Kobe cleans out his locker! This time, for real!
Granted, this was his locker in Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena -- basketball's Pluto -- and it's hard to figure out why he'd need to keep anything stored there after last night's 126-106 preseason win over the Sonics. But given how much attention was directed toward him removing a few items out of his full-time locker, we figured it was worth noting. Folks had been speculating whether the hoo-hah and hoopla surrounding Tuesday's LockerGate would be a distraction for Kobe heading into the contest. If his 20 points in 18 minutes (time limited in part to rest some tendinitis-inflicted knees) mean anything, the answer would be a decided "not so much." For that matter, the circus atmosphere seemed to bring out a strong box score from the entire squad, including Kwame Brown, who was finally able to get some run in a non-practice atmosphere.
As for Kobe, he's looking to avoid a new "he said" chapter to the "He Said-Doctor Said" saga that's been swirling around the news wires of late. Does that mean he's newly rejuvenated and psyched to be in Purple and Gold? Not likely, but for now, the high road is likely to be walked whenever possible, a reluctant -- if productive -- acceptance of the situation where displeasure is expressed privately (perhaps to Phil Jackson, Kobe's main -- and perhaps only -- confidant within the organization at the moment). If it's any comfort to Bryant, there are some writers who are in his corner when it comes to his trade wishes (perhaps teaming him up with a certain competitive dancer on ABC's network).
KL
"I was very happy to see our young guys FINALLY stepping up and showing their stuff. I was VERY, VERY happy to finally see some team basketball and not "kobe ball"."
- AGREED
"Bynum is showing that he's serious about being a "winner" in the NBA. Farmar looks impressive; especially on the defensive end. Critt is showing enormous potential."
-AGREED
"Even everybody's "whipping boy" Kwame Brown showed a little something albiet a little too late. Mihm had a nice post move hook."
-AGREED
"Kobe can go and play elsewhere if the deal is right, otherwise, kobe better just "strap it up" and "shut the F up" and playout his contract. Like Shaq Daddy said in 2003 "if you don't like it, then opt out" "
-AGREED, BUT THERE IS NO DEAL RIGHT IN MY OPINION WHICH IS THE PROBLEM, I RATHER LET HIM WALK ON HIS OWN IF HE CHOOSES TOO.
"a piece of advice from someone with FICTIOUS b-ball knowledge, kobe don't be an even bigger malcontent and start dogging it. PJ better have the sense not let kobe disrupt the development of the young guys."
-AGREED
"THE KOBE EXPERIMENT IS OVER AND KOBE HAS LOST THE WAR THAT HE STARTED IN 2003 IN THE PURSUIT TO BE BETTER THAN SHAQ AND BETTER THAN JORDAN."
- MAYBE... CALL ME BUSH BUT I THINK THE WAR IS LONG FROM OVER, THIS HERE IS IT KL, THIS SEASON IS MAKE OR BREAK AND US HOPEFULS WOULD LIKE TO THINK WE WILL HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION THIS YEAR AFTER AN INJURY PRONE BATTLE OF LAST SEASON.
"KLBeast does not need to exist anymore cuz The Kobe Loyalists have been proven to be bandwagon fans who don't know jack-sizzle about basketball and don't care about Laker basketball. "
- TAKE IT EASY, KOBE LOYALISTS NO MORE ABOUT BASKETBALL THEN SHAQ LOYALISTS.. STAND UNDER THE BASKET AND PUT THE BALL IN THE ROUND THING BIG FELLA
Posted by: Violator | October 19, 2007 at 06:08 PM
If you look at the 2005 draft, BYNUM NOW compared to the top nine draft picks, Bynum would have been in the top three on this draft. Being a CENTER, like Bogut, if the team knows now what BYNUM is, they'll probably have him as NO. 1 Draft Pick!
Seriuosly would you prefer Bogut? Villanueva? Frye? Webster?Diogu over ANDREW BYNUM??? Would you have skip Bynum and have taken any from the 11 to 14??? Like Sean May or McCants, who has been injured a lot? Aside from Deron Williams, Bynum is second best as far as progress in concerned in the last two years and he is only 19. WOW! WOW! A dominant Center at 21!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS TO MITCH AND JIM BUSS WE HAVE BYNUM!!!
