Listen, I'm a big football fan, and I've seen so many players hold out until they get what they wanted, so I figured I'd do the same. The thing is, the NBA apparently has this thing called the Collective Bargainning Agreement that states I can't do that and I would not get paid and also be punished. You know, even with that, I was cool. I'm Kobe damnit, I get what I want!!

Then my boy Phil Knight called and I was like "whattup Phil!!"

And then Phil was like "Kob, um, if you sit out, there's this thing in your contract that says we don't have to pay you."

And I was like "ah snap, that sucks".

Well Vanessa heard me on the phone and asked what was going on. I told her about the sitting out and not getting paid and the thing about Nike not paying me and yada, yada, yada, we'd be out over $30 million next year, but it doesn't matter, they didn't trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd!!!

Vanessa said that if I don't play and get paid that I better become really good friends with Jason Kidd because she won't be around.

So, just to let you know I'll be in camp, but I'm still mad since people aren't doing everything I want.

I'm going to go call my boy Ric and tell him to tell everyone else that I've changed my mind again.

--Kobe

Simers is entertaining and that is about it........From a sports interest standpoint I find his material to be empty. This article is trash and frankly as a Laker fan it is offensive.

TJ Simers is an idiot. He has always been biased when he writes his column about Kobe. He often says that he speaks the truth, but how can a guy like that expects respect from the people he interviews, if all in all he humiliates the guy in public radio, his articles and the media. People obviously know about his dislike of Kobe Bryant. Kobe shows it and TJ will use this opportunity to twist things around to make Kobe look like the bad guy. He is such a hypocrite (TJ).
I respect Kobe for how he reacted towards TJ Simers. I also liked that Kobe was mocking him in front of the other reporters. To me that was worth the interview.
I am excited about Kobe and the Lakers this year. We should all be excited. We all know that he is not going anywhere. We really have improved our team, just basing it on experience in the Triangle offense and a role model who in the past has proven to be a great leader. Thanks D-Fish for coming back.
GO LAKERS!!!
Juno

At least Simers tried to find out what was going on. The Kimmel interview was a hoot.

Oh I hate TJ but he's the man who will not pull any punches from getting the truth.

Marty,

Yeah, one could make the argument it's something of a trippy video. haha

AK

If the late Jack Murray was aclaimed as the best sports LA Times columnist, T. J. Simers is the worst for LA readers. In the end, both of them get the attention they clamored for their articles. That's how they are paid to get someone's attention.

With regards to rumors, here is the hoopsworld declaring to give up all those rumors on JO, Bibby, Artest. I think this is where our summer season starts when we have nothing to talk about except ourselves, our choices and what we don't like on other's choices or point of views.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_23045.shtml

Note: Last but not the least, it's about time to honor Jorema. She is a classic writer with stinging opinions and one of my favorites in the blog. Keep it up and be not afraid from attacks or any kind condemnation, your free spirit posts will differentiate you from other heaters. lol!

There are moments when TJ's attitude is palatable. I think he'd argue that he's representative of a certain segment of the fanbase. In this case, he is asking Kobe about stuff we'd really like answers to when nobody else is. The irony of the situation is that b/c it's TJ asking the questions, Kobe has that much more reason not to answer them.

I agree that Kobe probably won't sit out. But like I said before, a mysterious nagging injury that keeps him out a number of games is an easy way for him to do the same thing and escape blame.

Laker Lover,

"I dont agree with everything TJ says but its not his job as a reporter to be buddies with Kobe or anyone else. Im sure AK and BK would agree.

On the other hand I think he asks the questions many reporters are afraid to ask , but the way he asks may be wrong. He doesnt change his ways just because an athlete doesnt like his approach. That doesnt make him an idiot or incompetent, just not well liked by some.

We need to remember Kobe put himself in this position to some degree because of his radio tour.

