Report Card/Exit Interview: Kobe Bryant
The Lakers' second half swan dive didn't just cost them a crack at a higher playoff seed, but also a legitimate shot for Kobe Bryant to win the MVP. When the Lakers were 26-13, looking like a team that could hang with the Houstons and Utahs in the solid second tier of Western Conference squads, led by a Bryant who was shooting well, passing and generally helping an undertalented squad play to the best of its potential, Bryant was being lauded in many circles for playing perhaps the best hoops of his career. It was certainly the best I'd seen him play. Had the MVP voting taken place at that point, he'd have been a favorite. Then the injuries hit and the team went into the tank. Kobe was forced to carry the team offensively for massive stretches, bringing his percentage and efficiency down and using up the energy the Lakers would need him to have in the playoffs just to make them.
Still there were plenty of great moments (the string of 50+ games, for example) and a season's worth of outstanding play. In the end, though, Kobe was left with another scoring title, and not much else beyond deep frustration at the state of the team. I do think Kobe went a long way towards changing the perception of his game and how he can adjust his play to lead and instil confidence in those he plays with. It's a shame we didn't get a chance to see how it could have played out over a full season, but the real test will come when (lord willing) there's a better supporting cast around him. I think he's up to it- the prospect of more seasons like the last three has sharpened his focus on winning- but there will always be doubters. Still, however you slice it, it's hard to argue with Kobe's production this year. GRADE: A
EXIT INTERVIEW: You're going to want to listen to this one in its entirety. It's interesting on a lot of levels, most noteably because the veneer of patience Kobe has shown over the last three seasons seems to have officially worn off. Improvements need to be made. "I just voiced my opinion," Bryant said of his meeting with management, "and now they know that they've got to go out there to do the best that they can to try to make it happen. That's one of the things when I resigned here, they promised to build a contender, adn build a contender now. I don't want to have to wait more than I already have."
Download kobe_bryant_exit_interview_1.mp3
Kobe was pretty clear that things have to get better, and that Mitch Kupchak and the gang understand how he feels on the issue. "We have to improve in a myriad of areas," so while Bryant can't say definitively how improvements can be made given the salary constraints the Lakers are working with, he knows there are plenty of issues that can be addressed... and they need to be. As for his own "window," he didn't sound concerned. "I feel fine physically. I still eat like crap. The important thing to me is winning, now. It's not waiting, or this, that or the other." It's a question of going into the season with a reasonable shot of winning the whole thing, and then doing it. Asked about the opt out clause he can exercise in two years, Kobe replied, "I hate to even think about me going someplace else." Which is not, by the way, the same as saying "I won't go somewhere else." Just something to think about.
Telling, too, was his response to the question about making progress internally with the pieces they have. "No, something has to get done. We can't be in the same position next year."
Download kobe_bryant_exit_interview_2.mp3
Kobe said he felt guys gave their best effort. "It was a very difficult season with injury, and new guys being thrown into the rotation and trying to learn on the fly and things of that nature. It was very difficult, and I feel like they gave it their best shot," he said. As for the offense, he told a story about talking this season to Robert Horry when the Lakers played the Spurs, and Horry joked the Lakers looked like they were running the "Bermuda Triangle." It's about finding players that fit the mold and understand what needs to be done, but "it's just basketball." Asked about Phil Jackson and if he'd like see him get an extension, his reply was definitive. "Absolutely. Absolutely. The thing about coach is you know is style, you know the way he coaches, and it's proved to be effective at winning championships. So now it's just about getting players who can play for him, who are willing to play for him. If we do that, we'll be okay." In the second go-round, the two, Kobe says, are very much on the same page.
Download kobe_bryant_exit_interview_3.mp3
"This is really on "E," so we really got to put the pedal to the metal and try to do something," Bryant said. And he believes Dr. Buss feels the same way, and wants to win. "He's going to do whatever it takes to make it happen." Asked about the trade value of his teammates in terms of getting help, Kobe basically said he doesn't play GM. He had high praise of Lamar Odom ("He's a phenominal player," Bryant said, who played hurt through most of the season.) but said again the team just needs to get better. How isn't in his realm. Just needs to get done. One positive of this season, Bryant said, was that the trials and tribulations helped him develop as a leader. "It's one thing to lead when everything's going right. It's another when you've got adversity and you're struggling. That's when you're really, really tested as a leader, and try to keep the ship going."
BK
KL "the beast",
You keep putting the Shaq and it's results on KB...
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.
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.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 11, 2007 at 04:25 PM
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.