2005
NO. PLAYER, SCHOOL/COUNTRY TEAM
1. Andrew Bogut, Utah Milwaukee
2. Marvin Williams, North Carolina Atlanta
3. Deron Williams, Illinois Utah
4. Chris Paul, Wake Forest N.O./Okla. City
5. Raymond Felton, North Carolina Charlotte
6. Martell Webster, Seattle Prep HS Portland
7. Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut Toronto
8. Channing Frye, Arizona New York
9. Ike Diogu, Arizona State Golden State
10. Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph (NJ) HS L.A. Lakers
11. Fran Vazquez, Spain Orlando
12. Yaroslav Korolev, CSKA Moscow L.A. Clippers
13. Sean May, North Carolina Charlotte
14. Rashad McCants, North Carolina Minnesota
Posted by: Staples 24 | October 19, 2007 at 06:11 PM
"Okay, so you admit that you fudged the numbers. That's a good start. "
No. I'm just not going to argue with you over it. 38 points is terrible. And if you want to shave off 6 points off of the lay-up and put them elsewhere. That's irrelevant to me. The Sonics attacked the rim almost at will. Especially in the first 4 minutes. I saw the game.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 06:21 PM
Andrew Z, BK,
Irrelevant! That Kobe statement nuetralizes every Kobe hater who will try to blame him if PJ is axed. You quibble over PJ's involvment? Gee, I guess Jimmy Buss calling out PJ didn't happen, either. PJ was involved from the start. Read that Roland guy...he explains it all. The only part I don't agree with is that Kobe was involved in it all from the beginning.
But that's all water under the bridge now. All that matters now is that if PJ gets axed...no one will be able to blame Kobe. All of PJ's media allies have been silenced if he should be axed. SUCKERS!
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 06:24 PM
Mike-
"All that matters now is that if PJ gets axed...no one will be able to blame Kobe. All of PJ's media allies have been silenced if he should be axed."
That's true... except nobody was going to blame Kobe to begin with. You might as well be declaring that if the sun sets in the west tomorrow night, nobody will be able to blame Kobe. Nobody is lining up to do either one.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | October 19, 2007 at 06:28 PM
My thoughts on last nights game:
The good -
30 assists on 46 baskets is really good.
Bynum's 10 rebounds were mostly hustle and position rebounds. That's encouraging. He also showed a lot better footwork than last year.
Mihm's midrange game is coming back. Especially good if he plays some 4.
Farmar looks faster this year.
J Crit looks like a good instinctive defender.
The bad -
Well, there are plenty of others on this blog who can point that out.
Posted by: Wagoneer | October 19, 2007 at 06:29 PM
BK,
"That's true... except nobody was going to blame Kobe to begin with. You might as well be declaring that if the sun sets in the west tomorrow night, nobody will be able to blame Kobe. Nobody is lining up to do either one."
Kobe will take the blame obviously, its a pattern thing.
Posted by: Violator | October 19, 2007 at 06:51 PM
Quick Poll:
Is there anyone on the blog, besides Mike T, that doesn't believe the original Laker insider is Jim Buss? Anyone in the media?
Kobe's the, pampered, petulant star that should have kept it in house but management should have the cunning of a smiling, two faced Hollywood producer.
LIE to Kobe if you have to, but don't shoot your mouth off and turn the franchise upside down. And even if you do, talk it out, say you didn't mean it, say you were high, but FIX IT.
Kobe wants to be traded and Kobe hates Phil and then he doesn't and then he's getting a divorce and then he's not. The man can change with the weather. Step up and speak up, Jimmy. A couple of wins and this could get better, especially since the other options are all bad.
Posted by: Vman | October 19, 2007 at 07:06 PM
Violater-
Not on this one. Or at the very least not from me, or anyone else with a modicum of understanding of the situation.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | October 19, 2007 at 07:20 PM
Staples24,
I've long respected your posts. I'm also on record as a Jim Buss is cancer bandwagon. I don't like the guy in management, not at all. We hear about his successes and never his failures.
