This was a great interview...love the way he just asks him straight up all the questions you'd ask Kobe yourself.

Kobe really does seem like a wise fellow these days and he does come across as being genuine.I too dont think he'd go overseas...It seems sensible to look at each situation as it arises but I felt right from the start that when it comes down to it he'll want to compete at the top level for as long as he can.

I wouldnt be surprised to see him go to europe once his skills start declining a bit though.

It's funny how the media works. I think back to the '04 -'05 season and Kobe was being crucified...I mean just obliterated...and now alot of these same people are writing that he's a pretty good guy and in many cases rewriting history to some extent and suddenly acknowledge that there might have been anothter angle on things back in the day too... when not much in reality has actually changed apart from Shaq's image taking a hit...but as anyone paying close attention at the time knows - Shaq was always a knob but nobody wanted to say so.

I felt enormously sorry for Kobe at the time.Nobody should have to put up with what he went through.You wonder how going through something like that Colorado thing effects someone - you'd have to be angry when you think about it...and the unfair media for all that time afterwards...it'd be enough to drive you mad but Kobe seems to have turned out okay and seems geuninely capable of forgiveness.He doesnt strike me as an unkind person when in some ways he'd have every right to be pretty cynical at this point.

Despite my last post, I have to admit. I think Kobe's great.

GO LAKERS!

regarding shaq's youtube "rap", he's 100% correct. kobe couldn't do without shaq.

Repost

JSNV, (Inclusive to all Butler respondents)

What's up compadre?

"I hope this is all an act to rev up us Laker Fans"
Yes.

"You're either talented or demented!!"
Both.

I truly believe it's all fun for Butler, in an attempt to keep things interesting here. Talented enough to get the crowd to rumble, and demented in taking the painful attention.

Jon K's rules are Identify, Wound and Starve. (A nod to you Jon K) I personally subscribe to Identify, Wound and Assess. If a worthy observation in my eyes occurs; then I conversate. In his-her case, he's just trying to change the cadence to the blog.

Besides, as painful as it is to admit IF Butler was a true Suns fan; other Phoenix loyalist would question his frequency on this blog and would taint him-her with Laker lineage.

Peace

Jon K,

"So the greatest joy is playing for your country and then he admits he might go to Europe to play?"

I don't think Kobe considers playing for the Lakers and playing for your country the same thing (neither do I, because it's not), so he's not contradicting himself. The issue really has nothing to do with patriotism. It's about dollars vs. playing at the highest level.

AK

AK,

"The issue really has nothing to do with patriotism."

It does. At least a little.

GO LAKERS!

I too think Rome is a tool.

KL,

Shaq sucks --

HmrHed,

"Shaq sucks"?

LOL.

actually quite a funny response back. i really don't understand this blog's collective hate for shaq and collective reverance for kobe. shaq's the reason the lakers got back to its championship ways, not kobe.

this is my 3rd year on this blog and it's the same old shizzle.

at least one can expressed an honest opinion now without fear of namecalling (or perhaps the k-buddies are spamming like crazy).

AK,

"What could playing with the Lakers possibly have to do with patriotism?"

Not necessarily for the Lakers, but for the NBA.

Listen, Kobe is best player in the world and playing for Europe would diminish the prominence of American basketball. Kobe talked about how playing in the Olympics for America was such a big deal because there is no greater honor than playing for one's company.

Playing in Europe would in no way be the same scope and scale of a lack of patriotism as say... Chris Kaman playing in the Olympics for Germany, but it would be SLIGHTLY unpatriotic. Slightly. If only because of Kobe Bryant's unique stature as a player.

If Elton Brand (another great player) went to play in Europe, it really wouldn't be that big a deal. If Kobe Bryant did so, it would be a huge deal. So, out of respect for American basketball, its heritage, and the unique position of dominance of the NBA, I would hope that patriotism would play a role in determining his decision.

People like to say that everything in life is about dollars and cents. I'd like to think that other things are also important in influencing the "correctness" of one's decision making.

GO LAKERS!

#4,

"Kobe vs. Shaq over and over again. Really?"

first of all, what else is there to talk about?

second, k-buddies brought it up.

haha. roll with the punches my friend. bob and weave. do the rope-a-dope, then mash potatoes at the hop.

jon k,

"Listen, Kobe is best player in the world and playing for Europe would diminish the prominence of American basketball."

fools gold my friend. being a champion is more important than being the "best in the world".

also, please don't discount the financial aspect of what these guys do. lebron has it 100% correct by admitting he wants to be the first "$1 billion athelete".

"show me da $$" like in Jerry McGuire.

Jon K

I'm not sure any of us derive our pride in country from the success or failure of any particular private organization like, say, the NBA.

Soccer has a longer history with this and is pretty instructive. I believe the consensus is Club team for bucks and exposure, National team for pride and place in history.