Posted by: jorema | May 11, 2007 at 04:29 PM
BlackMamba24,
"I'd really hate to be his teammate right now. Cos if I am, I'd B***H slap him. He's the one who need to take less shots and develop a "live and die with my team" mentality because that's what makes players great. "
well spoken my friend.
"Now if Kobe doesn't know what sacrifice is and wont keep his mouth shut, I say trade him to Cleveland for Lebron James. Or reunite him with his pal Shaq for D-Wade."
I would much rather have LBJ than kobe. KBiatch was too successful too soon. KBenchpress didn't have to work hard and "sacrifice" for championship succcess. Shaq did all of the work (recruit real players and develop a team-first mentality) whil KB8100 romed around free to razzle and dazzle the crowd. It's easy to do that when you're not being tripled teamed. I really don't think Dwade/Shaq would take kobe at this point. I think Dwade as the lead and Shaq as a solid role player with some tweeks should be enough to get them back to contenion form. I will say "Detroit Basketball!" is looking ferocious right now. I think DET is making up for last season. I would actually like to see the Cavs in the finals with Suns. That would make a fun series. I'm getting a little tired for DET and SAS.
Posted by: KL "the beast" | May 11, 2007 at 04:30 PM
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.
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 04:31 PM
"Now if Kobe doesn't know what sacrifice is and wont keep his mouth shut, I say trade him to Cleveland for Lebron James. Or reunite him with his pal Shaq for D-Wade."
If you offered Cleveland or Miami those trades, they would laugh at you. They wouldn't even pause to think about it. Sorry.
The only way we trade Kobe for worth is to get two emerging stars on a team that needs more oomph for its fan base. You have to give him to a team that will be willing to sacrifice performance for sell-outs and merchandise sales. That's why I think Toronto, Portland, Charlotte, etc. are the kind of teams we need to be looking at for trades.
Posted by: LA Guy | May 11, 2007 at 04:32 PM
"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?)
Posted by: LA Guy | May 11, 2007 at 04:34 PM
I agree the refs are uneven. I agree there is sometimes an unfair emphasis on certain calls.
However, I do not believe for a minute that the refs are making calls to insure a particular team wins. Conspiracies rarely stay hidden forever and there has never been any solid accusations about 'fixing' games in the NBA.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 11, 2007 at 04:39 PM
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.
Posted by: KL "the beast" | May 11, 2007 at 04:39 PM
Andrew Z:
I agree that there is enough money to pay a third star by trading Kwame and his $9M salary. 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.
Bringing in Kidd or KG or JO brings another whole set of problems because then you really don’t have any money left over and will be forced to fill the rest of the roster with lower paid unproven players. On the other hand, Kobe, Lamar, and Kidd would be a pretty good lineup to start with but I think there are so many “ifs” that it is hard to count on being able to pull off a trade for a superstar, especially in a year when the top draft choices may be the top draw to Minny or Jersey or Indy trading their superstars.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | May 11, 2007 at 04:43 PM
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
Posted by: iksaglam | May 11, 2007 at 04:43 PM
Craig,
Don't waste your timing replying to KL. He has admitted many times on this blog that he is just "joking" about his Kobe criticism to get a rise out of the Kobe fans.
Good points regarding the scenarios, but if both scenarios do not equate to a championship next year, than wouldn't it be better to go after KG and roll the dice, rather than the slow and long process of developing players, especially if you consider the difficuly in learning the triangle and Kobe's age? Kobe and KG (assuming we'll have to get rid of Lamar,Cook, two 1st rounders, Bynum and maybe Luke via sign and trade), playing with a healthy Kwame (unless he is part of the trade, if not, we can trade him for a SF or PG), a healthy Vlad, a second year Farmar, seems like the better route to me.
Posted by: mitchell | May 11, 2007 at 04:46 PM
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.
Posted by: Cyrus | May 11, 2007 at 04:46 PM
When it comes to individual skill, I think that Kobe is the best player on the planet right now. When it comes to team play, Kobe is not even close. There is a whole slew of things that Kobe can work on to improve in this area:
1) Stop jawing with the refs and get back on defense. Seriously, I haven’t seen any player do this more than Kobe. This is bad on a number of fronts: he make it easier for other teams to get transition baskets, he gives away points when he gets techs, and he pisses the refs off (perhaps this is the reason he gets less calls than he should?).
2) Stay with your man. Kobe freelances on defense almost as much as he does on offense (especially when he’s not guarding one of the elite players). As bad is this to do on offense, it’s even worse to do this on defense. At least Kobe makes up for this offense by making numerous ridiculous shots; the 1.44 spg and .47 bpg he averaged is a poor return for all the freelancing he did on defense. The Lakers defense obviously had a lot of problems last season, foremost among them was dribble penetration. While Smush and Luke bear a significant portion of the responsibility of this, so does Kobe.
