angry

"That above line just about sums up what you are all about, "An attention seeking bore". So anyone who does not agree with your point of view has got their heads up Kobe's ass!!"

i wish i could take credit for the post, but it wasn't me.

lakertom

"I am sure KL and his crew think I and many Kobe faithful have given Kobe a free pass for all that has gone done. No so. We still believe in our hearts that Kobe is a Laker for life and are hoping that everything can be resolved and used as motivation for the team to excel this season."

with all due respect, kobe is playing you for a fool. kobe thought he'd be the "man" in LA once shaq was out and when things turned to shizzle kobe wants to bail. it's not rocket science.

BY THE WAY, LET US NOT BE HATERS OK.

HATERS ARE LOSERS! AND WE ARE NOT THOSE. WE ARE THE LA LAKERS.

ANYBODY WHO SAYS LET US HATE THIS AND LET US HATE THAT IS A TRUE LOSER.

BECAUSE A REAL WINNER DOES NOT HATE HIS OPPONENT, BUT RATHER LOVES WHEN BEING CHALLENGED. THIS IS THE REASON KOBE IS A WINNER. AND "BIG FAT OTHER" WAS JUST A PASSENGER.

A TRUE LAKERS FAN DO NOT AND NEVER APOLOGIZE FOR BEING ONE.

I AM A LAKERS FAN AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN IF OTHER TEAMS ARE BETTER THAN US OR WHATEVER.

AND I AM A KOBE FAN TOO. AND I DON'T GIVE A DAMN AS WELL IS SOMEONE THINKS HE IS SOMETHING ELSE.

ALL OF YOU WHO ARE FANS OF ANOTHER BASKETBALL PLAYER WHO ARE "FORMER LAKERS", SORRY, THEY ARE NOT LAKERS ANY MORE! SO GET A LIFE STOP THIS KOBE HATING AND KOBE BASHING.

YOU ARE PATHETIC...

GO KOBE!!!

GO LAKERS!!!

HEY, YOU LEFT ME OUT AND MANY MORE OTHERS... LOL

THANKS FOR A GREAT ARTICLE.

(I dedicate this article to those who care: Edwing Gueco, Laker Tom, Hobbit, Lakerbake, hal9000 and all those who had beign fighting to bring sense to this late Lakers drama)

"Communicating with a Corporate Superstar: Lessons from Kobe Bryant"

Recent trade demands and interaction between all-star shooting guard Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss provide CIOs and corporate managers with the perfect refresher on five key aspects of corporate communications.

August 08, 2007 — CIO — Kobe Bryant is the quintessential corporate superstar: He is the face of the $447 million Lakers franchise, has the top-selling NBA jersey in the United States and China, and has won numerous scoring titles, All Star bids, and All Star MVP titles; within the industry, his peers and colleagues fear his scoring and envy his all-around talent.

But, what happens when a company’s superstar wants out? Managing a high maintenance superstar is tricky, but when crisis situations arise, like when a superstar mutters about leaving, proper communications can make or break your entire organization. For CIOs and vice presidents, the interaction of Lakers owner Jerry Buss with Bryant provides the chance to observe the five key aspects of corporate communications in action—and analyze whether or not Buss succeeded in each category.

1. Identifying the Issue
On May 3, 2007, less than 48 hours after the Lakers’ disappointing season ended, Kobe Bryant uttered his first unhappy words: “Do something and do it now. Especially for me, it’s beyond frustration. Three years and still being at ground zero. So this summer’s a big summer.”

Bryant’s statement encapsulates the issue: He feels the team is not championship caliber and has not been building to become elite. He wants his owner to hear the message and to react accordingly.

Yet, Buss kept us guessing as to whether he cared or even heard Bryant’s words. Buss did not contact Bryant until May 31, when the situation had escalated to where Bryant demanded a trade. Grade: C-

Recommendations: When a superstar publicly articulates three years’ worth of unhappiness, a lot of pent-up emotions are primed to explode. Listen carefully to his or her statements, because the first message usually describes the most important complaint. Analyze quickly and create a response plan immediately; if left alone, many more outbursts will surely follow or they will leave for other opportunities.

2. Knowing Your Protagonist
Buss and Bryant have worked through crisis situations together before, including the tumultuous 2004 off-season that sent Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat. In short, Buss knows Bryant’s key characteristics: loyal, stubborn and non-vocal about issues.