All that said, GO LAKERS!

Kobe love =/= Shaq hate

Shaq was a great Laker. Kobe IS a great Laker.

The D,

"I'm not sure any of us derive our pride in country from the success or failure of any particular private organization like, say, the NBA."

All I'm saying is that if I was the greatest player in the world of a sport and had obtained my celebrity status and initial wealth in the United States and I was offered some outrageous amount of money to go play in Dubai or something like that in lower quality league, I (MYSELF) would take into consideration my love for country, my feeling of gratitude to my country to the success I had received and my love for the game and level of competition I experienced in the United States in my decision making process.

That's all.

Like I said, there's more important things in life than money and I think the people who are the best at anything recognize that.

GO LAKERS!

Thanks for the response KL. Kobe vs. Shaq, especially your opinion (hehe), is tiresome. No offense intended.

But I wouldn't blame the K-bros. When the league has nothing else going on, this is the default story. ESPN and Romey brought it up, K-bros are the messengers.

I guess I'll concede, what else is there to talk about?

KL,

Though I detest LeBron James, I think he would be among the handful of players whom if they left the NBA, they would lower the overall level of play of the entire league and lower the general stature of the league as an American institution.

As it has been said, "With great power comes great responsibility."

When you have a lot influence in life, things become less simple and more things should be kept in consideration.

That's my viewpoint with things.

GO LAKERS!

Kiwi,

I think you are one of the most even-keeled bloggers here. And you make your argument really sound on Kobe's change as a person.

However, I still tend to think he hasn't really changed that much from the arrogant brat he used to be from 2000-2004. He has just got much smarter and handles media so much better. By contrast, why Shaq often comes off as such a fool to many bloggers is the fact that he does not have a refined style comparable to that of Bryant. So Shaq says and sings what he thinks without considering the consequences, and that infuriates many people (and especially Kobe supporters). Because deep down inside himself Kobe would probably love to rap on Shaq. But he restrains himself from doing it. And that is a smart thing to do and what most of us can recognise ourselves in (we are not badmouthing our collegues or our bosses even though we would like to)

And formal education (Shaq has master's degree) has not really helped so much because Kobe hasn't even got an university diploma. It all comes down to Kobe's upbringing in a secure and financially sound environment. Conversely, Shaq and most nba players were brought up in a poor and often broken families. That is why basketball is more tool to them to feed their families. That is also one of the reasons why Kobe is not universally liked in NBA because he is different from most of the players. Moreover, I tend to think that this is the reason also why people in this blog tend to love Kobe so much and hate Shaq. Because they can put themselves in Kobe's shoes (being a good diplomate and trying to put on a good face even if inside there is a turmoil)

All this is to say that I don't think that as a person Kobe is better or worse than another NBA player (i.e. Shaq). The difference is that he had such a favourable childhood condition compared to most other players that made him what he is. Therefore, it is kind of useless to talk about personality because everybody in some way is flawed. Only comparison should be basketball wise. And even that is very subjective lol :)

Vaasa

AK/BK,

The precedent has been set by FCBarcelona0WNS. We're allowed to curse on the blog in Spanish. Nice.

Kiwi,

Bravo, Dan. I loved both of your posts about Kobe and share your opinions about his honesty and maturity. I got a strong sense that Kobe would view leaving the Lakers to play in Europe or Russia as something that will never happen. While it’s insane and inane to compare one’s love for country with their love for pro sports team, my hunch is that Kobe would never want to play in a second best league, even in the waning years of his career. His personal pride and loyalty would not allow it in my opinion. To him, playing in the NBA versus playing overseas would rank just the same as playing for country versus playing for an NBA team.

I also completely agreed with your assessment of Kobe as a forgiving person, which is not to say that he still doesn’t internalize slights by opponents for motivation on occasion or that he is not dying for another shot at Paul Pierce and the Celtics, but he isn’t really at heart a vindictive person who holds grudges and bears ill wishes on anybody, including Shaq. Hi is just wiser. He’s grown up and realizes that life and opportunities are too precious to waste time doing that. I’ve always believed Kobe was a ‘good” person as opposed to being a “mean” person. It is gratifying to see the general sports world finally coming around to that view.

Kobe’s experience and maturity are also reflected in his play on the court, where he no longer gets caught up in the super star competition with Agent Zero or even Ray Allen or worries about how many points he scores. Fortunately for Kobe, the Lakers have also now surrounded him with the kind and depth of talent to enable Kobe to follow the team-oriented inclinations that his experience and maturity have given him, which is to lead his team by example, trusting them to care as much, work as hard, and play as passionately as he does.