3) Move the ball. First of all, Kobe is simply not efficient enough with the ball to dominate it the way he does. People like to compare Kobe’s game to Jordan’s, but Kobe is no where near as efficient as Jordan was. Jordan shot a .497 career fg% and he posted a career 1.94 a/to ratio while averaging 5.3 apg. Kobe has shot a .453 career fg% and he has posted a career 1.55 a/to ratio while averaging 4.5 apg. Jordan operated as the secondary ball-handling option for most of his career, while Kobe has operated as the primary ball-handler for most of his, yet somehow ended up scoring more points and getting more assists than Kobe while doing so with the ball in his hands less often. Perhaps, it’s because he used his teammates more successfully than Kobe has done by playing without the ball? Secondly, as has been said repeatedly, Kobe way too often takes his own teammates out of the flow of the offense by pounding the rock (and then jacking up shots).
4) Be a teammate. Kobe way (and I mean WAY) too often acts/thinks as if he is the co-head coach (and now co-GM?) of the Lakers. This may have worked for Bill Russell in the olden days, but the game has changed since and, besides, Russell approached the game from a team-first mentality. Kobe approaches the team from an individual perspective: it is always about when he should and when he should not attempt to dominate, as if there is no middle ground. He (and the team) would be much more successful if he could play by riding the team flow, rather than either dominating it or withdrawing from it completely. I must say that at least part of the blame for this rests on Phil who has been too unwilling since his return to challenge Kobe and put him in his place.
5) Take responsibility. It’s amazing that someone who is willing to fail so often by taking important shots or defensive assignments, is so unwilling to take the blame. He has never cleanly admitted his part in breaking up the dynasty (everyone knows he didn’t want to play with Shaq anymore, just admit it Kobe!). He has hardly learned since, throwing his teammates under the bus after this last series. As if Kobe’s teammates were the only one coming up short in the 4th quarters against the Suns.
Posted by: Sean P | May 11, 2007 at 04:48 PM
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?).
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 04:50 PM
"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."
The reason they developed a heart is cos there was no one there taking all the shots. They were all distributed. There was no leader on that team. They were all leaders on that team. Del Harris was a great coach. He made rookies into all stars by giving them the responsibility to live and die with their own actions. Phil Jackson rarely plays rookies. He trusts the veterans more. He doesn't have the ability or the patience to develop rookies unlike Del.
Posted by: BlackMamba24 | May 11, 2007 at 04:53 PM
"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?
Posted by: LA Guy | May 11, 2007 at 04:56 PM
Jason F,
Yeah what you say in the most part is true. But if I were the Lakers I would ask Minnesota what they wanted. I would say "here choose, all except Kobe is available". "You don't like what I have to offer, Ok which player from which team would you like" (i.e involving third partys).
I would also get Kobe on the phone with KG, with Kobe consistantly trying to persuade KG to demand a trade. Because if KG would demand a trade to the Lakers (which will not happen I quess) I think even McHale could not say no to KG which has nearly wasted his carreer and legacy for McHale's team.
In all reality I think you are right and it is not gonna happen. But dreaming is still good and what a day for the NBA that would be!!
cheers
Posted by: iksaglam | May 11, 2007 at 04:56 PM
"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).
Posted by: Sean P. | May 11, 2007 at 04:57 PM
mitchell,
Ok, ok! You make a good point. However, I ONLY want KG. If we can't get him then I don't want to trade Lamar or Bynum - absolutely NO!. No JO, no Kidd, nobody else for either of them.
Posted by: Craig W. | May 11, 2007 at 05:00 PM
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.
Posted by: fkillah | May 11, 2007 at 05:07 PM
Artest to the Lakers?! That's like putting gas on a fire. To describe Artest as a volatile person would be an understatement. We all know what happened in Indiana. And when he came to the Kings he was on his best behavior until he wanted to shoot the ball more. He then showed up late to practice or missed them all together; told his teamates that he was going to retire; and has a pending case about domestic violence above his head. Don't get me wrong, I love his game when he is focused and know what he may bring to the Lakers in terms of skill. But why add a guy with a history to build a team that has chemistry?
Posted by: fkillah | May 11, 2007 at 05:16 PM
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!!!
Posted by: jack in hollywood | May 11, 2007 at 05:17 PM
Craig/Michell
"Don't waste your timing replying to KL. He has admitted many times on this blog that he is just "joking" about his Kobe criticism to get a rise out of the Kobe fans."