Its really not that tough, kobe is a professional, if he is asked a question he doesnt want to address, he doesnt have to walk away or get annoyed just so no comment. Thats called PROFESSIONALISM, somethine Kobe clearly lacks."

I'm sure neither Kobe or TJ are losing sleep over the fact that they both hate each other. But I believe the very foundation of being a good writer is to be as objective as possible and not have an agenda, two traits in which TJ clearly lacks. Kobe, as a professional, has made it clear that he will not discuss his stance on the Lakers because he feels that he has rocked the boat enough and the fact that he doesn't want to draw that type of attention while Team USA tries to bring home a gold medal. I didn't like the way he went on his radio tirade and to a large extent, he did bring this on himself. But why criticize him now for doing the right thing? Should he beat the dead horse even more? It's funny because the very same people who criticized him for speaking out in the first place are the ones to criticize him for being silent. How ironic huh, kinda like a catch-22? Kobe doesn't have to talk to TJ if he doesn't want to. Would you give your time of day to an annoying little prick who constantly bashes you? How professional is it for a writer to personally send a box of pacifiers to a players house? TJ is a poor excuse for a writer because he is biased and has an objective. As a professional, TJ should know that he could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

repost -

BIG TIME Kudos to Kobe Apologist, Mamba 24, LakerTom, Juanman, JJ etc.

...who stand up for what a large majority of this blog and indeed the world thinks about Kobe - He is #1 and the rest of the comments are just hate because they don't like him personally...

As I said before...all the greats at the USA camp and in general say Kobe is the best. period. so why and how anyone has the audacity to fight with folks who are all time greats is beyond logic and to me = hate...

another example is fom none other than Larry Bird who says straight out that kobe is #1 in the world and is = to jordan on the USA team...now go and argue with Larry Legend who played with the greats and is one of the greatest himself...

http://www.probasketballnews.com/amico_081507.html

...Unlike American teams of the past, this summer’s lineup features Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant -- who joins holdovers such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.

“Kobe is probably the best player in the world, so he should make a major difference,” Bird says. “I see him doing the same thing for today’s team that Michael Jordan did for us back in ‘92.”

as an aside...i have no idea why folks read or reply to KLBeast...he is a hater and there is no point in addressing those folks...

KobeRocks!

A response to TJ's article.

It really does not matter what TJ or any other writer does to try and get a reaction out of Kobe. Kobe put this all on himself and if he cant handle it after that whole "tour" he went on I just don't know what to say about that. To me Kobe is just too selfish to ever "lead" a team to a championship although he is obviously the best player in the league. I say, instead of giving our guys away as proposed in some of these trade ideas, lets trade Kobe and bring in more pieces and then reconstruct this team as it should be. Just getting O'neal will not due the trick.

Its hard to take TJ seriously because he is not a sportsfan, nor does he really care about what happens to the Lakers anyway. He is a very good writer who's sole aim is to poke fun at all the sports fans, so disregard ahything that he does.

Ken

T.J. Simmers is like an annoying papparazzi. What the hell is his problem? It was obvious he was trying to get Kobe to say something out of anger.

I'll say it for Kobe you loser....
Yes, I'm coming back to play for the purple and gold but I'm not happy with Mitch, Jerry, and all the other idiots running the front office.
Yes, it sucks that we didn't get KG but do you think I expected to with the group of clowns upstairs?

Please leave the man alone!

RIC BUSH-EATER=KOBE'S BIATCH

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=bucher_ric&page=bucheronkobestatus

Ric Bush-eater is officially kobe's biggest kbiatch.

"Kobe Bryant has held fast to his radio -- and TV, blog, dot-com, newspaper, magazine, semaphore -- silence concerning his future with the Lakers. That's good, since speaking out didn't exactly motivate the Lakers nor endear him to the how-dare-an-NBA-player-complain crowd."

