Will Kobe Bryant come to the Rockets next season??

Uhh..

I don't think Kobe would go to Miami.

Between Odom, Jones, Butler and Wade.. how is he supposed to be the offensive centerpiece?

He might like the idea of pushing around their new coach though..


New York would be a slightly better fit.

Allan Houston, Van Horn, and McDyess present more ball distribution problems and "spotlight" though. Not as bad as Miami or any other team though. It could work, and he would look pretty slick in that uniform. He'd relish the big market too.

 

i could see him as a blazer, but the team who i think he'll consider most are Spurs, Dallas and knicks. lets not forget he's a philly boy, but with Iverson allready there i cant see him ending up there.

 

Actually, I can see Kobe ending up in Philly over anywhere else, based on a couple of reasons. All its going to take is one more playoff exit for Philly to possibly realize that they can't win with Iverson. They can sign Kobe and ship Iverson out for a bunch of nice role players to put around Kobe. Kobe will be playing in his hometown, and with Iverson gone, would no doubt be "the man".

However, there is that whole all-star game, where his hometown booed him something fierce. I guess it would depend on if Kobe had a grudge.

Regardless, it would appear that Kobe wants to go somewhere where he can prove that he is capable of winning a title on his own. He just wouldn't have that opportunity here. He has already had to defer to one dominant center, I am guessing he won't want to do it again.

 

...what's that, the converse of sex? now, is that the inverse of BISEXUAL? or is that the opposite of ASEXUAL?...

....oooohhhhhh, i see....consens......nevermind.

 

So Kobe wants to come to Houston and play with himself. Can't he just do that in the privacy of his own room in LA?

 

Did anyone ever notice how well Kobe and Yao seemed to get along any time they were on the court and at the All-Star game? I think they have some chemistry there and maybe Kobe might want to come here just to shove it to Shaq in a major way. Plus he's probably getting a little tired of the media attention of being in LA, he may want a smaller market to hide out in.

And what the hell is consexual sex? Damn I guess I'm not as experienced as I thought I was.

 

It might be a few years before Kobe gets to play ANYWHERE. This thread needs to be put on hold for a wittle while.

 

OMFG, I can't believe I just read that. Jordan just got lucky and would get lit up if he was playing today? He was playing at age of 40 last year and for the most part played like a solid all star (20, 6, 4). As far as getting lid up, there were games where he played bad last year but there were also games where he can completely shut people down. And once again, he did that at forty.

As for Kobe, any current eastern playoff team without an allstar sg will have a shot at beating the west if he's on it. Imagine Kobe on say Detroit, Indiana or New Jersey.

 

are you serious?

 

Kobe Bryant is not going anywhere next summer. No team in the league has enough cap room to pay him the same amount of money that the lakers can pay him. And money is important for Kobe, especially now that he's facing a rape trial which will cost a fortune. If Kobe is not in prison next year, he will be with the fakers.

And seriously I'm not buying this Shaq-Kobe dispute BS. This thing basically came out of nowhere and you have to suspect that it's just another old Phil's trick.

 

How much money would you want to bet?

Kobe gets acquitted. At absolute worse, a hung jury and a decision not to prosecute again.

It's an open and shut case. We're seeing a prosecutor glory-hunting.

 

Put Kobe at Indiana, we can watch a real NBA final.

 

My money is on a sign and trade with Memphis and the end of the season.


Will Kobe bolt the Lakers this summer?
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, October 27


From the breathless reports on draft night that Kobe Bryant was (gasp!) going to exercise an opt out in his contract this summer to the rape trial of the century, we've always known that there was a small chance that after this season, Kobe would be filing for divorce from the Lakers.

However, since the opening moment of training camp in Hawaii, the chances that Kobe goes elsewhere next summer (assuming he's not in prision) appear to have exponentially grown.

A source close to Bryant told Insider that Kobe has been dismayed by a perceived lack of support from his teammates and coach Phil Jackson. He also felt that the addition of players like Gary Payton and Karl Malone were unnecessary.

Kobe has always been some sort of lone rider, and the Lakers' locker room suddenly got awfully crowded with guys capable and willing to steal the spotlight from where Kobe felt it rightfully belongs.

Shaq and Kobe's verbal sparring after practice on Sunday just articulate what those inside the Lakers have known for years -- that the Kobe-Shaq relationship is about as unstable as nitroglycerin.