Correction to michell (mr serious): i joke becuase it makes blogging a little less boring from posts like yours....always so serious. you need to bring some levity into the mix. my posting are usually serious, but i try to put some humor into the post. if someone makes a ridiculus post that kobe's the best in the universe, i'll make a post that counters that ridiculous statement. lighten up buddy, it's no the end of the world. you and korey would make good friend.
iksaglam,
"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. "
very well spoken sir. i'll admit that i exaggerate when some dumbass kobe-lover goes exteme the other way. your points were on target. i was happily surprised early in the season when the lakers played very good team ball, but i had my doubt when things eventually go bad (normal ups and downs during the long season). like it or not, kobe's the leader so it's encumbent on KB81 to give confidence to the team and have a "live and die" with the team mentality. too often, 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?
Sean P.
"When it comes to individual skill, I think that Kobe is the best player on the planet right now. When it comes to team play, Kobe is not even close. "
Well spoken sir. The rest of your blog.......fantastic! i just re-read it and you nailed it. you have my eternal respect (as far as bloggers go). I would also say that complaining to the refs sets a bad example to the team. just play, i say.
BlackMamba24, i've really enjoyed your posts today. please continue to give us your opinions. i'm out.
Posted by: KL "the beast" | May 11, 2007 at 05:25 PM
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.
Posted by: Cyrus | May 11, 2007 at 05:26 PM
LakerTom,
Good points all. Hope your wife is doing well my friend.
Funny enough, everything from Philly says that Miller is happy and wants to stay and Philly thinks they are a playoff team and really aren't looking to rebuild. I too like Miller and think he'd be a great addition.
I've also been calling for the Artest/Shareef for Kwame, Mo Evans, No. 19 deal for awhile. We get that third piece, a tough S.O.B. who could go nuts but it really wouldn't matter because his contract is so friendly and a low post scorer who could come off the bench. Sacramento is trying to get rid of Bibby, Artest, Miller, Thomas, and Shareef and build around a pretty damn good young core. There really isn't anything in that deal that would keep it from happening other than left over hate from earlier in the decade.
You mentioned what KG, Kidd, or JO and their contracts would do to this team because of the financial implications, but it would be interesting to see how Walton, Turiaf, Vlad, and Farmar would do playing with those three guys. I mean, you want to run about 8 deep and I think we would be getting there with one of the big three mentioned above.
My biggest concern is the crappy contracts of some other guy those three teams would want to attach in a deal. If we could get away from that we'd be golden.
Posted by: Andrew Z | May 11, 2007 at 05:28 PM
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.
Posted by: mitchell | May 11, 2007 at 05:40 PM
Interesting how people keep bringing up Kwame trade scenarios. But why should any team be willing to trade players who have contracts combining for 9 million dollars for Kwame? Especially, if what you people seem to think is true: That Chris Mihm is better than Kwame, why shouldn't those teams just sign Chris for 4 or 5 million? That way they can keep their players and get a center many of you seem to think is capable of be a starter in this league.
Why? Because it isn't true. Chris Mihm isn't worth that amount of money or else the Lakers would sign him and if the Lakers don't then some other team would, which would make the need for having to trade for Kwame, under any circumstance...irrational.
I mean doesn't it make sense for a team to sign Chris as opposed to trading for Kwame? Sure that makes sense, unless...Chris really isn't that good.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | May 11, 2007 at 05:43 PM
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.
Posted by: jorema | May 11, 2007 at 06:01 PM
M T,
If Kwame is worth 9 M, then he will get plenty of interest from other teams. Mihm is coming off 1.5 years without playing, so he will need to prove that he is healthy before someone signs him to a significant contract. ANd you are ignoring the fact that Kwame's contract is expiring. SInce he is not worth his salary, the team that holds his contract will benefit at the end of next season.
Remember, when both Kwame and Mihm were healthy, "Thumb's up" Jackson started Mihm. That tells you who is a better player.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | May 11, 2007 at 06:12 PM
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
Posted by: Baywood | May 11, 2007 at 06:14 PM
Mike T
We all wish you were 1/2 right. We really do. But Kwame just has not grown; he is still the same so-so, unpredictable, lousy ball-handler and FT shooter. I grant you he has a Big Body; that's it.
Chris has a good jumper, plays consistent, and can pass.