So, when Bryant demanded a trade on national radio, Buss should have recognized the unusualness of the behavior and reached out to Bryant immediately. Grade: B+

Recommendations: Like Buss’ relationship with Bryant, most managers know their superstars well through business interactions. Therefore, knowing the superstar isn’t usually an issue. But in a crisis situation, remember that emotions magnify personalities: If a superstar usually demands apologies, he or she will demand many more apologies when angry. Use this to your advantage: Expect extremes of their normal personalities and quickly identify possible solutions.

3. Identifying Possible Solutions
Kobe Bryant’s demands were simple. Bryant said, “We definitely have to get to that elite level now.” Bryant also suggested that he “would love for him [ex-Lakers general manager Jerry West] to be a part of [the Lakers].” Bryant then went on ESPN Radio and demanded a trade.

Since Bryant’s requests were straightforward, Buss should have easily identified possible solutions: (1) Ask Kobe which players he would like on the team; (2) Consider re-hiring Jerry West; (3) Speak to Bryant and understand why he is demanding a trade.

Buss may have identified these solutions; however, his defiant refusal to communicate with the media or Bryant about the solutions left everyone guessing. Grade: C+

Recommendations: Superstars rarely publicize internal grumbles. When they do, they usually make a clear demand, thus making it easy for managers to identify possible solutions. However, keep in mind that possible solutions must be communicated properly to appropriate stakeholders; if nobody knows about the possible solutions, no progress has been made toward resolving the issue.

4. Timing
When Bryant caused his public ruckus, he was impatient and wanted attention. He even admitted, “I know my patience is about as short as my one-year-old daughter’s.”

q Oftentimes, establishing any contact shows your superstar that he or she has been heard, and is enough to prevent the issue from worsening. When Bryant went on three sports show back-to-back on May 30 to rant, Buss went missing until he called Bryant on the close of business the following day. Buss then disappeared again until he met with Bryant on June 16. Buss did not even contact the media until June 28. Grade: D

Recommendations: When your organization’s superstar makes a public outcry, there is little time for analysis of the situation. Contact must be made with the superstar as soon as possible. Track down your superstar and have a private discussion to find out the real problem.

5. Approach Although Buss chose to remain conspicuously distant during Kobe Bryant’s public tirade, the few meetings between Buss and Bryant have been private. Given the media’s tendency to overanalyze situations and instigate drama, Buss made the right move to deal with issues behind closed doors. Grade: A

Recommendations: It is rare for any corporate situation to demand public attention for private matters. When your superstar is unhappy, discuss the problem privately and personally. As a CIO or vice president, communicate your messages directly to superstars rather than let them hear your message through the news, radio or worse: through the grapevine.

Edward Chuang is an IT Consultant at CACI International. He may be reached at ECreview@gmail.com.
© 2007 CXO Media Inc.

http://www.cio.com/article/128802/Communicating_with_a_Corporate_Superstar_Lessons_from_Kobe_Bryant

Readers,
I am sorry. The statistics I posted about shooting and free throw percentages were for the playoffs and not regular season. I should have rechecked my sources. That is why it looked so strange to me leading to my posting.

:

Exhelo say, "He who pay attention to Confucious when it comes to basketball statistics better not bet the house on them."

KL,

"with all due respect, kobe is playing you for a fool. kobe thought he'd be the "man" in LA once shaq was out and when things turned to shizzle kobe wants to bail. it's not rocket science."

No, but you make it seem like it's rocket science. KOBE IS NOT BAILING ON THE TEAM, THE TEAM BAILED ON KOBE!!!!! The FO decided it was in their best interest to use Kobe to put butts in seats, make money, and win later. The fact that you can STILL blame Kobe for this mess after seeing the moves they've made in his 3 years as "the man", and the lack of moves they've made this summer is INCREDIBLE!!!

We've discussed how some of the hate in your blood has thinned, but when you come back and continue to ignore the truth, I have to question whether or not that is true. If the FO can give us 1 more true NBA starter(Ruben Patterson fits the bill), I know this team can do damage. Kobe has done what they asked, he has sat back and been quiet, so the next move is on them, the only problem is their next move seems to be no move.

**Just to clarify, when I say the team bailed on Kobe, I mean the FO.

KLBeast,

What I mean by Kobe NEEDS to win (as opposed to WANTS to win) is that Kobe literally begins to psychologically fall apart if he is not winning. He is so competitive that if he starts losing he takes it so personally and becomes overwhelmed so terribly stressed he does inappropriate acts (such as cheating on his wife or lashing out at he teammates).

