Dear Laker Front Office:
Please trade Kobe Bryant.
Please ship this malcontent to another team, so we may be rid of the non-stop soap opera and get back to what matters: winning basketball games. He complained about not being the Alpha Dog while Shaq was in town. He pouted about the treatment he received from Phil in his first tenure with the team. He forced the Lakers to trade Shaq by filing for free agency. And now he complains about not having adequate talent around him to win a title. Nothing can please Kobe, and even when he gets what he wants he changes his mind and blames everyone else for creating his mess.
Please stop being blinded by his jaw-dropping highlights to realize that he is all flash and no substance. Yes, he scored 81 points in a game and has the uncanny ability to knock down game-winners, but he has won all of 4 playoff games in the post-Shaq era. His teams have finished 7th in the division the last two seasons and been sent home in the first round of the playoffs both times. And it could be argued that there is more collective talent on these teams than there was on the championship squads. Currently, he is surrounded by Odom, Bynum, Turiaf, Walton, Evans, Crittendon, Farmar, Fisher, Radman, Mihm, and Brown. Those championship teams had Shaq, Fisher, Fox, Horry, Green, Shaw, and Devean George. Oh, and I forgot about Madsen. With the exception of Shaq, the young talent surrounding Kobe now is arguably as good if not better than the savvy veterans on the championship teams. If he is as valuable as he outwardly should be, he would be able to take this group of young, talented players and move them beyond the first round. In fact, he seemed poised to do just that last season as the team started 26-13. Then the injuries mounted, the wheels came off, and the painful off-season began. A true leader, a selfless teammate, and a team legend would have carried the team through the injuries, through a disappointing first-round exit and vowed to come back stronger, more committed, and more supportive of the team the next season. Unfortunately, Kobe lacks such leadership skills. He is not capable of carrying teammates. He is only adept at bashing them to fans outside of supermarkets, in the media, and also behind closed doors. I don’t question his unparalleled desire to compete. I question his ability to lead, to support, and to be a teammate. Without those skills all we are left with are memories of an 81 point game against Toronto and first-round flameouts against Phoenix. Individual triumphs and team failures.
Please realize that the only way to win another championship is to begin by trading the best player in the game.*
* = any trade must be for a player or group of players from Phoenix, Dallas, Washington, or Chicago as mentioned in an article on ESPN.com. Any trade involving the Lakers acquiring crappy players is not acceptable.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Trade Kobe
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19 comments:
Any website that leads off with a photo of my favorite basketball team IN THE WORLD doing the wave at midcourt is OK by me.
Hmmm... Harvard. My top schools where I want to apply to are Oxford and the Sorbonne. My safety's Harvard.
You know what this site needs more of? The following:
1) Division III golf coverage, with a particular emphasis on past CMS players who have gone into the multi-family real estate industry
2) Ironman coverage, with a particular emphasis on 2 time finishers from Hermosa Beach whose names include the letters ohn ischer
3) CMS Hoops Super Fans, with a particular emphasis on the crazy coat craze of the early 2000s
With this material, you could really have a winner and capitvate a global audience, I think.
John, you make some great points. I can't help but notice that all of those topics directly involve you. I think the site you are looking for is johnfischer-ironman-golfstar-hoopsuperfan.com.
That being said, I do feel that a global audience would certainly tune in and check that site out. Especially the laaadies.
f kobe!
"F" Ischer. Seriously John, your mother has been worried sick about you.
6 comments in the hopper and this blog has already become the John Fisher web site. The man is uncanny. How does he take over a room. Amazing. And ... his mother and I have been worried sick about him.
In response to the Kobe article, I agree 100%. I am tired of reading and listening to his whining and crying. It has gotten so bad that I am frantically hunting for stories about Britany and Lindsey just to escape. I just don't want him to come back and beat us.
I think trading him for as many as 3 players would break his salary into several parts making it easier in the future to make personnel moves to improve the team. Good luck Lakers. I was a Laker fan before Kobe and will be one after he is gone. As long as we don't lose Jack.
Seeya
Only two words are needed in response to refute Bob's kobe bashing. TEAM USA. Period. Kobe's leadership and willingness to "do whatever it takes to win" while he was playing on Team USA this summer was evident of his ability and desire to play team basketball. He had every single one of those superstars listening to him and following his advice. He was without a doubt the team captain because he lead by example and played the team game. If the team needed him to focus on defense and lock down the opposing team's best scorer, then that's what he'd do. If the team needed him to distribute the ball and get dwight howard involved on some pick and roll, then that's what he'd do. And the results speak louder than words. So basically what I am saying is if you are against kobe then you are against America.
Leave it to a ball-hog to defend Kobe.
Of course he put his best foot forward with the US Team, his rep depended upon it. I mean, if he can't play with those guys then he'd never find a group he could play with. Basically, you're saying that as long as he has Bron Bron, Melo, Howard, Kidd, and Amare on his squad he'll be the team player the Lakers need? Good luck with that.