Looks like Mr. A$$hole is still being.......well, Mr. A$$hole. i guess The Big Pluto is on the attack to the "how-date-an-NBA-player-complain crowd"....aka....KLBeast. This lends support to my assertion that KOBE IS A LITTLE BIATCH who can't even face up to laker fans. kobe has to use his Communication's Director to do kobe's dirty work. What a weasel....SIMPLY A WEASEL.

"The Lakers, meanwhile, have been silent, too. That's not so good, since it's their inability to make any significant moves that prompted Kobe to ask out in the first place."

Buzz....wrong Mr. Wannabe Jordan. it is you're a$$hole attitude that dissuaded free agents from wanting to play with Mr. Selfish. Yo kobe, is you’re dumba$$ attitude that chased shaq away and it’s your dumba$$ attitude that is making management rethink mortgaging the future to placate you.....AGAIN. Recall, management placated you once by getting rid of shaq. LESSON LEARNED: FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU KOBE, FOOL ME TWICE SHAME ON MANAGEMENT.

“Just understand this, in lieu of Bryant telling you himself: If he was boiling about the Lakers for not jumping at the chance to get Jason Kidd at the trade deadline, he's now at the stage where the water has evaporated and the bone-dry pot is scorched and rattling, after having a firsthand taste of what playing with Kidd is like at the Team USA minicamp last month.”

Wah wah…may I buy you a new bottle of milk for the one you spilled when you chased shaq away? KOBE, YOU’RE A STUPID-A$$ WHO WANTED TO SECURE YOUR LEGACY THUS BREAKING UP A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM AND NOW YOU’RE CRYING OVER SPILLED MILK. Kobe=The Big Pacifier.

KOBE, YOU’RE LEGACY WILL BE THE “DUMBEST TALENT OF ALL TIME”.

"No question," said someone close to Bryant, "his frustration was made worse by Vegas."

Yo Kobe, I say “F-U” very much. You’re the a$$hole guy who chased away shaq and anybody else to join the laker organization. Go cry to mama, that’s all you’ll have left.

“For those who have been too busy trying to get Pluto reinstated as a planet to stay up with current events, Bryant let it be known back in late May that he had lost faith in the Lakers' ability to build a championship team, and while he was not demanding a trade, if the organization didn't bring back title-winning architect Jerry West, the Lakers might as well send him elsewhere.”

JERRY WEST TO KOBE: “F-U”.

Quit blaming everyone else for your stupidity. Keep working out 25 hours a day, 8 days a week and 367 days a year. You’re stupid “I work out harder than shaq” shtick ain’t working anymore. Shaq and Smuch are laughing at your stupid a$$....haha…$hits and giggles from KLBeast.

“When that was boiled down to a less nuanced version, as in "Kobe wants to be traded unless West returns," Bryant tried to set the record straight, emphasizing his love for the Lakers' legacy and how he didn't want to leave.”

Setting the record straight Mr. Waffle? What’s confusing about “I want to go to Pluto, I Love LA, I want to leave? Love for the Laker legacy? You mean love for your own declining legacy. LBJ, Wade and Melo have already taken over the league you stupid-a$$ of a child (that’s right child)

“Anyone close to the situation always knew different, so Bryant felt he was taking one for Dr. Jerry Buss -- the driving force behind sending O'Neal to Miami -- by never challenging the misconception.”

Those close to the situation? Who you’re daddy and mommy in Italia? Dude, own up to your actions. Be a man, not a stupid “child” or a “kid” as you love to lable your adversaries. Kobe, you’re a dumb-a$$ and please don’t forget it.

“But to hear "a Lakers insider" validate it sent Bryant around the proverbial bend. It was no longer that Bryant wanted out because he no longer trusted the Lakers could make the necessary moves to chase another title; he wanted out because he no longer trusted them, period.”

TRUTH HURTS MR. SENSITIVE.

“A conversation with coach Phil Jackson prompted Kobe to soften his tone -- if not his stance -- one more time before he finally gave up on trying to explain his feelings and unplugged from the media grid.”