For Kobe to maintain psychological balance, he NEEDS to win. This fact reveals that Kobe is not only obsessive-compulsive, but also somewhat immature as a person, but that's just the way it is and I'm okay with it.

Most of the True Greats in athletics are hyper-competitive, obsessive-compulsive narcissistic nutcases and Kobe is no exception. He is a True Great.

It's funny how our heroes in this society are generally psychologically imbalanced individuals who are able to succeed in life because they've stumbled into a niche in which their psychological disease is able to be used as a source of competitive and/or artistic strength.

It's a little sad, but I suppose it reveals a greater societal desire of the individual to be able to use the source of their suffering/psychological weakness as a source of strength and acclaim.

Nobody likes to work on their issues. Instead we'd like people to celebrate us for our issues than struggle through the near-impossible task of overcoming them.

In that sense, I suppose in Kobe many people see a mirror. A flawed individual who wants to do well, even if he wants to sometimes do well so badly, he often acts in irresponsible ways.

So, it goes. He is a True Great and the player I enjoy watching most.

He's a Laker and I love the Lakers.

GO LAKERS!

KL:

I'm glad to hear you haven't jumped off the deep end with your posts. Just promise me you will do everything in your power to find this impostor and bring him to justice... just kidding. I had a feeling that post was too crazy to have come from you.

But I did find it ironic that you told me to get a life after I commented about how you dominated the last blog with your incessant Kobe bashing...

Jon Kav

Thanks for the voice of reason

Kobe's need to win Kobe's way is the protruding nail that gets hammered. Lately, it's his flippant disregard for the fan base, city of LA and Laker organization that embraced him.

I love watching him play, and have turned a deaf ear to his rants 'cause our relationship doesn't go beyond a Laker game, but this is getting hard to ignore.

Under pressure, the FO have done a great job of not making another mistake this summer. If the team comes out of the gate winning, all will be well. If not, the explosion will rock the franchise for years.

The Lakers are looking at a worse season than last
year if they don't look at getting help at the point
for Fisher.
D Fish is OK but hey, that dude can't fly
with Nash or Parker. I thought Bynum was gone for sure
when JKidd (too much $$$) was getting talked about. JKidd
was really the best player to be a Laker and is the best fit to
come in and make us compete in the west.
I still feel like Bynum could be the only piece of bait and bad bait at that who
can lure another player into our camp before summer is over.
Kwame -he's so inconsistent, so slow to learn, so slow to mature,
and he was our best Big Man
...but now in a contract year, maybe he finally works out
in the off-season and gets better!
Chris Mihm is back and who knows if
he might be a Kupchak kind of guy with a lot of heart,
fouling out in 20 minutes and still making lame mental errors
as he always has and impressing us with his all out diving for
loose balls effort, but limping everywhere.
Only Bernard King could limp around and still kick everyone's a**.
Maybe the new rookie- Javaris Crittendon will surpass my boy Farmar
and have some Sprewell length to that skinny body and
even get some Offensive skills going.
Kupchak is not helping Kobe and he is pissed off. If the team stays
healthy and works hard we could go as high as 4th but
I don't think we are close to SA or SUNS even the
Mavs.
My prediction again would be Kobe again plays 3/4 of the season
giving in to Phils plan and again and gets the same blame again at
the end of the season for having to take over games and get us
into the playoffs. 7-8th seed again.
Kobe gets slighted again for league MVP honors, and again
all of the best players, (his peers) in the league agree by press,
TV, internet and radio that Kobe Bryant is no doubt the
best individual most talented and unstoppable player in the league.
My hopes would be a point guard rises up on this squad and becomes a
true leader and helps to run an offense that can use a few wrinkles in the
form of the Princeton running and passing style and more
Celtic Red Auerbach Post up and out passing game with a big man (Bynum)
that can catch the ball and make intelligent passes to cutting guards.
We need the pick and roll and a picket fence going on for the knuckle
heads that just don't get what spacing is about in the NBA. Phil has to
make the offense simpler and more effective plus not so easy to defend by
adding something of a different look to it.
Maybe Chris Webber would be good to pick up -he was and still is
one of the smartest passers in the game.
Imagine Webber in purple and gold-ouch Sacramento.

Vman:

"Under pressure, the FO have done a great job of not making another mistake this summer."

Yes, I guess if you never take risks, you'll never make mistakes, right? The Lakers management is doing what they have done the last three years... NOTHING. Every trade or free agent signing they've made has been to save money or get a bargain -- not to create a championship-caliber team.

