Korey,

I used to be a big fan of trading for Zach Randolph since I thought they could get him for Kwame's expiring and filler, but since I made that stance Kobe started his tour de crap and the Blazers won the lottery.

That being said, I don't think taking on Randolph and his contract are a good idea anymore. A contract that long and expensive is not a good idea since Kobe says he'll opt out in two years if not traded.

TRADE KOBE!!!!

XYZ,
"the kg to lakers deal is dead......... mitch f'd it up again......"

THAT'S SO FUNNY! PRICELESS!!

I'm witholding my opinion on till the dust and smoke are cleared about this trade.

By the way in another subject, Bogus goes ballistic talking trash about NBA culture:

"The public's image of NBA players is true," he says. "A lot of them get caught up in the hype and do video clips with rappers and all that crap. They want bling bling all over themselves and drive fast cars. But that's just the way the culture is in America - if you've got it flaunt it and if you don't, you can't.

"I'm not into jewellery (Australian spelling). I've got some earrings but they're not too expensive. There are guys who drop a hundred grand for a chain. The public's got it right - a lot of NBA stars are arrogant and like to spend lots of money and have lots of girlfriends and all that.

"The smarter guys don't do that. They like to live a regular life and want to retire and be set up. About 80 per cent of them go broke by the time they retire or come close to it.

"We have compulsory tutoring each week where they teach you to manage your money and they tell you about all the things that can happen to you, people trying to take advantage of you, but it's amazing how many guys totally ignore it. I guess if you're a normal person and suddenly you're getting $10 million a year, it can go to your head.

"But it's just the culture over there. I would never want my child to be brought up in an environment like that, where if you have money you're supposed to flaunt it and make everyone jealous.

"The American attitude is 'We're the best'. That's why the NBA guys who come from other countries, the Europeans, all sort of stick together away from the game."

I think Kobe has allowed his mouth to get him too far ahead and now he is so far out in the middle of the ocean that he can't see any land and does not know how to get back either. On the boat he has a flare gun (i think that's what it called) but his pride won't allow him to use it and he is too ashamed to let anyone know he is lost. So what else is he gonna do rather than keep up that bravado like he knows what he is doing when he knows that he is stuck and won't admit that he allowed his mouth to get him too far in this mess...He needs to question the peeps he has around him cause you mean to tell me they couldnt stop him from making a fool of himself. Kobe does not want to leave the Lakers but what else can he do but keep maintaining he wants to leave before he admits he allowed his mouth to get him too far ahead and he hopes the lakers will save him from his foolish mistake by refusing to trade him...Trust me on this...Kobe ain't going nowhere!

I have this idea that if Zach Randolph and Andrew Bynum start hanging out, they'll start trying to out-eat each other and will soon be a good 350 each. This will put the Lakers well over the league's soft calorie cap, and we can't have that.

Jeff - "Travis Knight is jigglin'"... that is so awesome. God, I still miss Chick. The Travis saga was such a strange one. The guy actually had talent - decent shooter and good offensive rebounder. He got drafted by Chicago but they wouldn't give him a contract so he went to the Lakers on a one-year deal. He had a really nice rookie season and then he went to Boston for this huge free agent deal cause Rick Pitino wanted him so bad. As soon as Knight got to Boston, Pitino set about completely breaking down his confidence, screaming in his face... Knight only lasted a year there and then wound up coming back to L.A.. he was never really the same player after that... he had his moments but not many... a total foul magnet. He got sent to New York with Glen Rice and played there for three years but they didn't use him much. He supposedly went over to europe but I don't think he lasted long there either. I alwaysfelt kind of bad for him cause he seemed like a coach's whipping boy, no matter where he went. He'd get in a game and look all happy and make a couple baskets... and then he'd get called for some stupid foul and get yanked... he'd get yelled at and trudge back to the bench with this sheepish look.

Hey, whatever happened to Samaki Walker? (speaking of under achievers...)

Dave M

Garnett to LA: I have to see it completed, To believe it.

See to believe . To those famous words in the bible associated with Saint Thomas (called Dydimus) who needed some proof to believe something not rational, the people who believe in miracles and utopias will counterpoint with Jesus words: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

I prefer the Saint Thomas mantra about Garnett’s rumors, looks like Kobe too.
Saint Thomas said to those who told him about Jesus resurrection: "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." Hey, until I see Garnett in a Lakers uniform, warming up before the game tip off…I will not believe it.