The latest had O'Neal telling reporters that Kobe should pass the ball more considering he's not in shape. Bryant responded on Sunday by claiming that he didn't need O'Neal giving him advice for his position. Shaq blew up when he heard Kobe's response.

"He's right," O'Neal told reporters, "he doesn't need advice on how to play his position, but he needs advice on how to play team ball. As we start this new season, [stuff's] got to be done right. If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. If it's going to be my team, I'll voice my opinion. If he don't like it, he can opt out?. I ain't going nowhere."

O'Neal also insinuated that Kobe's selfishness, not Shaq's explosive comments, were bringing down the team.

"Not at all, because if he's open I'm going to give it to him and if I'm open I expect him to give it to me," he said. "But I don't care about [anything] else he does. I know he doesn't care about what [we do]. That'll just tell you the type of person he is. I've never been deemed as selfish. Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. [For] one person. Not two. One. Period. So, he's right, I'm not telling him how to play his position. I'm telling him how to play team ball."

With such bad blood in the locker room, will Kobe accept the Lakers' four-year, $74 million extension? It may ultimately depend on what other options he has going next season.

At one point, Jerry West's Grizzlies looked poised to get far enough under the cap to offer Bryant a deal. That won't happen now. With the free-agent signing of James Posey and the extension of Mike Miller, the Grizzlies just won't have the cash to get it done.

Neither will most of the other teams in the NBA. The Jazz, Nuggets and Clippers will be the only teams far enough under the cap to make Bryant a max contract offer. The Spurs can make some room as well, but not enough to pay Kobe a compabarble salary. The Pistons could get around $10 million in cap space if they can find a way to move Chucky Atkins or Corliss Williamson for a player in the last year of his deal.

That puts Kobe in a difficult position. Unless he wants to take a serious paycut or play for a lottery team (though the Nuggets would be very tough with Andre Miller, Kobe, Carmelo Anthony and Nene on the floor together if it isn't too awkward for Kobe to move to Colorado) the only way out of L.A. is via a sign-and-trade.

Would the Lakers ever do such a thing? The rhetoric out of L.A. will, of course, be no way. No team wants to send a signal to a superstar that it is even considering letting him go. But the reality is that the Lakers, for the future of the franchise, could be better off working out a sign-and-trade deal.

Malone and Payton aren't getting any younger. Shaq is suddenly talking about playing for the next seven years, but given his injury history and his weight problems, that seems unlikely.

Even with Shaq, at some point the Lakers will need an infusion of youth. The problem is that the Lakers will struggle to get equal value for Kobe on the open market, even if Kobe's acquitted of the charges.

Would the Grizz be willing to offer Pau Gasol, James Posey and anyone else on their roster for Kobe?

Would the Celtics give up Paul Pierce? The Bulls could offer some sort of a Tyson Chandler, Jalen Rose, Jamal Crawford hybrid.

The options are pretty limited.

 

I LIKE THE WAY YOU THINK

 

I think you guys do not really know why Kobe and Shaq feud. Read what Kobe said, you may get some ideas:

The transcript of Kobe Bryant's interview with ESPN's Jim Gray:

GRAY: What was your reaction to Shaq saying the Lakers are his team, and everybody knows it?

BRYANT: It doesn't matter whose team it is. Nobody cares. I don't, Karl [Malone] doesn't, Gary [Payton] doesn't, and our teammates and the fans don't either. There's more to life than whose team this is. But this is his team, so it's time for him to act like it. That means no more coming into camp fat and out of shape, when your team is relying on your leadership on and off the court. It also means no more blaming others for our team's failure, or blaming staff members for not overdramatizing your injuries so that you avoid blame for your lack of conditioning. Also, "my team" doesn't mean only when we win, it means carrying the burden of defeat just as gracefully as you carry a championship trophy.

GRAY: Do you consider Shaq to be a leader?

BRYANT: Leaders don't beg for a contract extension and negotiate some 30 million [dollars] plus per year deal in the media when we have two future Hall of Famers playing here pretty much for free. A leader would not demand the ball every time down the floor when you have the three of us [Malone, Payton, Bryant] playing beside you, not to mention the teammates you have gone to war with for years -- and, by the way, then threaten not to play defense and rebound if you don't get the ball every time down the floor.

