On revisionism

BK,

So, in other words you still hate Kobe. haha

Kobe's actions may not have altered much of the front office's plans (other than the move for Ariza, which simply doesn't happen in previous years.. I had been calling for such "small" moves even in our championship contending years with Shaq.. the lakers management had always been too conservative with what they had.. guys like Cook had to be moved for a better athletic talent long time ago.. it cost us for a long time.. and put the pressure on Shaq and Kobe).

No matter what the FO says, Bynum's injury again put them on notice that this roster without Bynum isn't probably enough to make the playoffs in the west this year. Then they just lucked into the Gasol trade, thank God for that. Timing was perfect.

But, I seriously do believe that the summer put the pressure on the younger guys to develop.. they might have training plans on their own (they better).. but it did provide extra motivation, though it wasn't a calculated move on Kobe's part.

As a side note, I've noticed some guys feeling satisfied and not playing with spark once Kobe was on board and said this team is a contender. Farmar especially.. moving Crittendon also probably played a role in that.

You simply cannot underestimate what motivation and pressure can do for you.

Heath raises some good points - but let's not forget D-Fish. He and KB24 have started every game this season.

I think KB24 was overwhelmed during the Summer and at camp. Being overwhelmed and frustrated, etc. leads to blowups. But I believe D-Fish gave KB24 a sense of "I am not the only guy that understands all of this." KB24 had another guy that had been with him in the foxhole and had his back. (Does anyone remember those quotes from the 3-peat years?).

Can we give D-fish some love now that everyone has been oogling over LO and KB24 for the past few weeks?

D-Fish is much more of a teacher and leader than KB24 will ever be. D-Fish started a new training regimen to help him keep up with a much more athletic (and younger) LAL team. He has taken the time and effort to help improve Farmar and Sasha.

By doing everything he has in the locker room/on the court and showing KB24 that it's all about family outside the stadium - I believe Fish has had a significant impact on KB24's development of the team concept. And given Fish's interview yesterday, I'd say the "old man" is spot on....

Go Lakers!!!!

Great column BK, however I think we should try to forget our dark times and celebrate what should be a #1 seed. We have a legit shot at winning the chip. Lets be happy.

GO LAKERS

When Bynum and Ariza are back how bout the second unit of AB, Turiaf, Ariza, Sasha and Farmar. That is a very good defensive team, maybe one of the better D lineups in the league. Lots of energy and athleticism. Even better it puts Luke on the 3rd team!

Steve Nash had 2 MVP, why don't Kobe have at least one? Kobe had 3 rings, Nash did not have any yet. I will be upset if Kobe won't have one. Trial angle offense not bad if they play like a team, but under Phil, the offense is for super star, who must have high percentage shooting, it hurts Kobe's image and i don't like to watch it, i love to watch a team basketball.

I also don't like the argument that Kobe "lit a fire under his teammates." There's just no support for that.

Fish, Sasha, Ronny and Farmar are simply not working harder than they were before. They always work hard, it's what we love about them. Nothing Kobe did changed that one way or the other. Rad and LO are not known for their work ethics, and did either of them come in and rip it up with newfound intensity because of a crazy-off season workout regime or whatever? No.

Which leaves us with Bynum. Now he did all of the above. But, if we look at it, it was not because of Kobe. Lets look at the published reports from his end about the motivation for his offseason workouts:

He has a very good group of people around him who told him that he has 10 or 15 years to work hard and be great and then he can retire a millionaire and do what he wants. He has said that he buys into that completely and wants to be "the best Andrew Bynum I can be." This is a contract year for him, when the heck else is he going to put the plan into action.

Is the NBA really such a jaded community that we can't believe that a 20 year old guy with good character and free time would begin to take his profession seriously and work hard? When the reward is millions of dollars, personal satisfaction and the adoration of countless fans?

Or is it more realistic to think that the only thing that can get Bynum off his butt would be a verbal beat down by an irresponsible semi-authority figure? As a fan of Bynum and the Lakers, I have to look at the former scenario as being the correct one. The latter being proposed by several media members is painfully and bizarrely demeaning to Bynum and his character as a professional and a human being.