I'm not convinced at all in the Timberwolves desire to trade with Lakers. Some premises to consider:

-----Wolves using Lakers as leverage to get Amare.
-----This could be a plan of the NBA and the Lakers to keep Kobe trade rumors quiet and let the draft be the protagonist and not Kobe.
----Or could be a perfect set up to promote extra buzz and expectations for draft day.
----Lakers are buying time and showing Kobe that isn't that easy as he thinks, to finish a trade with superstars involve.
----Lakers are showing Kobe that Bynum isn't untradeable.
----Lakers want to calm down Kobe enticing him with the idea of this trade and getting his commitment to a lesser trades.
----Timberwolves need to sell tickets too and Lamar isn't a magnet or a star that can energize fans.
----By now, Bynum is losing leverage as a prospect with future. The guy had being working full time under the tutelage of Karim...and the guy still attach to the "no improvement" stamp.

So...Kobe know all this intangibles. Also, he knows that isn't just Garnett, there are other pieces needed to balance the team. To get this things going Jerry Buss was needed, that's a total proof that the GM office of the Lakers isn't up to the task. That had being the # 1 concern of Kobe since day one. Concern still no addressed.

The last possibility for him to be cautious in this juncture , could be related to some intern problems that the public doesn't know yet.

So, we will stay attentive to know behind the curtains what could be unfolded as the real reason why Kobe is firm in his trade demands. On till that come out, the press and the heaters will go for Kobe meat as wolves and matadors, happy to tear him apart in the court of public opinion, happy to eat his bones and throw away the uneatable part. After all, they are cannibals of the worst specie, and hate is more powerful than love, sometimes.

jay,

Yeah and I bet you love Janet Jackson and Madonna, Drew Barrymore and Courtney Love, Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan.

Please, stop being a Laker fan and go root for Carmelo and A.I. I dont want to be disgusted by the fact that you could take my seat at Staples Center.

Jorema:

"I'm witholding my opinion on till the dust and smoke are cleared about this trade"

I admire your restraint and wish I had your self-control.

As for Bogey-Nuts, I suspect his negative view toward the association that pays him can be summed up in one word: soccer.

All kidding aside, this is a bit disappointing. I usually have found that Aussies, esp. the athletic ones, are way more curious and tolerant of other cultures than the average person. Bogus's quick assumption of a causal connection between hip-hop, bling aesthetics, poor money management skills and the broader American culture would be called bigoted or reactionary if he were an American. For now, we can just put it down to youthful ignorance. Good luck with that Andrew! Oh, and on your attempt to avoid going down as a colossal bust as well. Cheers!

Lets start another trade scenrio. Time to join the Get Pau bandwagon. At least we now know that Kobe will stay if this team does improve.

GET PAU GASOL
GET PAU GASOL
GET PAU GASOL
GET PAU GASOL

I actually think Jay makes a decent point. The Lakers, as an organization, are not the Spurs. The Lakers are in the business of building legendary champions, not mere zombie squads. I don't agree that it has to be superstar-based, but I do believe it has to be watchable ball.
The Knicks, a formerly legendary team in a massive market, tried going zombie in the 90's; I believe this, more than the retirement of Jordan or the diminishing of fundamental skills, is the reason the league's growth has stalled for the past several years. The present generation of the most media-connected people in the world, namely Manhattanites, are less hoops-curious that previous generations. Blame the thug-ball mid-90's Eastern Conference style for this.

It disturbs me TERRIBLY that Kobe feels Kobe Garnett he would not be enough for him to give up his childish "TRADE ME!" rant.

Are fricken kidding me? Garnett is a WARRIOR! I remember when I saw him play against the Clippers (Go Clippers!) it was like watching a monster play among humans!

The guy wants to win so badly! He has such fire.

This is who we need.

Kobe-Garnett (Luke-Kwame-Mihm-Evans-Farmar-Rad Vlad-and another mid-level veteran point guard with strong defensive skills) = Championship Next Year. PERIOD!

GO LAKERS!

When considering how you would like the Lakers to rebuild, I hope that you guys would really seriously look at how another great and proud franchise is currently under the bus right now because of the same sorts of fans that have been going against those of us who want to trade Kobe Bryant to improve the. FOr those of you who want Stars over quality players.

Look at the New York Yankees.

The Yankees would never rebuild, because they are too proud for that. A team that has stars for 100 years would never rebuild the team, instead they just aquire them. In the 2000s, they have added Giambi, bobby abreau, matsui, ARod, randy johnson, pavano, etc. Has that garnered them any sucesss?

