important. They'll have to be careful not to overpay, but if they can get him for a couple mil a year and he's healthy enough to contribute, that'll be a big boost to the frontcourt that they're unlikely to be able to afford somewhere else.

BK

Brian,

One thing I do remember strongly about Mihm is that he couldn't stay out on the floor. DIdn't he lead the league in fouls per minute (or at least was in the top 5)?

So if we were to have a center tandem of Mihm/Bynum or Mihm/Turiaf....well, are we going to lead the league in opponent's free thow attempted?