Do you really believe the current roster will do better against the juggernauts and rising stars of the Western Conference?

On another note...

We all know that injuries played a factor in the Lakers' demise, but injuries are something you have to expect and prepare for.

It's rare that a team goes an entire season without losing key players to injury, but if a team has assembled the best talent available, they can weather the storm of injuries and still be successful.

The "Dream Team" Lakers of 2004 saw Shaq, Kobe, Malone and others go down with injuries, but the high level of overall talent and experience on the team allowed the Lakers to fight through the problems and get to the NBA Finals.

This current Laker team doesn't have that kind of talent or experience to fall back on.

Great teams can rise above injuries to succeed. Our Lakers, on the other hand, are one or two injuries away from being a lottery team... and that is the biggest mistake of all.

HobbitImage:

I, The Hobbitmage, ****CHALLENGE****
you to actually look up Wins vs. Losses for Shaq without an all-star and
post it so that all can see."

I don't think Shaq's ever played without an all-star -- except for 96-97, his first season in LA... and maybe his rookie year in Orlando.

Lakers_sth:

Good to hear from you. I was wondering how season ticket holders were doing during these trying times. Have you considered NOT renewing your tickets because of all the turmoil? Will you renew if the Lakers trade Kobe? How do you think season ticket holders would respond to a Kobe trade?

What is the current opinion of the season ticket holders of the Lakers situation? What percentage of the fans do you believe think the Lakers should trade Kobe? What percentage thinks that the front office is to blame for all of this mess? I would appreciate your take as a sth.

I basically think the front office has done an excellent job since Kobe’s blowup. They made all the right small moves in signing Fisher (a gift) and re-signing Luke and Mihm. I liked their draft of Crittendon, Yue, and Gasol. I like that we tried hard to make a KG deal and that we have held the line at NOT including Lamar in a JO deal. I still think there is a chance that Bird will blink. If we can get JO without giving up Lamar, the team will be dramatically improved.

I still believe the big mistake that the front office made that has precipitated this crisis was declining to make the Jason Kidd trade. That was the incident that caused Kobe to go ballistic. You also have to question the decision to keep Smush Parker as the starting point guard last year as well as the decisions to give extensions to Vujacic and Cook. So the front office is not free of blame for the situation we are in as far as I am concerned.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that I share some of the front office’s optimism about the current roster. Replacing Smush, Shammond, and McKie with Crittendon, Fisher, and Mihm definitely upgraded the roster. If Vlade can give us what we expected when we signed him, Bynum can take his game to the next level, Mihm can return to pre-injury form, Lamar and Luke can avoid injury, and Farmar and Turiaf can improve, and Kobe can be a little patient, I think this team could be a contender. It will take a perfect storm of good fortune for us to win it all but that is how the championships get determined in this era of parity.

Tom

They say insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting the same results.This is what i see in the FO in the former.Trying to fit male plumbing part s on another male plumbing part,or thinking that Lamar Odom will sudenly become that A player when he has consistently sho only to be at his best a C player.Or Andrew bynum playing with fire in his belly when it is obvious the kid has no heart,even his high school coach couldn't believe that Andrew got drafted because he knows the real truth that bynum will always be laz.Walton is slow fisher is past is prime,chris mihm is another big white stiff.Let me see who do we have left,Cook and Vlade are one and the same they can shoot from the outside they just cant play defense.Tuiaf has great hustle just no talent.Kwame Brown is the black man version of the big white stiff.Javaris Crittenton is a 19 year old kid,Farmer is a 20 year old kid that they say has quit progressing,Maurice Evans is a average bench player and Sasha Vujacic can make the outside shot in practice just never in real time.I have been a laker fan since 1968,and cant believe the way Jerry buss is just watching from the sidelines as this once great tradition is becoming the laugh stock of the league.Anybody for a drink its on me.If i was Kobe i`d be pissed to,without the Kobemister we would be the bottom feeder of the leauge.oh well ,maybe next year!

Aloha Laker Tom

I share your optimism about the coming season. I believe we were a better team then we looked last year but the injuries we had to endure would have crippled even an elite team. We have made some small upgrades but health will be the key, again.

What has frustraded me the most this off season, was FO's holding back in case we got KG. I thought and still do, that a smaller trade or two to bolster the SF and PG spots would have been as effective as a blockbuster for KG or LO. We did get fish which will be huge because of the intanglebles he brings but he is not really enough. The only good that may come out of this is, we get to take a long look at the young players. If Bynum, J-Crit and Jordon, come out on track, maybe the non trades will be the best thing that happened this summer.

