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33isgodThere was a kid named Dwyane Wade who was by far the best player on the Miami Heat roster who also won the Finals MVP.
Horsefeathers! If you think that this is true, you have no idea what you are talking about. I'm no Shaq fan, but the ONLY reason that team won was because a dominant big man changed the scope of the opposition's defensive scheme, allowing a very good, but not great, slasher to abuse the open holes in the coverage. It was the Heat's defense that won them that title - Mourning, Haslem, Jones, etc.
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With all of our personal opinions about Kobe's personality aside, what would you have done if you were in his position? It's funny how Kevin Garnett can do it but when Kobe does it, everything is wrong because Kobe is a whiner. Was Kobe wrong for suggesting West came back? Was Kobe wrong for wanting to win?
I'd stop kidding myself into believing that I could win a championship on my own. It doesn't happen. I'd change my focus from being a top scorer to being a better team player. I wouldn't have demanded max-money that would handcuff my teams opportunities to get the quality big men that are required to win a title. In short, it would require Kobe Bryant to take a step away from the apologists and ass kissers and grow up.
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It's already been said that Kobe is NOT to blame for Shaq's dismissal and that Jerry Buss was the main architect in the master plans. Even when Shaq says he knows it wasn't Kobe but rather Jerry Bus, it still is not enough for the masses because why? Because they just don't like Kobe.
Pure garbage. Buss has every right to make his own tough decisions, and he screwed the pooch with this one. Kobe Bryant puts asses in the seats, end of story. He won't win another title without an elite big man.
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Everyone blames Kobe for the mess that is the Laker's roster, but in seriousness, who's fault is it really? Who passed up on Baron Davis, Ron Artest and Carlos Boozer but instead went for signing ridiculous contracts in Radmanovich and Cook? Who traded Caron Butler for Kwame Brown? And no the answer is not Mitch Kuptchak, but rather Jim Buss.
Agree somewhat. The Kwame trade was a disaster from the start. The Bynum pick was ridiculous, and the signing of Aaron McKie was wasted money. Oh yeah, Radmonovich was signed on Bryant's recommendation. This team can't draft for ****.
Of course, there are plenty of good, sound reasons to avoid those other players. Davis has had some very good partial seasons, but he's had only one great complete year. Utah's offer was better than anything the Lakers could have come up with at the time, and you can't hold Kupchak responsible for the fact that the Jazz refused to listen to offers for him last year. Artest? Artest? That is another diaster waiting to happen.
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None of this would have blown over if it wasn't for the "insider." If you were the franchise player and someone in your very own organization rats you out to the media anonymously (coward) then how would you have handled it? You would have been just as uncomfortable and have little trust in the organization yourselves.
So, if this is the truth, he still shouldn't say it? Both sides are in damage control for the inevitable Bryant trade.
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Kobe is to blame for the atmosphere in the Locker room. His aura does reek of arrogance but his thirst for winning only absorbs it all. And for those that posed the question as to who the hell wants to play with Kobe, well apparently Baron Davis, Ron Artest, Carlos Boozer and Jermaine O'neill does. Fact remains is that Kobe is the best player on the planet with no help. He doesn't have his Rodmans and Kerr's nor does he have his Parkers and Ginoblis, hell, he doesn't even have his Fox's and Horrys. Fact is, the Lakers aren't going to win with the current roster with a bunch of scrubs, and Kobe is justified when he demands changes on the roster. And when someone in the organization starts crap in the media and the media starts crap with Kobe, he is justified in wanted to be traded when no one wants to defend him from within.
He's only stated what every Laker fan has expressed the last few years.
I don't blame him for being frustrated. However, it was the Shaq trade that cost this team any chance to win the championship. Odom, while a quality player, is mentally weak. Butler was the jewel in that deal, and I hated to see him go. The only reason he was traded is because the front office knew that they couldn't truly compete without a dominant big. They took a chance on the nearly retarded Brown, and lost. It was a gamble that was necessary because they couldn't win with their group of big men. Brian Grant was a salary cap nightmare.
All of this could have been avoided if Bryant would have signed the deal before Shaq was traded. The Lakers hand was forced to trade Shaq within days of Bryant's UFA period. If they knew Bryant was going to come back, they could have held out for a better return for Shaq. Bryant knew damn well what he was doing by making sure that O'Neal and Jackson were gone before he signed that extension, and he is DIRECTLY responsible for the current state of the franchise.
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To all the people who hate Kobe but has never even seen him play, or even know the state of the franchise, stop kidding yourselves.
Huh?
