Both Lebron and Kobe wanted to play with better teammates, and both were willing to leave their original teams. Lebron had to go to Miami to find a superstar teammate while the Lakers' front office was able to trade for a superstar teammate. By criticizing Lebron for leaving Cleveland while praising Kobe for staying in LA, you're holding them to double standards.
Kobe had a chance to sign elsewhere and didn't. Also, his threats to leave ended before they even got Pau Gasol and they were the number 1 seed in the west before the trade went down. Kobe might have threatened to leave to get his way but that does not mean he was really willing to do it. It is not a double standard.
Kobe signed a 7 year contract that began in 2005. He demanded a trade in 2007. He couldn't have signed elsewhere b/c he was already under contract at that time. Sorry, but it is.
LMAO, you want SO BAD to take any and everything away from Kobe. It's actually just humorous at this point. If Kobe wanted to leave LA, HE COULD'VE FOUND WAYS TO GET OUT OF LA. He basically played hardball and won. End of story. What Lebron did was cop out and choose to join 2 other superstars, one of which already lead his team to a championship. To me, this will tarnish his overrall legacy. Now if he goes back to Cleveland and wins another ring w/ Kyrie, that's a different story. Prime Kobe>KD>Lebron
If rings are your reasoning, then why is KD>Lebron? Oh wait! Because Kobe fanboys hate Lebron! Because everybody outside of Laker Nation knows he will go down as the better player! LOL!
Threatening to do something unless you get your way is not the same as actually leaving. I understand that Kobe was still under contract and couldn't leave but that doesn't mean he would have let if he could have. People always threaten to do things they never would in hopes that they will get what they want. You can't call it a double standard when the situations and circumstances are different and one player ended up actually leaving while the other didn't.
Sorry, but in this context, it's a double standard. If you're going to fault Lebron competitive spirit for going to Miami, you have to fault Kobe's for demanding a trade to a better team.
Only if you know that his goal was to actually leave and he would have. If it was just a threat to get change you can't really compare them. Kobe gave up on those trade demands long before they got Pau. And I don't fault LeBron for leaving personally I just questioned the competitiveness of teaming up with two top 15 players. I still think it was overkill for a player as good as he is.
"5 rings says differently" "prime Kobe>KD>LBJ" but prime Kobe didn't win a ring 2/10 see me after class You know Kobe fans are grasping straws when they yell "muh rings" in response for everything
It's absolutely comparable since it proves Kobe was willing to leave the Lakers for a better team. You can't assume that it was an empty threat.
Why can't you assume it's an empty threat? People make empty threats all the time. I think most life altering threats are probably empty ones. Wives threaten to leave their husbands all the time and never do. Comparing a threat to an actual action isn't an equal comparison.
And why make it public? Why go on radio shows and tv shows and announce to the world that you want out? Those are moves by a person that is trying to put pressure on the Lakers to bring him help.
Kobe demanded a trade 2007. If your argument hinges on "even though Kobe publicly demanded a trade, he didn't mean it!!", then it's a weak argument. And those moves would be meaningless unless the Lakers actually believed that Kobe would indeed leave after his contract expired. And if the Lakers' front office believed it, then it had credibility.
It's not weak because people are always making threats that they have no intention of following through on. What percentage of threats in your personal experience have people actually followed through on? I know for me most of the times threats end up just being threats and nothing happens. The Lakers front office never moved him did they? If they really thought Kobe would leave they might have shipped him out in the summer of 07 but they didn't. And Kobe is a smart enough guy to know that going on tv/radio and demanding trades isn't a good way to get traded. It drives down your value and makes it harder for the team to make a move. But my whole point is that you can't just assume that he actually would have left just like I can't assume that he wouldn't have stayed because both scenarios make sense and can be argued.
No he couldn't have. Buss was the owner, and didn't give two *****s about his trade demand, which is why Kobe was never traded and stayed in LA. "You are under contract and if you want to play ball, it will be here".