I waffle back and forth on trading Kobe or not trading Kobe. When he acts like a baby (as he has recently) it is easy to wish he was gone. When he plays great and leads well (as he did with Team USA), it is easy to want him to stay and grow. So, I have no certain opinions, other than I am an indecisive waffler with no balls.
But beyond that, it is interesting to think about where he could go in a deal. A couple assumptions:
1) Mitch doesn't want to send him to someone in the Pacific, much less the west. By the same token, Kobe probably wants to go to the east, where he can get to the finals so much more easily. This rules out Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, and Dallas.
2) Few teams in the east have the talent, contracts, and picks to make a good deal. I think we are looking at Chicago or New York. Maybe Indy, but Kobe doesn't want to go there.
New York has shipped off most of their picks, but they do have the contracts that could match up. Unfortunately those contracts belong to Starbury, Curry, and some other crap the Lakers don't want.
So, I really only see Chicago able to swing a deal. What works??
Gordon, Deng, Hinrich, Noah, Thomas??
If the Lakers ship Kobe, they re starting to build around Bynum and Odom. None of those pieces from Chicago seem like they work well with a low post center and a point forward. Although I wouldn't hate deng.
Anyway, in conclusion, there just doesn't seem to be a great fit for Kobe and another team. Hence, I do not feel that Kobe will be traded.
Erroneous Bob J. Erroneous on both accounts. First of all, the point being made about kobe's play on Team USA is that he has the capacity to operate out there in a whole range of ways and styles doing whatever is needed to win. With this Laker team, he has to score. There is no way they win games consistently if he doesn't. They don't have proven veteran scoring players besides him. How can you blame the guy for wanting to win? And offering his services to help recruit players during the season and management doesn't use it? I would be frustrated too. He is in his prime years and he is the best player in the league and they can't get a single playoff win.
And secondly with regards to my own play, we all know that all I do out on the court is set screens and swing the ball. Just ask Ralphie and Kenny.
John makes some good points too regarding what the Lakers could possibly get with a trade. There is no way they get even close to equal value. I say start the season with kobe and see how this group produces together. If it is clearly not working then look into what trades are out there at that point.
Willy, The real star of team USA, AKA Captain America, hails from Syracuse. His friends, like me, call him 'melo. He was the MVP of the summer games, and if he wasn't he should have been. Yeah, Kobe did play D in one game but that was just 'cause 'melo told him to.
- 'osh
gents,
Kobe is high maintenance and will never be happy. This is his life.
Exhibit A: married to beautiful, loving wife. She gives birth to his first child -- this should be a wonderful and happy time in his life. Instead, what does he do? 6 months later he hooks up with a 19-yr old colorado hotel employee.
Exhibit B: After winning numerous titles with Shaq and the Lakers, instead of embracing this "dynasty in the making" he blows it all up b/c he wants to be the Alpha Dog. He runs Shaq out of town and the rest is history. As I have been saying for years, Kobe is selfish and ungrateful.
He reminds me of a gorgeous, insecure woman. Surely you've come across this woman; dropdead gorgeous, but there's something that's just off. She needs too much attention, is never satisfied, gets jealous, wants constant re-assurance, etc...while she's hot and there are great times, in the end it's just not worth it.
Kobe has amazing talent and does some great things, but you need more substance...a substance that Kobe sorely lacks. Ship him out at 75 cents on the dollar and move on. Cut your losses and restart your life...
Just like you aren't changing the blonde bombshell, you ain't changing Kobe...
Just like that guy who still believes he can change the girl, I still believe kobe has a home in LA. I still have hope. Maybe it is a foolish thought, but I just don't want to deal with another Shaq-quality type trade that leaves us with some low-tier talent and a team losing games AND boring to watch.
And if you were to look at this from a business perspective you would NEVER EVER trade kobe. He sells tickets and will always sell tickets wherever he plays.
I'm just glad to read that some people in the greater Los Angeles basin have decided that dealing with Kobe Bryant is not worth it. To BJ "Teenwolf" Jameson's point, that Kobe's performance during this summers Team USA thrashing of the western hemisphere proves the Lakers should keep him, the fact that it takes the pressure of performing for his country to make him play basketball in a non-selfish manner makes me think that the Lakers would be better off without him. Also, if you think Kobe Bryant led Team USA and not Norcal's own Jason Kidd, the hair in that picture is obscuring your vision. Now on the other hand, seeing as how I wish nothing but pain on the Lakers as a franchise, I think the best thing they can do would be to keep Kobe and surround him with such outstanding NBA level talents as Dajuan Wagner, Wally Szcerbiak, Vin Baker, Danny Fortson, and Jarron Collins. Your 2007 - 2008 Los Angles Lakers.
Wait...Kobe plays basketball? I thought he just rapes girls...professionally.
I think you mean allegedly.
If the Lakers could make a trade with that German team for BJ Jameson, I say let Kobe go. Now, how about a real sports question.
Will the Rams win a game this year, and when did Pakoer become a sport?
He "allegedly" rapes women? Or he "allegedly" plays basketball? I thought besides being a ladies man, he was just a whiner.
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