With all that said, all of the people above are having great, and in several cases, career seasons. Why? In some cases it's experience and maturity, in some cases hard work and coming back for injuries, etc., etc. But everyone has benefited form the winning culture that has been created and Kobe as the best player on the team is a big part (probably the biggest part) of that.

Where did that come from. When Kobe had some great games and we won some games early in the season, everyone was of course asking him about the trade demands and he said 'I'm not thinking about that, I love my teammates, we're a family, we're having fun and winning for each other" etc., etc.

And as odd as it seemed under the circumstances, he meant it. He showed it night in and night out in his play on the court and even, we are told, went out to dinner with the guys and whatnot, which is directly contrary to his reputation. That is when he started being the MVP, not when some morons caught him complaining in a parking lot, a situation which would be a lame non-story in almost any other industry than major pro-sports and many other media markets (who cares what Micheal Redd said about draftiing Yi Jianlian? Did he say something? He might have. It may even have been in a newspaper once. Was it caught on tape? Does anyone care? Did it motivate Yi to be better? Give me a break.)

Anyway, enough said and more, I suppose. I'll get the the important stuff.

GO LAKERS!

Anyway

BK,

"And here I thought I was making such progress (haha)."

The first step is admitting that you have a problem!

Actually, I think it is reasonable to think that Kobe's statements this summer did light a fire under management, and possibly under Bynum, as well. There is no way to prove that, but the acquisitions of Gasol and Ariza point to a front office that didn't want to stand pat, and Bynum certainly appeared more motivated this season than last.

BK,

I think you're right. Great blog.

Regarding Kobe's statements at the beginning of this historic season...

To put it succinctly...

Kobe's words ended up helping by motivating Andrew Bynum and other players to work harder.

However, Kobe's motivation was not to motivate his teammates to be better, but to cathartically express anger, frustration and (most importantly) a lack of faith in his teammates and (more importantly) Lakers management.

Things worked out phenomenally, but only because the stars alligned perfectly for the Lakers this season. Despite all the hard work and genius of coaches, Kobe Bryant and Mitch Kupcheck, let's be frank... we got lucky. Things worked out as well as they did this year because of tremendous luck. And things will work out well for the next four years because of luck we had in the 2008 season.

Thank you, God, for answering my prayers.

GO LAKERS!

Yep, props, BK. good read and it's nice to keep everything in perspective.

It's interesting to watch the process of how stories are crafted. The second bias comes in, first the terms of debate are changed, then history is redefined.

There was a time when liberal wasn't a bad word, when a Democrat didn't have to look like a Republican. Thanks, FOX news and CNN.

Oops, I got political.

Everyone's right on this issue.

It was frustration, aggravation, motivation, luck, fate and joss but...

what matters is our team is and will be very good for years That seems to be the consistent attribute of a Jerry Buss owned team.

This post took me back to the time when we Lakers fans wanted Kevin Garnett so badly.

You know what? After seeing KG on the Celtics. I don't know if KG and Kobe would have worked. KG brings the defense, but Lamar brings great defense too that goes unnoticed. I'm assuming the Lakers would have given up Odom and Bynum for KG. With Bynum gone, would KG have been able to be that much more of a scoring threat than Lamar? Because that's what Kobe had been missing, that steady scorer that became Andrew Bynum, and then Pau Gasol later in the season.

Now if you told me that the Lakers could have gotten KG for Odom and Bynum, AND acquired Gasol, well then you would have had the best team in the history of the universe.

I always cringe when folks try to paint the Gasol trade as being a result of Kobe lighting a fire under the front office with his harsh critiques, and I also cringe when the Gasol trade is characterized as being a reaction to Andrew Bynum's injury.

The Memphis owner wanted to cut some salary and once he offered the deal with Gasol, it didn't require Einstein to recognize it as a no-brainer. It didn't require a disaster or a gun to somebody's head to understand that Kwame-Crit for Gasol was a sweet-sweet deal....