NO. In fact, they mortgaged their future getting all those guys for the chance to WIN NOW. Instead, the rest of the league is catching up. Small market teams are learning how to compete, and other organizations have retooled, hired smarter guys to learn how to do business in the new business climate.

Parallel this to the Lakers. The Lakers have always had these "stars". Luckily drafting somebody like magic, but still getting Kareem, Wilt, Shaq and Kobe. But here again is a similarity. The Lakers dont really want to rebuild, because they are too proud. But as the salary cap is structured and the way free agency works, franchises have had to learn how to retool and build their way up. In fact, they are catching up. How many teams that were bad, are now decent? The Mavs, Cavs, Kings had their day, Spurs (remember when no ABA team won?), Nets, pacers, as well as middle of road teams like the Suns.

Its not about the Knicks, Celtics, Lakers anymore, just acquiring guys because they had money or that "quality"

The Lakers, and all of you fans need to acknoweldge that the rest of the league is catching up and rebuilding is ok.

Look, the pistons did it and so did the Lakers after Showtime.

Lets not be the Celtics who havent stopped being so narcissitic to continue to believe that their banners are enough.

why does Kobe stay if we get Pau Gasol? Would you? LOL! Maybe we could get his brotha and along with Chris Mihm and Luke Walton and have the slowest team in league history! Yao Ming will be running laps around those guys and laughing at them...

Of course, we all know this Kobe thing is all about the Lakers letting Devean George go... if we get KG, it's not enough, we have to bring back Devean George to get Kobe to come back and accept his $20m to dribble a basketball around and shoot it through a metal hoop. Just imagine how much Kobe would make if he had gone to college and gotten his degree! KG too!

In a perfectly insane world (and this world is not perfect) Jerry Buss will agree to die broke and the Lakers will consist of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Chauncey Billiups for the next four years of championships.

God, that would be awesome.

GO LAKERS!

Jay,

I bet you're the kind of person that slows down on the freeway to watch an accident.

Look, I like the LAKERS, not enamored by super stars. If you have delusions of grandeur and live vicariously through super star athletes and musicians, than you my friend have a problem.

Secondly, I have a question. How terribly exciting was the Shaq and Kobe team????

Kobe threw down an occasional dunk, shaq got in the post and dunked. fisher brought up the ball.

How exciting was that team really???? Not the kind of excitment you think of. Personally, people got excited because they won games, not because they did anything flashy.

I'm sorry I watched them for the wins, the logo on their jersey, the city of Los Angeles, not to fall in love with super stars with big egos.

I rather watch a bunch of blue collar guys on the Lakers for once actually. That would be more representative of the city. THe city has changed, and maybe the westside LA fans who come to see celebrities are out dated. Have you ever thought of that? When you think about, Showtime was very 80s. This is 20 years later.

TaosHum,

The reason why Kobe would stay if we got Pau is because Kobe and Pau talked while Kobe was in Spain. Pau is probably a better offensive player than Oneal for sure, and has a better jumper than KG. Not only that, Pau is way cheaper than both players, which means the lakers would still have room to sign other players. Also, if we were to get Pau we migh not lose Lamar in the process.

And a team wilth lamar, Kobe, and Pau will be better than a team with just Kobe and KG. Like have said all along, out of the big three we've constantly talked about in KG, Oneal and Pau, Pau is by far my favorite, as long as we get to keep lamar too.

How about a four team deal with Chicago and Indiana?

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=981~2748~617~193~261~3028~3032~615&teams=16~16~11~11~13~13~16~4

I couldn't add the draft picks or sign-and-trades (PJ Brown - 1 year contract) in there, but bear with me - everyone wins with this one!

Chicago gets JO - Kirk, Gordon, Deng, JO and Big Ben = EC Champions.

Indiana gets LO, Ricky Davis, #19 - a less injured version of JO that is as productive, an expiring contract for salary cap relief and a high draft pick

Minny gets Bynum & Tyrus (prospects), Kwame & PJ Brown (expiring contracts) and #9 - Prospects, Expiring Contracts and a top 10 draft pick.

Lakers get KG and Thabo:

Mihm/MLE
KG/Ronny
Luke/Vlad
Kobe/Mo
Thabo/Farmar

That's a good team!

Why are people assuming that Kobe still wants to leave LA? Anyone heard anything from the Kobe camp? Yesterday Bucher was about Kobe would still want to leave, even if we get KG. But today, it's the exact opposite.