As far as JO is concerned. I really have been losing my enthusiasm for him. He is now perhaps the 9th best power forward in the league behind Duncan, Garrnet, Nowitzki, Brand, Howard, Stoudemire, Boozer and Bosh. Yet he makes Duncan and KG money. And salary does matter. I just do not think you can have 2 guys making max money and compete anymore unless you draft well. Look at Miami, they are trying out guys who have been retired to try and build a roster. And there will be a lot of broken hearts in Boston this year, 3 guys and no one else. That is why I thought an Artest or Camby move would have been much better. So I guess fingers crossed that most of the keys you listed come to pass. GO 49ers!!

MH

Jon Kavulic

"Not to piss on everyone's parade, but there will be no major trades before the season begins."

i could have told you that. hell, i could have told you that the moment shaq decided he was tired of kobe's punk a$$ in July of 2004.

Pete:

I agree with you that we should have pulled the trigger on the Jason Kidd deal. He would have improved the team in every important area – scoring, assists, rebounds, defense, and leadership. But I think we still have a shot at adding Jermaine O’Neal to the roster and don’t see where Kobe has any other option than to show up for camp and play. And even if we don’t get JO, I think there are still a lot of reasons why the team is going to be much better than last year. The departure of Smush Parker alone is worth at least five more wins by itself. lol.

Yes, Derek Fisher is not as quick as he was when he was younger and is not by himself going to stop opposing point guards from penetrating. On the other hand, unlike Smush Parker, Derek is a crafty and wise veteran who always had a knack of guessing what the offensive player was going to do and beating him to the spot to draw a charge. With his leadership and a quicker and lighter Kobe, I think our perimeter defense will be greatly improved. Much of the problem last year was effort and intelligence, neither of which Smush provided on a consistent basis. Not benching Smush and starting Farmar earlier was one of the team’s biggest mistakes last year.

I also think our interior and help defense will be better with Bynum a year older, Kwame in a contract year, and Mihm once again healthy. Defense has to be a coordinated team effort that runs as smoothly as the Triangle Offense. Andrew’s critics are right that he did not play well or advance much after the first couple of months of the season. They are wrong, however, to say that he did not make major strides from his rookie year. I expect Andrew to make a similar leap this year but to be in better shape and conditioning to maintain and improve during the year rather than leveling out. I also don’t think that he and Kobe will have any holdover from Kobe’s comments. It’s not an insult to think you should be traded for a Hall of Fame point guard.

Keep the faith, Pete. This year we will see all of the promise of the first half of last year come to fruition. Phil will pull the team together, focus on playing pressure defense, and show everybody what a well coached Lakers squad playing great team basketball can do when led by the greatest player in the NBA. Lakers will surprise everybody and win it all this year. lol.

Tom

Hal9000,

You said: I don't think Shaq's ever played without an all-star -- except for 96-97, his first season in LA... and maybe his rookie year in Orlando.

You are correct! However, it's not you that I'm gunnin' for. Over the past 2 months plus, Mr. KL
has been writing a ton of crap about how Kobe drove off Shaq, Kobe will never win as a #1,
Kobe is a poor leader, etc. He consistently brings up Shaq's accomplishments while demeaning
Kobe's accomplishments. I want him to eat crow in the worst way! Much in the same way that
I enjoyed Horry giving the hip check to Mr. Goody-two-shoes, Steve Nash.

Basketball is not golf. It is a team game and the goal is *NOT* to be a good sport. The goal is to
WIN! Win today! Win tomorrow! This is about competition. It is not about being a good citizen.
Mr. KL has *consistently* criticized Kobe for his ability or inability to play with others. He puts
*ALL* of the blame for the losses on Kobe. His Gold standard is the fat man in Miami.

All right. Let's see him *NOT* be a hypocrite. Let's actually take a look at facts not interpretation
of facts. I understand that we all have different opinions. He's entitled to his and I'm entitled to
mine. However, if he's going to dump on Kobe for character issues his character should be
pretty good, right? So ... I just want to see him stand up like a man. Like a man with the
character he's saying Kobe should have.

KL, what say you? Are you going to come correct or are you going to hide?
I repeat: I, the hobbitmage, ****CHALLENGE YOU**** you to actually look up Wins vs. Losses for Shaq without an all-star and post it so that all can see."