Pretty sure Jason Kidd was in NJ when the trade was proposed.

Also, pretty sure Bynum has said Kobe's words DID motivate him. Not that this was the reason Kobe said what he did.

Looks like Hollinger doesn't hate the Lakers that much.

John Hollinger: (4:56 PM ET ) I think next year's Lakers will be scary, scary good. If you're in the West, I'd strongly advise you to win it this year, because it might be your last good shot for a while.

EXCELLENT Piece BK!!! Kudos...

Its alot easier to gain insight when someone was "actually" there!!!! What gets my respect MOST about the piece is knowing you're a devote Laker fan and arent ashamed to toot the KB24 is Great horn along with the majority of us, yet, your instinct as a journalist prevented you from drinking the "koolaid" so to speak, and you reported the encounter as you recalled, No Chaser, just the facts... just the facts. Thats why this blog has mass appeal, even to non Laker fans. You and AK, despite being dorks, you keeps it real !!! ( that means "honest" to our non slang brethren) Keep up the good work guys, We appreciate it BIG TIME!!!!

Great column, BK.

Up to this point, I still believe that Kobe did throw his teammates under the bus. That it turned out for the better is a mere coincidence. That would be ridiculous if Kobe tries to take credit for whatever happened after his outburst.

One of the factors that I think contribute towards those guys playing better is the fact that they realized that KB wouldnt be there to support them anymore, that he was ready to move on, and I believe they thought that they also had to move on and play the game as Lakers, with or without KB.

As it was mentioned during the second breakout after Dr Buss made it clear that no player is bigger than the Lakers organization,at that time nobody knew what would happened regarding to KB, not Phil Jackson, not the players, nobody. I think during that time that they decided that the show must go on, even if their star left the town.

To be honest, at that time I thought Kobe leaving the Lakers was the best for both parties and if I could go back to that time again, I still think that's the best option. I won't deny that it might have a good influence on the Lakers, however that's not how you approach it. If he wants to call his teammate out, then he should do it behind close doors.

Good Kobe interview on PTI just now, m surprised they didn't bring up a bunch of MVP stuff. But they did bring up what this threads about. Im glad Kobe said "great" would be an understatement regarding his and PJ's relationship.

This is why PJ will probably be the Lakers coach as long as Kobe is a Laker.

#1 SEED...GO LAKERS

Kobe's frustration this summer stems from one simple thing. He looked at Eldon Brand's numbers (alone) over the years that Kobe had stayed with the Lakers, and he realized that those were 3 very probable rings that he missed an opportunity at. Had he pulled the trigger, LA would have had a shot at 3 titles. And with the emergence of Thornton this year -- look out ...

Shaq always claims that wherever he goes, he makes the team a contender, just him showing up. But the truth is -- he needs an outside force. To say that Penny was propped up by him is unfair, Penny's injuries decimated his career. D-Wade is still a force. If a younger Shaq shows up at a team who's guards are just OK, it's not instant championship. It's not an extra 15 points ppg from that guard/forward because Shaq is there.

And the same goes for Kobe. The wisdom is that Kobe had to have a Shaq-in-his-prime, but Shaq didn't need anyone. Baloney. All Kobe needed, like Shaq -- was a GOOD counter to his particular space on the floor. 20-10. That's it. 20 points. 10 rebounds. Give Kobe 20-10 inside, hell, Bynum got all his raves and he was what 16-12 in January??? And when Kobe got that from Bynum -- low and behold we started winning. Bynum goes down and we get Gasol to give us essentially 20-10. We start winning. Not a 30-15 from Shaq in his prime. Just close to 20-10 and Kobe is suddenly a winner.

You can argue about the third wheel needed for a championship, but I will say that the third wheel benefits the most from a Kobe, and a 20-10 center. If Kobe had been a Clipper that would have been Maggette. I do believe that a third wheel sees his game improve with these two guys drawing attention.

So Kobe's frustration was not so much -- I need KJ -- I just need a 20-10 guy. They exist. They are not a dime-a-dozen, but they are out there. Get me one. I coulda had one in the same building, but I want for the "we're family," cosa-nostra speech from the The Bus.