And here's the other thing - Chicago has already nixed the idea of a swap with the Bulls. So, really, other than Phoenix, where else could Kobe go?

So why are y'all still assuming that Kobe is sticking to his guns of wanting a trade even if we get KG?

It's one thing for *you* to want Kobe to leave LA, but don't base that on Kobe wanting to leave LA, when there's *nothing* that has been said to that effect in the last week.

let kobe go , he brougth this on is self , he personally dismantle the lakers , and know is speaking trash , insulting his teammates , front office and the owner the lakers are bigger than that , bring kG , and set kobe to Minny , bynum and lamar are very young
keep them

the great city of los angeles and the laker franchise dont deserve this , sooner or later is going to star trashing the fans.

let kobe sell those bulls t-shirts , if you dont believe that is ready to go somewhere else just read is goodamn web site.

the lakers need to ship #24's behind , They got the money , and theres a lot of players in the league.

It is not dead until KG gets traded to a team not named Lakers. We've been waiting/hoping for this since 2004, we still have hope.

Be positive, be positive, be positive.

I hear rumors that the Jermaine ONeal deal is back on with Odom and Bynum going out. If the Lakers are this desperate, why not move just Odom and filler, maybe our 1st round pick and ? for Paul Pierce? He wants out now, the players change divisions. The only bad part is Ainge would try to stick us with SATAN'S contract - Szczerbiak, who is earning this kind of money because... WHY??? LOL!

This just gets worse and worse. We're going to dump Bynum somewhere for somebody who won't keep Kobe here and then we're going to watch Bynum for the next 10 years and say "what if"? THIS SUUUUUUCKKKKKS!!! Kobe's legacy, unfolding right in front of us... we'll all say, "Kobe stuck it to us, GOOD!"

How stupid can yall get. You won't trade Kobe because Kobe means money period.
Its easy for die hard bball fans to watch a good team like the spurs and say that is good bball right there. But for those that are not die hard fans of bball, its hard to watch a bball team without the team not having some flash or someone to bring them off their feet.

This is the reason Kobe will not get traded period. The amount of Kobe generates has to be tops in the league by far. I mean people in the city are willing to pay 2000 for a ticket!! I mean think about it stupids that are wondering why the lakers will not entertain trading Kobe. $2000 for a seat ticket. That is the kind of money you pay to go see Micheal Jackson, or Barbara Streisand. And yall keep wondering why the lakers won't trade him. I would not trade him either if he was worth that much to my organization.

And then you trade away the best talent in the league. A man that breaks records every year. How far back can you back in a year that Kobe did not break somekind of record? I mean how stupid are you guys for real. And I am sorry to call yall stupid, but if you not rationalizing, then you are stupid in book.

America is about money. Capitalism is about money period. Even if you don't win championship, the fact that you make money will stand out no matter what. You have the most capitalist money making machine player in the league, and you trade him away. You better fight hard not to lose a capital like that. Whatever team you trade him to will be the ones selling tickets for over $2000 for a ticket.

For another reason, Kobe is the man in NBA period whether its good press or bad press. Hes what makes the league go round and round and round. And if you are LA, and you hollywood, you don't want to lose an appeal like that. And like we've seen management has said Kobe wont be traded, so let it go. Move on to more pressing matters like the draft, and getting a big to come play in this city.

JayJay,
"well the truth is we have about a 0% chance to win without Kobe and KG so the question is hypothetical"

There have been a number of trade suggestions involviing Kobe that would result in a noticeably better Lakers team 4-5 years from now, than what the Lakers would have 4-5 years from now if they trade for KG. The trade for KG would leave the Lakers very thin (no pun intended) and also limited in subsequent years for signing free agents.

The D:

"I think Bogut's indictment of the broader hip-hop and American cultures is off-base."

Oh, absolutely. But it definitely applies to pro athletes as well as a large percentage of other celebrities. Take MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, and Wesley Snipes for example . Well, Mike Tyson got royally screwed by Don King when you get down to brass tacks, but his entourage certainly didn't help. Kim Basinger went bankrupt buying an entire town. Burt Reynolds? Gary Coleman? Lavish spending all around. I mean sure, athletes are a lot more prominent in the "Bank to Broke" category, but they're not alone.

I don't know. How do you solve something like that? There are already "classes" that NBA players have to take their first season in the League, but does anyone pay attention? So, maybe more time in college is necessary. It just seems that a lot of guys around the "L" could benefit from a few years playing NCAA ball as well as the classes that they'd be attending.