Having said that, Bynum has been a great pick. Part of this is that Bynum actually cares and he has a big frame. Combine that with tutoring by the captain (which I wish we could have more of our players getting tutored) & his dreams of being a great player and you have Bynum as he is now and what he will become down the road. I've heard some people say Bynum should not have been drafted, I disagree. The problem is that after 3 seasons, the front office has made it clear they aren't trying to win "now". If that's the case, be up front about it. This is an issue bigger than just Bynum. The mishaps have been numerous and could have been mitigated with crafty management (in other words, keeping all the talent happy and motivated).
Further, the problem with Jim Buss is not his eye for talent. I'm also on record as saying he has a very good eye for talent. HOWEVER, he is a horrible team manager. Absolutely atrocious in that respect.
Solution?
Put Jim Buss as head scout and consultant, but take his butt off the top floor of the Laker corporate building. Let Kupcake do his thing & Jimmy can do his. Who's in charge? Your guess is as good as mine.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | October 19, 2007 at 07:34 PM
vman,
Why should the owner have to leak out anything? He spoke plainly about PJ in his interview. I guess you might ask how the two are connected? This whole situation started when Jim did his interview. Then when Jeanie and Kurt Rambis came out and spoke out against Jim. The Lakers are the Lakers and no matter what happens Jim Buss is going to be the owner. Nothing short of selling the team is going to change that. He doesn't need to leak anything. All he needs to be is the owner. Even if we rebuild...we're not immune to that. We're just another NBA club. The owner doesn't need to look at the small picture. An owner has to look at the big picture. Players come and players go but the Lakers are an institution. And Jimmy Buss is the owner of that institution. He doesn't have to belittle himself that way.
On the other hand. PJ is know to use the media to do his bidding, to shape ideas and thoughts. This is right up PJ's alley. But all of a sudden it's Jim? PJ is the one who signed off on the roster then at the end of the season started crying about his need for new players. He bellyached all summer about it. It's Jim Buss who think we can win with this roster. But he would be a fool to think we can win without Kobe. So if Jim thinks we can win with this roster then why leak anything negative about Kobe to the media? It doesn't make sense.
It's PJ, Tex and the media who are crying that we're not going to be able to win with this roster. Read the Roland guy. In everything he writes...it comes from Tex Winter's mouth. And if you read it, what he's basically saying is that this roster isn't good enough. Roland is a Tex Winter student. Tex Winter is a PJ loyalist. Anything coming out of Roland is from Tex, who's just repeating what he and Phil discuss. That's classic PJ. Now we're to believe Jim leaked to the media? It doesn't make sense.
Right now we have a coach who doesn't believe in this squad. PJ has said it over and over again. Ask yourself this: Who is going to inspire them to believe in themselves? After everything PJ has putting out there in the media?
This is PJ's doing through and through.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 07:55 PM
The hand Jim Buss is playing is this squad to win. Without Kobe that's impossible. It doesn't make sense that he leaked anything negative about Kobe to the media. And your poll isn't going to make Jim the guilty one even if 99 percent vote yes it was Jim.
As an old man once said to me: "mike...if it doesn't add up it's simple not true." Then he said: "that's the law of mathematics...and it's the gospel that I preach."
It has got to make sense or it's simple not true. Jim Buss is counting on Kobe. It doesn't make sense for him to leak anything. And Kobe demanded that the leak be fired. Jim Buss can't get fired. If Kobe thought it was Jim would Kobe have made such a demand? That's crazy. It doesn't add up and therefore its simple not true.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 08:02 PM
A poll? LOL! That's funny. Ever hear of the old saying: The ignorant masses are never right?
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 08:07 PM
The ignorant masses are to be manipulated...not consulted.
another tenienteism.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 08:08 PM
Mike T
I agree with you. I don't think Jim needs to leak anything, I think he didn't think, dropped the line, got a laugh and it got printed. Jerry was absentia and dysfunction reigned. He's not going anywhere, but he's not the owner yet, and as a GM you'd have to say, so far so bad.
I thought that Kobe's comments about Jerry coming back after not being that involved the last couple of years and how Jerry West should come back, were the the quotes that pointed directly at Jim's office.
I always thought the main selling point of Phil was that his 9 rings are 6 more than Kobe has. BUt it's true, just as it was with Riley, that after a while, guys just stop listening.