Personally, I believe that the theatrics during the last off-season were a high stakes game of chicken. Kobe Bryant never wanted to be traded and the Laker FO never really wanted to trade him. Not trading Kobe was a business decision...Dr. Buss could not risk trading a superstar in his prime for what would almost certainly be lesser value and in the process alienate a large part of his fan base. And once Kobe calmed down, he realized that there was promise on this team and that there is no better place for him to be than in Los Angeles. Time does heal all wounds, as PJ said. I'm not such a polyanna that I think that there may not be some lingering hard feelings between Kobe and management, but winning cures a lot of evils and the Lakers are winning big time.

Laker Truth,

I skipped that part in Laker University... Perhaps a mandate for a change of award?

Best Stache with a balding "Do" award? Or Ron Burgundy / Burt Reynolds upper lip tip?

Regards and Thanks for your response!

mrbarneydangles ,

Thanks for the input regarding the PTI interview!

BK,

Jeez, I thought AK was the only kobe hater in the family, what gives?

First how is your "but" relevant? Besides the fact that this heath dude whom I've never heard about made an article out of kobe's line "it seemed to work out pretty well".

That's just kobe saying I didn't like things and I screamed foul, things worked out ok but that doesn't mean he's recanting the apology he made during training camp to kuptchak regarding his actions over the summer. Dude already apologized to his team, called bynum the player he prayed for? what more does the media want, a publicly written apology because you guys feel you should matter as well? it's not enough they buried the hatchet during team meetings etc the media cries, nah we must see kobe recant xyz in public so we have more articles to write ... gimme a break.

And while you're dredging up articles that are drawing up wrong conclusions, I read an article on espn a while back where some writer (I think Sheridan) argued kobe is lucky his demands weren't met ( I agree, though the lover in me would add so are the lakers) then he went on to go the lakers would have odom, bynum and gasol and be quite good without kobe. "No reason to think the gasol trade wouldn't have gone down" the dude said? hunnh? Geez like what are the chances that a 3rd or 4th team would have been needed in a trade involving kobe and what are the chances that kwame browns expiring contract would have been needed.

Lastly Kobe's rants could only have put pressure on Mitch to make a trade. Sure you can argue it made making a trade harder. But it'd be very presumptious to assume Mitch would have been on the prowl for a gasol trade had kobe been extremely happy with the state of things in laker world during the summer.

Bottom line no one knows what's going on inside these dudes heads. All kobe did was say things worked out well (which is true). He didn't say his rants were the reason they worked out well and he didn't say things would have worked out well without his rants. He just said they worked out well. There is no story here, all you're doing is generating your own buzz by trying to create a controversial topic out of nada.

By the way don't think I ain't notice how quiet the entire media was while we were all wondering what would happen if houston, new orleans and lakers had a 3 way tie. It was almost like everyone was saying umm I'm not sure, lets wait and see if it happens. How about someone acting like a reporter and calling the nba to clarify what the outcome would be. You mean no one at abc has that kinda pull?

Lastly apologies for the harsh tone, but you probably figured you'd get a few of these after putting your "but" post out there. To heck with Heath, he doesn't speak for Kobe and I just dont quite get why you felt the need to dredge up dirt.

And to heck with the MVP award too, the media can keep it. I've got no qualms with them giving it to a more deserving dude like KG, CP3, Lebron, or whomever else had a decent season. They'all all still call Kobe the best player, and the media will still be able to justify itself by saying it ain't for the best player. I got no problems with that.

No championship No Peace.

And darn if Baby ain't getting a free pass from the press for sitting out 4 months. No one even wondered why he had to go see his own doctor in NY, what happened, did the laker doctors tell him something he aint believe? But hey I ain't mad at him, 75mil is a lot of money. So long as he don't pull a shawn kemp on us and get fat after we bless he gets that pay check ... I ain't madd at him.

Arghh .... BK y u had to get me riled up ... Baby forgive me, we love ya ... we're only a dynasty if we got u ... take ya time and get healthy ... lol