Well I'm not supporting Kobe's recent outbursts and frankly, I kind of enjoy it. Watching the Lakers go down in flames is very enjoyable in an othewise boring playoffs.
Kobe may want Mitch ditched but a move to the East and he can follow D-Wade and 'King' (sic) James to the Finals. That, IMHO, is motivation #1.
1) No, not big ben. I don't think they Lakers would want him with Bynum & Kwame emerging. I'd rather take the 3 guards to replace Kobe. 2) Yes I meant Lakers get Chicago's #1
I hope the Lakers do get forced to trade Kobe. That would mean 1) It would be to an Eastern Conference team and that would help the east 2) The Lakers would be in the lottery for years to come in the West. Seems to me the ONLY realistic Kobe trade is to the Bulls in a package something like: Kobe+Farmar for Deng,Gordon,#9,Tyrus+ S&T PJ Brown.
Kirk Hinrich: IIRC, he is a base year player as he goes into the first year of his extension. He makes $11 mill next year, but that won't be his cap value in a trade. Again, if I recall his status correctly. Chicago'll be under the cap if they renounce their rights to their free agents. I also don't know if I make that trade if I'm Chicago. Hinich and Deng are the reason they've been so competitive, and Gordon is a big part of the team as well. You get Kobe, but a cast around him that's even worse than Cleveland's. Wallace, Thomas, Duhon, and Sefolosha are your only signed rotation players left. If you think the revenue Kobe brings is well worth it and that Kobe is understanding of the fact that the team will be rebuilding in that scenario, maybe. But I also don't believe the Lakers have enough leverage here to demand both Deng and Hinrich along with Gordon. NYK have jack squat to offer. Marbury is a deal-breaker, not a chip. Only way he goes there is via a third team, and that could be messy. Phoenix would be able to make it happen, but I just can't see the Lakers being okay with Kobe staying inside their division. That would be the worst possible scenario for them.
Please stop comparing Tmac to Kobe's situation. The Magic gave Tmac NOTHING he wanted or needed. They traded away anything that resembled talent, then they brought in a junior GM to run the organization. His #2 scorer was freaking 2nd year dumb-dumb Drew Gooden. When Tmac told the owner he wanted out, he was quiet the entire summer, while hockeyman went on a summer bombing campaign. Tmac said nothing at all until he was a Houston Rocket only because puck wouldn't shut up. Kobe had a winning team, and forced the biggest reason he ever won (shaq and phil) off the team. Now that he can't be the center of winning attention he's crying the primadonna he is. Probably upset that Jim Buss is chosing Bynum over him like Jerry Buss chose him over Shaq. Funny how those things work out isn't it?
Deuce, the Lakers would love to do that deal. Sub in Duhon for Gordon OR Nocioni (S&T) for Deng/Brown and that is still a pretty good deal for the Lakers. Deng and Gordon are babies (22 and 24) with all-star written all over them, I'd pause from Chi perspective to trade both + filler for Kobe (soon to be 29).
Bryant Enlists Fans to Comment in Web Campaign Kobe Bryant has not issued any new public statements about his desire to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. He has, however, enlisted several new voices to amplify his request. The latest news item on Bryant’s personal Web site is a roundup of quotes, purported to be from fans, expressing support for his trade request. The comments, taken from the forum section of the site, were posted Monday afternoon. ”Normally, this area is reserved for Kobe’s thoughts. But today, we’re highlighting comments from fans in the KB24.com forums,” states the lead entry under the ”news” heading. Several comments follow. ”If the Lakers won’t support Kobe’s attempts to make the team better, then he should have the right to go elsewhere,” states an entry from a fan identified as ”mlcgruhlke.” Three weeks ago, Bryant went public with his request to be traded, citing his disenchantment with the direction of the team. He amplified those thoughts in a posting on his Web site, stating that ”the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future.” That entry was re-posted, with a June 17 date, and placed at the top of Bryant’s home page on Sunday, giving the false impression that it was a new item. The recycled comment was included in an Associated Press story that ran in The New York Times on Monday. By Monday afternoon, the recycled entry had been removed from Bryant’s Web site and replaced by the fan comments.
I like the doubt they cast on the legitimacy of the quotes. If you go to the Laker boards, you'll see a fair number of posters there fully on Kobe's side and hating on Buss/Kupchak for not getting him help. Evan
Here's the NY Times Article with the dish on Kobe. I like it!! http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/sports/basketball/19bryant.html?_r=1&ref=basketball&oref=slogin
What a bunch of tools. They claim they want to show the public what Kobe says, yet go and charge money and will reveal once they reach their "quota" (what no refund?). Bystander effect anyone? Besides, the video isn't anything that Kobe hasn't already said (though with more colorful language).
The difference betweeen Kobe and T-Mac situation is, in Orlando, the management wanted to dump T-Mac, and was actively looking for the best deal. Do you think SF3, Mobley, and Cato is worth T-Mac? I don't think so. Orlando didn't get equal value, but they were happy to get rid of T-Mac. LA doesn't want to get rid of Kobe. Kobe is the instigator here. They also won't get equal value. They do not want to trade Kobe at all. He is their franchise player.
WTF! T-Mac asked to be traded and chose the Rockets as one of the teams that he'd go in order to play with Yao.
He did have a choice, but he almost didn't end up here. Remember Hockeyman made a deal with CD, then he went behind his back and started dealing with other Gm's for Tmac? It's the only time i've ever seen CD upset in the papers. That's what happens when you have a jr hockey GM running your nba club. ORL is a pathetic franchise. They never cease to let their fans down.
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i cant wait to see the whole video...the people who buy it are stupid it will probably be on youtube by tomorrow.
OFFICIAL: Lakers shopping Kobe around The Lakers, according to ESPN's Ric Bucher, have held preliminary trade discussions about Kobe Bryant with the Chicago Bulls . The club has also looked into whether or not they can repair the relationship with Bryant and they have reportedly received a resounding 'no' from their 'back channel' overtures. I wonder if the Kobe video had any thing to do with this? Oh well Kobe burned all his bridges and wanted it this way. I expect him to be dealt before the draft. Just for the heck of Rockets should atleast make an offer T-Mac for Kobe to see if the Lakers bite on it. I really don't want to see Kobe in Houston but that would serve as a nice barometer for T-Mac's value in the league and maybe just maybe all the T-Mac haters would shut up for once if they know T-Mac can be traded straight up for Kobe. Anyway Chicago is too big of a shoe for Kobe to fill in the house that Jordan built. I wonder will Kobe demand a statue of himelf to be built outside the United Center as part of this deal? Last time he was a free agent he asked the Clippers to literally play ball in his back yard as part of his potential signing. On a side note Mitch Kubchak will go down in history as the guy who trade Shaq and Kobe in their prime. If Kobe wins a ring in different uniform than that would be a slap in the face. I am happy that Kobe is going to the East and one less playoff team in the West especially this the two headed moster Oden/Durant are coming soon. Good trade for Rockets fans either way. Good luck Kobe hope you don't choke once again!!!