KLBeast sees right through the CYA (cover your a$$).

“Since then, the Lakers have maintained the status quo by re-signing Luke Walton and Chris Mihm. (It'll be nice to see Derek Fisher back in a Lakers' uniform, but let's not kid ourselves that this changes what they essentially are.) According to sources, they've also declined an offer of Ron Artest for Lamar Odom, dangled Kwame Brown, Brian Cook and Andrew Bynum for Jermaine O'Neal but said no to the Pacers' offer of O'Neal for Odom and Bynum.”

Dissing your teammates again. Kobe, please learn that nothing is gained from dissing your teammates.

“Now, with the Kevin Garnett pipedream officially over and Bryant quietly going about his business, the focus reverts back to the Lakers.”

WHY DIDN’T YOU CALL GARENTT EVERY DAY? That’s right your $hit don’t stink.
“They know their star is unhappy, they've admitted their team isn't good enough to contend and they've promised to change all that.”

You weren’t promised $hit you dumb-a$$. What the hell do you think was was going to happen once shaq was out……….another 3-peat. How stupid are you?

“Bryant said he wished he'd handled his series of declarations earlier this summer differently, but as the summer days slip by with no news out of El Segundo, I have to think more and more people will empathize with his desire to be elsewhere.”

How about apologizing DIRECTLY to the fans, teammates and laker management?

“He really doesn't have to say anything more. The Lakers are making his case for him.”

KEEP HIDING YOU CHICKEN $HIT. KLBEAST WILL CONTINUE TO CALL YOU OUT EVERY DAY UNTIL YOU ADMIT THAT YOU’RE AN A$$HOLE OR YOU’RE RAN OUT OF TOWN. Kobe, you're a loser, who has never grown up to be a man.

Warren Buffet said once (paraphrase) "when you look down and see a hole, stop digging."

T.J. Simers is an idiot. And I'm not just saying that as a Kobe and Lakers fan. He insults me as a journalist and is everything I don't want to be as a journalist.

And anyone who says that he asks the questions other writers are afraid to ask should realize that Simers has never broken ANY big stories. And by his few columns that I've painfully forced myself to read I see that he has no desire to. He's just a journalist who wants to piss people off so he can get famous.

KobeSucks (aka KobeRocks)

"as an aside...i have no idea why folks read or reply to KLBeast...he is a hater and there is no point in addressing those folks..."

hook, line, sinker. looks like you're responding...

Professor Guceo

"Before I take off for a long summer, here is a topic that will start a lot of debates on player preferences, I'm KL will be very happy with the results"

i can die a happy "flea" now.

blaze1bx

"We don't need to entertain the haters on this blog, we need to avoid them all-together (sorry KLBEAST)"

no offense taken buddy. BTW, you mentioned your ethnicity on the last thread. may i ask what is the country of origin?

I stopped reading anything by Simers a long time ago (about 3 yrs ago). My understanding is that nowadays writers get judged (at least to some extent) by the number of "hits" their online articles get. If you really don't like TJ's "writing" stop reading his crappy "journalism". The guy is not even funny, he is just a classless jerk (or at least does a good job of portraying himself as one.)

Yeah,

T.J. Simers may be jerk, but he did ask a lot of good questions and he got Kobe to finally say he'd be around for camp. Good job a-hole.

Wes

C.S.

"If you really don't like TJ's "writing" stop reading his crappy "journalism". The guy is not even funny, he is just a classless jerk (or at least does a good job of portraying himself as one.)"

I guess you're approach is blame the mesenger, not the message. Great strategy.

Well, if the rumor about JO not getting traded is true, I think it might be time to trade Kobe. I would LOVE to see him guide us to a championship, but unless we have a lot of internal growth, and NO MAJOR injuries this team is not gonna cut it.