GRAY: Shaq says that you have not been a team player. Is he right?

BRYANT: That's ridiculous. I have been successfully sacrificing my game for years for Shaq. That's what Phil [Jackson] wanted me to do, so I did it. Last year Phil told me Shaq was not in physical condition to carry the trust of our offense, so he asked me to do it. But then he saw Shaq was getting upset that the team wasn't running through him, so Phil asked me to pull back and I did. This year is no different; my role is whatever Phil want it to be. Period.

GRAY: Through out the preseason, your leg and conditioning has been lagging. Are you in the proper shape to start the season?

BRYANT: My knee is not strong enough to play yet. I know it. When it is I will play.

GRAY: Does that mean you will miss the opener [Tuesday] night and other games?

BRYANT: I probably won't play tomorrow night or until I'm ready. But I don't need Shaq's advice on how to play hurt. I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

GRAY: Kobe, Shaq said if you didn't like what he had to say you can opt out and leave next season. Will you leave the Lakers?

BRYANT: I won't make that decision until the end of the season. I told Shaq last year that I was planning on opting out. He knew before anyone. I told him out of respect for what we have been through together. I thought he should be the first to know. The fact that he acts like this is such a big shock is a mystery to me. If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season is what I decide, a major reason for that will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy.

GRAY: Do you feel Shaq has been supportive in regards to your legal situation?

BRYANT: He is not my quote unquote "big brother." A big brother would have called to lend his support this summer. I heard absolutely nothing from him. I spoke to Devon [George], Rick [Fox], Mitch [Kupchak], Phil, and our owner Jerry Buss. And Shaq's own Uncle Jerome called and left three messages. Other teammates like Derek [Fisher], Mark [Madsen], and [Stanislav Medvedenko] left messages as well. Opponents called like [Chris] Webber, [Mike] Bibby, and many others. So did a lot of coaches. Michael Jordan, who didn't have my home phone, tracked it down to lend his support. So did Tiger Woods. But yet from my so-called big brother, I heard nothing.

GRAY: Why not resolve this behind closed doors? Why is this so public?

BRYANT: I asked Phil on Sunday [yesterday] to say something to calm this situation down before it boiled over. But he backed away, so now here we are. I have been a bigger person every time something happened with Shaq, and I don't expect this to be any different. But somebody in this organization had to speak up, because his unprofessionalism hurt us last year, and I don't want it to hurt us this year.

 

Now, let's see what Shaq said before Kobe went to the media:

"should probably look to be more of a passer until he gets his legs strong."


"He's right," O'Neal said, "he doesn't need advice on how to play his position, but he needs advice on how to play team ball. As we start this new season, [stuff's] got to be done right. If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. If it's going to be my team, I'll voice my opinion. If he don't like it, he can opt out? I ain't going nowhere."


Asked to clarify his "my team" remark, O'Neal added: "Everybody knows that. You [media] guys may give it to [Bryant] like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship. So ... if you ain't right [physically], don't be trying to go out there and get right on our expense. Use the people out there, then when you get right you [can] do what you do."


Yet O'Neal, when pressed, insisted that the Lakers can play through any problems he's having with Bryant.
"I don't really worry about that," O'Neal said when asked about the state of the relationship. "I'm here to do a job. ... If he's open, I'm going to give it to him. If I'm open, I expect him to give it to me. I don't care about [expletive] else he does, and I know he don't care [expletive] else I do."


"Not at all, because if he's open I'm going to give it to him and if I'm open I expect him to give it to me," he said. "But I don't care about [anything] else he does. I know he doesn't care about what [we do]. That'll just tell you the type of person he is. I've never been deemed as selfish. Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. [For] one person. Not two. One. Period. So, he's right, I'm not telling him how to play his position. I'm telling him how to play team ball."


O'Neal answered that Bryant frequently separates himself from the rest of the players, including skipping team functions such as Sunday night's at Staples Center. Bryant was the only player not to attend. Bryant, according to witnesses, also was the only player not to ride the team bus to Anaheim on Thursday.
"That ain't team," O'Neal said. "Be a team player and then talk to me."


With the regular season at hand, with Malone and Payton perhaps having expected something different, and perhaps not, O'Neal said he was taking control of the team.
"Yeah, everybody knows that," he said. "And you guys may give [the team] to him, just like you've been giving him everything else in his whole lifetime."