If you're going to take pot shots at the best player in the world, you shouldn't be shooting blanks.
For all of you who aren't catching this: Go back to when you were a kid playing on the court.
There's this scrub hangin' out at the fence. Trying to heckle. Talking the talk like he's somebody.
All right. I got kin in missouri, the show-me state. I'm tossin' the ball to the man who's heckling.
To the one who talks like he knows all [ that would be you KL ] I say: Show me! Everybody's
looking at you KL. What are you going to do?

KL BEAST.Im going to take back what I said about you and say that you actually write some pretty funny posts,and you have some solid information I have been pissed the last couple of weeks because the lake-rs wont refund my season ticket holdings(executive corporate level) mucho money,when they promised me a diffent product this year.So they lied in my face,and they havent done sh__..........

GUNNER,

I don't need to post under another name to put you in your place - maybe someone else figured out that you still haven't figured out how to turn CAPS LOCK off?

Oh, and by the way, is:

13 > 14 ?
13 < 14 ?
13 = 14 ?

Get back to me when you figure that one out.

Aloha michael:

Glad to see another Niner fan. The push to the Super Bowl starts tomorrow night.

Also glad to see other long timers thinking positively about the upcoming season. I also share your frustration over our not making the smaller deal as we held out to see what was going to happen with respect to KG and now with respect to JO. I would be just as happy if we could land a man to help our defense at small forward – Ron Artest, AK47, Trenton Hassel – but it does appear as if the front office is holding back in order to have the pieces to get JO.

I have actually increased my liking of JO due to his comments and eagerness to join Kobe and the Lakers. I have even been tempted to include Lamar because I do like JO’s interior help defense. I would like to see how Bynum looks this year before giving up both him and Lamar. I would also like to see how Lamar comes out of the gate. At any rate, JO’s comments have definitely left Bird in the hole and he now wants some time to pass before addressing the situation due to the pressure. That’s OK with me because I would like to see how the team looks with everyone healthy and Smush gone. If Bird waits too long, he may find that we do not want to trade for JO at all.

RIP Bill Walsh. Now it’s the Mike Nolan era. Super Bowl in 3rd year.

Tom

Aloha KL

All Shaq vs Kobe all the time. Well since this is truely th dog days for the NBA I will comment again. Here is the formula for what went down.

25% Kobes fault + 25% Shaqs fault + 50% Dr Buss = dissaster.

We were blessed to have 2 of the greatests players at their position in the history of the NBA plus an owner who always seemed to make the right move. Unfortunetly as it has turned out we had three of the biggest ego driven babies in the history of the NBA. I assign 50% of the blame to DR Buss because the ultimate responsibility in any organization starts at the top.

But there was more to this situation then just ego's. The model in the NBA has changed over the last several years and it ultimately required us to choose. I do not believe you can win anymore with 2 max contracts. Look at Miami now, with 2 big contracts they are auditioning retired players to fill out their roster. There will be a lot of broken hearts in Boston over the next few years, 3 great players and no one else. They are trying to get Reggie Miller to come back, pathetic.

Now look att he Spurs, Dallas and the Suns. Their money is spread over several players. Each has a superstar and several very good players. This is the model now and the Lakers might have pulled it off if they had not traded Caron for Kwame. We would have had the 2 very good player to go with Kobe and we would be looking to tweek the roster instead of overhaul it. What will happen? I think Kobe will play one more year with the lakers. He will ultimately be traded next year because Dr. Buss and his giant ego will not fire the "insider" his son Giant ego Jim. Again this isa tragic mistake. Hopefully the Kids will realize their potential and we will get enough for Kobe to fill in the empty spots with more young players. The sad part for me is we could shock the sports world next year and win it all, and Kobe would still want to leave because it has become personel. Sad, if only a grown up like Jerry West would come back and send everyone to their room with out their supper, then maybe the tragedy could be avoided. I am not holding my breath.

MH

KL:

"for the record, i do have serious conversations with bloggers on how to improve the lakers including you. as i recall, you didn't like my answer."

Your answer to every question and argument is always the same: KOBE IS THE ROOT OF ALL LAKERS EVIL. You don't place blame on management... you don't place blame on Kobe's lazy, unskilled teammates... it's all about Kobe to you.

I agree that Kobe has problems and that he has done some stupid things since 2003... but he's not the only one to blame. I have criticized Kobe on this blog before, but you refuse to place blame on anyone but Kobe. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

By the way, if I recall correctly, your answer to my question about improving the Lakers was that they should trade Kobe... but when it became apparent that the Lakers would not trade Kobe, you celebrated. What gives?