Who is going to inspire the team? That was one of the knocks on your guy, Kareem. He's got the bedside manner of a baracuda. I know he's workin' on it and is aware that has cost him jobs, but his thing has never been people skills. Granted, he would never use the media, but he has his issues in that area.
I'm sure you're good at what you do, you've studied and become expert and done it for a while. Jim partied and then parahuted into this. He doesn't inspire the benefit of the doubt yet, his dad does.
Jerry can do what he wants, I'm just pointing out what I think is obvious. There's only 4 players in this drama, Jeannie, Phil, Jerry and Jim. Jerry and Phil weren't around and Jeannie's just too sweet, even if her choice in men is questionable.
Posted by: Vman | October 19, 2007 at 09:07 PM
Dang vman,
Jeanie my be sweet but she has the teeth of ambition. Don't let that smile fool you. That's a liberated woman who see your future as the sky is the limit.
I've always said that the most dangerous preditor in the animal kingdom is the professional. Jeanie Buss may be sweet but that isn't going to stop her laying down a manipulative marketing scheme. You know you're in over your head when you take that sweet smile as a sign of kindness when all the while haviing every marketing gimic up her sleeve.
She's so damn sweet? LOL! What's a sweet girl doing with the likes of the master manipulator Phil Jackson? There equals. What he does on the court she sell to the media, using his half of fame credintals as the selling point.
That woman's smile may be sweet but her bite and tastes are ambition.
Sweet my ass!
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 09:36 PM
actually the saying goes like this:
The most sophisticated creature in the animal kingdom is the professional.
That's a tenienteism, too.
They don't lose a wink of sleep over anything that happens. There whole thing is to be cool under extreme pressure. And then when the heads roll they keep that same sweet expression.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 19, 2007 at 09:42 PM
>>>Aside from Deron Williams, Bynum is second best as far as progress in concerned
>>>in the last two years and he is only 19. WOW! WOW! A dominant Center at 21!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, I think I'd put Chris Paul ahead of Bynum. And Marvin Williams for the moment, until
Bynum can perform that well consistently during the regular season.
I really really hope he does.
Nothing, and I mean NOTHING would please me more in the next month than if Minnesota
came to town on November 9 and Bynum SHUT JEFFERSON DOWN. Shut him down,
George and Weezey were shut down too. And Bynum scored 20 and 10 himself.
And the Lakers beat Minnesota by 30. And Kevin McHale sat in the stands and watched
Bynum and wept. That would make me happy.
But I'm not bitter.
Posted by: Long Time Laker Fan | October 19, 2007 at 11:06 PM
Wow, Mike T making stuff up again. I'm shocked.
Posted by: Michael A | October 20, 2007 at 01:41 AM
lakers_sth,
Thanks for the write-up on practice. It was probably the most honestly informative thing I've read all year about the team and it's dynamics. I appreciate it.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon Kavulic | October 20, 2007 at 06:23 AM
Mike T
"That woman's smile may be sweet but her bite and tastes are ambition."
Now you've done it... you're right and it makes me want her more!!! haha
My wife would understand if it meant great Laker seats. V
Posted by: Vman | October 20, 2007 at 07:57 AM
staples24
"HELLO! We still have the best player [kobe] in the world."
please pull your head our of kobe's ass. you're reeking of kobe's poop.
Kobe is NOT the best player in the world. I'll give you "one of the best INDIVIDUALLY", but on a team, he is definitely not.
Posted by: KL | October 20, 2007 at 10:40 AM
vman,
LOL! It was meant as a joke.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | October 20, 2007 at 10:54 AM
Be glad you have a player like kobve who wants to win. there are too many slugs in the nba now who just show up and collect a check.
On andrew our young center. give him time. he he improves this year as much as he did from his first ti his second , he might be a solid post player this year.
And last,people are to hard on Lamar. Remember he was hurt most of last year and still put up good numbers. Remember her was having what some people say was an all-star year until he got hurt.
Posted by: chips Swanson | October 23, 2007 at 03:40 PM
I moved too Phoenix, Arizona but I'm still a Lakers fan!!! n I am a Kobe Bryant fan too he will always be #1........
Posted by: Caligirl | October 23, 2007 at 07:41 PM