Baywood
Posted by: Baywood | May 11, 2007 at 06:18 PM
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
Posted by: LakerTom | May 11, 2007 at 06:21 PM
KL "the pussycat"
I've never said there is anything wrong with humor on this blog. In fact, the humurous posts are my favorites (i.e. generic1 and mamba24) Don't forget, you're the one that was cracking up at my joke about "Shaq' ass odor".
What I don't appreciate are your dishonest posts. You have baited me time and again to respond to your points of view, which I respected at the time. But then, after my response, you say, "I didn't really mean those things, I just wanted to make you angry". Call me serious all you want, but that ain't funny to me. Here's a lesson for you my clueless brother, you can you be funny AND honest at the same time. Try it out sometime.
Posted by: mitchell | May 11, 2007 at 06:24 PM
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.
Posted by: iksaglam | May 11, 2007 at 06:26 PM
Anybody catch Screamin Steven + Kobe on ESPN? Kobe is pissed at the front office for doing nothing, he's livid with KG for not going public for a trade request, and he'll have no problem demanding a trade if no changes are made because he loves winning more than LA.
I've got two words for Kobe... [BLEEEEEEEEP] HIM! I'm sorry, but that just put me over the edge. You can now consider me an official "Kobe Hater." I'm a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers first... and if he can call out KG in the same sentence for remaining loyal to his fans as he damns Los Angeles, he can go [bleep] himself, like the [bleep] [bleeping] [bleepity] [bleep] that he is! Going public with all of that? Man... I thought he had grown up. I guess I was wrong.
Posted by: generic_one | May 11, 2007 at 06:39 PM
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.
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 06:41 PM
OK,
If Mihm is a better player then why should teams trade for Kwame when they can sign Mihm for about 4 or 5 million?
That's the question. It's common knowledge the Lakers aren't going to sign Mihm for more than 2 million a year. Why shouldn't a team needing a center sign him for 4 million instead of trading for Kwame for 9 million?
They won't do it because the reality is that Mihm isn't going to be a starting center in this league again.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | May 11, 2007 at 06:42 PM
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.
Posted by: SBPimp | May 11, 2007 at 06:42 PM
Jason F-
He's a free agent. Turiaf, however, is under contract for next year (his contract situation has been a little confusing to follow- I know I had thought earlier in the year he was an FA this summer).
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | May 11, 2007 at 06:49 PM
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!
Posted by: X-man | May 11, 2007 at 06:53 PM
Ok, I stand corrected. Mihm is a free agent this year.
But I think the Lakers are going to make him a reasonable offer to come back, so unless some other team wants to take a big chance on a guy who is coming back from a severe ankle injury, he'll be a Laker.
Also, as SBPimp points out, if you're SAC, you may be willing to pay Kwame-stiff $9 mil for one year and then free up cap space after that, rather than offer a questionable Mihm $4 mil per year and a longer contract (which is what it would take to get him away from the Lakers).
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 07:01 PM
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 :)
Posted by: Rick Friedman | May 11, 2007 at 07:08 PM
Let's also not fail to learn a lesson from the Chris Webber situation. C-Webb very easily could have gone to the Lakers; we wanted him and he seemed a good fit for our offense.
Instead, he went to Detroit where he realized he had a much better chance at winning a title. And he looks smarter and smater every day.
Don't think for a second that KG isn't taking notice. Go to the Lakers and MAYBE be a contender? Or wait one more year and go to say Miami, Chicago, or Dallas, take less money, and stand a VERY GOOD CHANCE at winning a title?
If I'm KG, I know what I'm doing.
*sigh* I remember when LA used to be where you went if you wanted to win a title. Those were the days, eh?
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 07:17 PM
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!"
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 07:42 PM
What do you guys and girls think about ATLANTA........joe johnson......josh smith ....shelden williams.....and josh childress....does anyone think that we could get some of this talent to LA with a trade with ATLANTA........?
Posted by: Thirty 2 | May 11, 2007 at 07:44 PM
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
Posted by: LakerTom | May 11, 2007 at 07:45 PM
generic_one
Did you hear kobe say that stuff or did someone say he said that stuff?
Posted by: bob | May 11, 2007 at 07:51 PM
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
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | May 11, 2007 at 08:00 PM
I sometimes wonder if those who are highly critical of Kobe actually watched all the games, or even if they're just fans of other teams in other cities who come into the talkbacks in order to rabble-rouse. Kobe ain't perfect, but without him this team doesn't even sniff the playoffs. Anyone who watched a good deal of the games this season, when the team was healthy and when it wasn't, could see that.
Posted by: Dadio | May 11, 2007 at 08:01 PM
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?
Posted by: Jason F | May 11, 2007 at 08:13 PM