Isn't the point to win a CHIP? If The FO can't build a championship contender around Kobe, then I think they should use him to get the young talent, cap space, and draft picks needed to make a future run. Like I said I would rather see Kobe lead this team to the championship but I think some of us should come to the realization that it might not happen.

KLBeast,

When you get a second go to the other thread....I left you a response to your legendary status response.

TaosHum,

"Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always a day away!"

-----

Kobe, the next day to the press:

"It's a hard knock life, for us, It's a hard knock life for us,
`stead of Jason, we get Smush
`stead of KG, we get tush,
It's a hard knock life..."

JJ

"With all fairness to his Airness......"

very catchy sir.

"He became the face of professional wrestling and not only became the top wrestler marketed in the sport, he also went on to do commercials, television, movies and print ads. In case you don't know who I am tlaking about, his name was Terry Hogan....aka Hulk Hogan"

The Hulk was my favorite along with Roddy Piper and SteamBoat. Andre The Giant was cool, but one ugly SOB.

"My point is this....Although, MJ is clearly more qualified for the recognition he has received down through the years, he still has benefitted from the chosen status by the media."

without question MJ benefited from the media hype, but you have to be BOTH good and likable. Simply being good ain't going to cut it (Allen Iverson). Conversely, simply being likable ain't going to cut it either (Grant Hill...Mr. Nice Guy).

"The media/marketing groups are currently itching to pass on that same attention to LBJ, however he has failed to cooperate by winning that first title or winning some other major awards."

I've said consistendly that LBJ is LeHype until he dominates in the big one. Last year was a good step in the right direction. Can you believe LBJ's been in the league for 5 years?

"I guarantee that the moment he wins something major, he will be so publicized that if will make the old MJ/Spike Lee commercials seem like ancient history."

as he should LBJ reminds me of Peyton Manning before Manning won the big one. BTW, i thought it was Spike and Reggie Miller?

"Besides, Kornicova (I butchered that name) received huge marketing attention when she started playing tennis and NOTHING she has ever done was legendary!"

Anna Kor-a-horny is all hype. Made me watch Women's Tennis more than i should though...i wouldn't consider AK (Ace-King in the hole....looks good, but never wins) legendary. I think Sharpova could be both hot (i mean hype) and someday legendary.

Weave-Man,

Is it not still too soon to determine the journey to be ended? I mean, are things really that bad right now? Had Kobe not had his radio outburst, would we really be tlaking about trading him right now? Had he not made his outburst, would we really be thinking that things are clearly hopeless with the current roster?

At this point, all we have is Kobe's initial outburst on the radio program. However, with him not giving anything since, do we really know what Kobe is currently thinking or what his future plans are? I think that unless we know something further from him, it is rash thinking and highly speculative to start suggesting trading him. For all we know, Kobe may has changed his mind about leaving but doesn't want to get into the details right now realizing how much media attention it would bring. His lack of speaking is actually causing less of a stir than if he would talk.

Besides, we don't know at this point if the Lakers are still working on something else or not. The Lakers have always been known for their ability to keep real trades under wraps until right before they happen. The stuff that normally gets released way in advance, normally doesn't even happen for the Lakers.

The bottomline is that if the Lakers do nothing more than they have, they will enter next season with a better team than last year. Instead of making a decision on Kobe, let him be the one to make the first move. Make him be the one that sits out.....and then trade him. However, don't trade him first. If he threatens to hold out for the season.....then trade him. There are too many quality players out there that could keep the Lakers as a playoff team if not better than last year. However, I wouldn't make a move until Kobe did. The Lakers are already still labeled as the team that traded Shaq.....I wouldn't compound it by being the team that traded Kobe, unless they are doing it as a response to Kobe forcing their hand.

Professor Gueco

"KL, You can't forget that "flea" remark huh! it also means that you are fond of flea market. (corny!), just let it fly you riled us up 101 times and I just riled you up one time. lol!"

since i dish it, i'll need to take it like a flea...i mean man. LOL. No worries, it's all in fun.