That is why I am hoping the Lakers will opt to play an aggressive ball-hawking and trapping defense on the perimeter, with Kobe leading the way to a new era in Lakers defense much as he did for Team USA in the Olympics. With Andrew and Pau and the Triangle Offense, this team can afford to deploy Kobe as its shut down perimeter defender. The Lakers are talented and deep enough to do this. And they have the perfect free safety protecting the rim in Andrew Bynum to allow the aggressive pressing defense on the perimeter.

Go, Lakers. The Era of the Beast begins.

Tom

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON?

The interesting wrinkle when considering whether Kobe would ever agree to play anywhere but the NBA are his girls. The first thought is that nobody wants to pull their kids out of school and move them to a foreign country, then you realize that that’s exactly what Jelly Bean Bryant did. And Kobe has mentioned many times how much he valued his experience of living in Europe. My hunch is that Kobe would never move to Russia but I could envision a situation where Kobe might consider playing in Italy and giving his little girls that same wonderful experience he had.

In the real world, however, where Andrew Bynum becomes (he already really is) the Next Great Lakers center, I seriously doubt Kobe would forego the opportunity to win NBA championships that would seal his legacy by opting to play in Europe. Anyway, if he ever did opt to play, my bet would be on Italy and the memories Kobe had of growing up. It could be the opportunity to share something very unique with his wife and daughters. Just interesting to consider.

Tom

Hey Vaasa - Thanks for the compliment.

I see what you are saying but while Kobe has had a different background he's also held to different standards.

Secondly Shaq has certainly used the media to his advantage and carefully cultivated an image.A bit of wisecracking and cheek was part of it and for the most part sheer stupidity wasn't.I always respected his game but I always found him fake...

Its like you are suggesting that I'm being carried away with the way these players present themselves when I dont think I am.I'm very aware of it but to me what Kobe says adds up and is consistent with his decisions and actions so I find him trustworthy...he says the olympics is important to him and he's actually shown this too...same with forgiving Phil Jackson.

I dont really think its all just a big front and indeed in the interviews Ive seen with him recently he could certainly work the media to his advantage more than he does.Sure he'd love to slate Shaq but thats just not what you do...not so much for the media's sake but just becasue for the most part its not how responsible adults behave...Kobe seems to have a genuine understanding of that.

I guess what I was trying to point out is that Kobe is in a no win situation because people simultaneously laud and chastise the same qualities and he's damned whether he does or doesnt.

Thats why I honestly think he is being himself these days more or less and not worrying too much about it.Clearly he's had to forgive jackson,he probably doesn't care enough about Shaq to get angry about it.I'm sure Kobe can be unbearable as well...Im not idealising him nor do I particularly care or have any vested interest either way as to his personality but I'm jsut calling it as I see it.

I appreciate him as a basketball player and find the way he sticks at things quite inspiring but when I discuss this stuff I'm really more interested in more general topics rather than Kobe's personality perse.One of these topics being the unforgiveable assault on certain celebrities by the media and public.But in response to what I think was the main gist of your post - no I dont just get sucked in by the way players present themselves and what I relate to or at least I think I dont.I tend to look beyond that....and I think bloggers mainly side with Kobe becasue he's still on the lakers no more,no less.For me I have found Shaq phony and superficial but it's nothing to do with 'class' as such.Maybe Kobe has had better opportunities but it doesn't stop me from respecting and being able to relate to players and people in life generally who havent had these opportunities if I see something worth admiring.

On the SHACK and kobey thing....let's see how this strikes you:

kobey's legacy, as it stands today, is secure. he will be remembered as a fine player with great skills and 3 rings, a gold medal and several seasons trying to get past Steve Nash and the SUNS, and Ray Allen and the Celts.

SHACK...he's already the #1 center of all time (according to that tool holinger's PER ratings) and is the MDE.

Now, if SHACK wins at least 1 more ring, and kobey does not, then doesn't that make SHACK by far the more dominant playa of the two?

I really can't wait for this season to start: http://tinyurl.com/3u3jpy .

"my feeling of gratitude to my country to the success I had received and my love for the game and level of competition I experienced in the United States in my decision making process."

I agree that the level of competition is better here, and for someone trying (apparently) for possible consideration as the best of all time, staying in the NBA as long as possible would seem to be the best choice.

I don't think leaving the NBA, though, relates at all to love of the country. I don't think that Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki playing in the U.S. means that they are showing less love for their native country than if they had stayed in Canada and Germany and played there.

As far as "love of the game," if you are really talking about the game itself, and not the level of competition, then the best thing you could do would be to help spread the game's popularity. Kobe or LeBron staying in the NBA is not going to increase the world-wide popularity of the game nearly as much as if they went to play in an overseas league.

Monetarily, these guys know that they only have until they are 35 or so to earn the big bucks. If they want to continue to live at the level they are living at now, then the extra money they could make in Europe (and taking endorsements into consideration that would be a significant amount) might be a very large factor. That would depend on how wisely they have used their money up to this point.