Tom - I assuming the machine's #12? Or is he now "the phantom"?

LakerTom,

I think you're overdosing again! LOL

dave and greek dude,

Must have had a senior moment. LOL.

(12) Sasha Vujacic – will win the 3 point shooting contest and ask Faith to marry him.

Tom

REPOST WITH ADDITIONS

Ah Hugo boss er KBBlitz
(yes Colorado loves the Lakers! Glad to hear from you)
"To present them as defensive specialists brought in and then ignored is way off base."
[No they were the best defensive players available at the time and just because you don't think much of them don't mean they could not have helped. And you are missing Mitch’s rational for signing them]
Same here. If they were defensive specialists why haven't they been resigned?? They are no Bruce Bowen or Marcus Camby. The logic to say Phil is a dumb coach (no you didn't say that but you are implying, a trick I learned during my debates with Hobbitmage)
[ Wordy post but I will try to get thruogh the point without all the useless banter. Really don't care what you learned from debates with Hobbitmage. But your words PJ is dumb but I definitely agree with you there. Also refrain from trying to put words in my mouth.]
just because he didn't play your boys Ira and DJ is just as weak as KL's argument about it's all Kobe's fault for the world coming to an end.
[ Let me state quite emphatically that Ira and DJ are not my boys but when they wear the purple and gold I support them even if zen man does not]
Doc Rivers is a poor coach only having KG/Ray Allen/and Paul Pierce is why he even won the finals (the Celtics had the last 2 years of losing records before). If you want to say Doc Rivers is a better coach than PJ then you have to say he's a better coach than Poppovich and even Pat Riley all proven winners. Just like I said to KL, if you want to believe Phil Jackson is the worst coach (you are implying,) in the NBA then so be it. Just don't give us other fans some really poor logic that Ira Newble is a defensive king and DJ Mbenga is some David Robinson guy.
[ Seriously you need to read my posts better. I never said Ira or DJ are defensive kings but I did say they both could have helped in spurts. I never implied PJ was the worst coach I am saying is methods are out dated and have worn off. I also detest his methods of insulting his players in the press.Andrew Bynum said it best with PJ passing out books. Bynum said he should get PJ a book How to Coach Big Men for Dummies.
Also I said Doc outcoached PJ and for that series he was the better coach. I never said a thing about Pop or Riley or any one else. For that matter DanCryatoni outcoached PJ for those Sun series. Asd I remeber Suns won those series. There is a contract offer to DJ but he is trying to get a bigger pay day from Miami. PJ would surely not want Ira back and would sit him if resirned like he did last season. Thats PJ saying FU Mitch and Jerry. Besides Ira is no longer needed, as Trevor is healthy now. As far as Doc Rivers winning because he had KG, PP and Ray Allen only supports my contention the only reason PJ has 9 rings is because he had MJ, Pip, Kobe and Shaq. ]

Oh and Phil was the only thing that made Kobe back off his trade request. (Nah uh blitz you are wrong Phil was doing other things, I hate Phil Jackson!!!).
"LOS ANGELES — Believing he had been insulted and misled, Kobe Bryant asked the Los Angles Lakers for a trade Wednesday and insisted nothing could change his mind.
Then something did. He spoke with coach Phil Jackson and backed off his request.

“I don’t want to go anywhere, this is my team,” Bryant told KLAC radio. “I love it here. I called Phil, man, he and I talked, it was an emotional conversation, but he just said, ‘You know what, Kobe? Let us try to figure this thing out.’
“Phil is a guy I lean on a lot.”"
http://tinyurl.com/6yope8
I'm sure Kobe disagrees with you pretty much.

{ Don't know about that}

-blitz
Posted by: thekobebryantblitz | September 08, 2008 at 11:08 PM

[Again you ignore past posts. Kobe says what is expedient at the time and to save face gracefully. Simply put or over simply put.
Kobe -I want to be a Laker for life.
Kobe trade me, flip flopping several times depending on interview.
Kobe I want to be a Laker for life.
Kobe - I would take 40 million to play in Europe especially Italy.
Which Kobe do you want to believe?
I think Kobe is the best player in the league but what he says is not necessarily what he means.
I can give more statements but I hope you see the point.]

Posted by: JustaLakerFan | September 09, 2008 at 12:36 AM

Lakertom,

i like 12 lol.

Kobe,

Get the surgery!

Not only does it affect his shooting, we've all seen how his ball-hanlding suffers. He now looses the ball on average about twice a game due to that finger.

This is not to say that I think he should have the surgery because he would shoot better or have better handles. My point is that it is obviously bad enough to affect him, and is therefore something that shouldn't be ignored.

Plus, long term, what if he tries to compensate for those things and strains/injures something else? He is attempting to accommodate an injury over a two-year period.

That could seriously back-fire.

In this regard, we need Kobe to be just a little more selfish...

Never thought you'd hear someone say that, did ya'?

--Fearless

Posted by: Fearless | September 09, 2008 at 01:26 PM

=============================
Fearless
This is a tough call. At this point I see what you are saying and it makes sense. On the other hand I hope with the return of AB and Pau at his natural position then hopefully we can use and rely less on Kobe and extend his career.
Still though tough call either way.

Kobe here in the Italian championship, maybe in Milan's basketball team?
At first sight, it looks very unlikely.
But, let's consider that:

1) Kobe grew up in Italy, and he often goes back there;
2) Milan is the international capital of fashion, and the guy (and his wife, I imagine) loves to be well dressed;
3) the new owner of Milan's basketball team is Giorgio Armani.. I think everyone knows him.. He's always in search for new athlets to be testimonial of his firm;
4) Mr. Armani, even if is says the opposite, has a lot of money to spend in basketball affairs;
6) Kobe hasd turned 30, and how long would he be so brilliant as an athlet?
7) Sometimes, as Julius Ceaser said centuries ago, it's better to be the first in the smalltown than the second or the third in the big city.;
8) I remember, month ago, an article where the writer said that Kobe is mentally an "european person"...

hello people of lakersblog my name is Nathaniel Bitana from the country of Philippines ive been watchin LAKERS since 2000 it inspired me into playing basketball especially kobe watching him grow up as a man inspired me in my life also.... so to all the people of lakersblog..... HELLO!!!! and expect to see me every day in this blog... and as a comment to kobe's surgery let him do what he wants to do.... kobe knows his body more than we do.....

*LAKERS 2008-09= LONGEST LINEUP IN NBA HISTORY (if sun yue would be playing in point)
*LAKERS 2008-09= 4 players are gonna suit up for all star weekend including bynum, pau, lamar and the black mamba
*LAKERS 2008-09= NBA CHAMPIONS.... 16-0 playoff record....

hellraiser(certified mamba fan),

LakerTom sez:

"One of the most fascinating things about last season was how many players on the team had the best years of their careers, starting with Kobe, Drew, Lamar, Sasha, Jordan, and Trevor. Taking his history into consideration, you could easily make a case for this being Pau’s best year, too."

It's all downhill from last season!

The SUNS are quietly becoming the best team in the Western Conference this summer and will feature the 2009 MVP (and Finals MVP?) at power forward: AMARE!

Yes, AMARE!

The lakers will be decent but won't have the physicality to stand up to the tougher, bigger, stronger teams in the NBA such as Cleveland, Boston, the SUNS and Blazers.

Bynumb and odum and gasol are a nice trio of offensive-minded playas, but they lack cohesion and chemistry, and where are their backups? That's a mighty thin bench in the frontcourt...

The window is closing fast and Boston demands more competitive play in the 2009 Finals - and that's where SHACK and AMARE and the SUNS come in!

Same old Kobe ... point blank on Jimmy Kimmel he said he aint getting surgery cuz now aint the time to be sitting for 12weeks, we've got work ahead of us, and oh he said we gonna stick it to the celtics too ...

We got next ... pinkie or no pinkie ...

In a laker squad led by Kobe we trust,
We bout to paint the league purple n gold ...
Go Lakers

hellraiser,

Welcome to the blog!

GO LAKERS!

BUTLER,

"I mean, what if SHACK had been in the lineup instead of gasal?"

We would have gotten swept instead of losing in six games because at this point in their careers Gasol is a much better player than Shaq.

Actually, we wouldn't have even made it to the Finals if we had Snaq.

Faith,

Thought you’ld get a kick out of that one. LOL. This could be the year that Sasha reads the blog and wonders how he can get in touch with his #1 fan. Good luck.

Tom

I wonder, did kg, allen and pierce make doc rivers look like a better coach than he really is? Laker players played very well last season, but I don't believe it was because Phil was their coach. Just b/c Phil has 9 ring and sits in the position to make the calls for the Lakers doesn't make them good calls all the time. Many times last season Phil sat on the bench with a lost look in eyes while the team was getting a spurt beat down. Well, guess what if he looked lost, it was b/c he really was lost and really didn't know how to deal with situation. there's no genius plan behind the no time out Phil rule, that's just Phil hoping that Kobe and the rest of the players bail him out of the situation.
I just You Tubed the kwame getting booed video and for 8 to 9 minutes Phil just sat there with a blank look on his face and did nothing , oh ya he wanted kwame to learn from this expierenc. No player ( even though kwame didn't help himself) or team should go thru that while their coach, their leader just sits there and chews gum.

The moment that plane landed from China kobe should have taken a limo straight to his doctors office and got the surgery

Dan the man,

"Dude, you take the cake for dumbest blogger, maybe of all time. Wow, i thought I had read it all!! lol"

LMAO, you're back, just give them hell !!

hellraiser(certified mamba fan) from one Mamba to another welcome to the Blog and
welcome to the Family, LOL!,

Xodus / Edwin,

" these Euro teams are already barely turning profits as it is. Even with the expected rise in interest with a Kobe joining a team, there's no way they'd be able to survive paying him that much."

I would've said the exact same thing about Bekham and the MLS before the deal was signed, but it happened. I would also argue that Kobe is worth more to a Euro league than Bekham has been and will be to MLS.

Kobe does not have the negative label overseas that he has here in the States. In Europe, corporate sponsors would be lining up to associate themselves with the league that Kobe joins. Couple that with an explosion in league exposure WORLDWIDE, television ratings (telecasts could possibly expand to Asia, all of Europe, as well as the U.S.), ticket prices and worldwide merchandising, and the numbers could possibly work. Just think that Josh Childress will be making $7 million a year to do nothing else but play basketball. For basketball alone, Kobe is worth at least three four times that amount. But Kobe's duties would be much more than just basketball, i.e. attracting sponsors, being the ambassador of basketball in Europe, expanding the league, etc. I'm just sayin, the numbers could work.

Laker Truth,

I think we have exhausted the explanations why it can't happen? Anyway, let's see whether it will happen in the future. Let the case rest for a while.

With regards to corporate or country sponsor, you know which country that could pay 50M just to promote Basketball, not a european country but it will be China or Dubai. LOL!

Mamba24,

thank you mr.mamba for welcoming me in this blog community

i'll be looking forward to next season

let hell be raise LAKERS....

GO LAKERS!

GO MAMBA!