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Test....is DSF back?
Kobe glad he wasn't traded, is 'happy' with Lakers
By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine
(Archive)
Updated: December 13, 2007, 8:39 P
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3153959
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- It's time to do away with the image of Kobe Bryant playing under protest. After completing a Lakers practice Wednesday afternoon, Bryant said he's glad he hasn't been traded.
"I'm happy to be here," Bryant said. "My guys and I -- we have such a tight bond. Business and basketball sometimes can cloud things, but when you get here in your element and you're around your teammates and just having a good time with them and thinking about them and not about the business of the game, that's when it becomes fun."
Bryant wouldn't go as far as to rescind the well-publicized trade demand he made in May. When asked if he no longer wanted the Lakers to trade him, he essentially gave a no comment, saying, "I don't get into that stuff."
Nonetheless, the admission that he is happy to still be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers signifies a massive change in Bryant's thinking and may indeed be analogous to a repeal.
Business and basketball sometimes can cloud things, but when you get here in your element and you're around your teammates and just having a good time with them and thinking about them and not about the business of the game, that's when it becomes fun.
-- Lakers guard Kobe Bryant
The Lakers' success certainly has something to do with Bryant's change of heart. Despite the absence of several key players due to injury, the club takes a 12-8 record and three-game win streak into tonight's game against San Antonio.
Their list of victims is as impressive as any in the league, as they've beaten Phoenix, Utah, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Chicago and Denver twice.
"I don't think the wins we've had are a fluke whatsoever," Bryant said. "In our locker room, we don't feel like the wins we've had are flukes. We've had to grind some out and go into tough places and deal with injuries and illnesses. We feel pretty good about where we're at."
Asked if he believes the Lakers are legitimate contenders in the Western Conference, he said:
"We're very young and we have a lot of growth to do and a lot of maturing to do," he said. "But we're okay."
There is a sense of relief around the Lakers organization right now, if not because the storm surrounding Kobe is over then at least because it's subsided substantially. In hindsight, Bryant believes all the drama that engulfed himself and the club throughout the off-season and training camp has actually become a positive. It was a harsh reminder that just making the playoffs is not enough.
"Sometimes you have to kind of put a fire to them a little bit so that they understand that we're playing for higher stakes," Bryant said of his teammates. "Once they understood that and saw me come into training camp saying 'Look, I'm tired of playing for the playoffs. I'm not playing for that. I don't know what you guys are playing for, but I'm not playing for that.' Once they understood that 'Hey, this guy's head is on a championship level, this is where we need to get,' then it kind of ignited another side of them and they started looking at this thing a little differently.
"I think it changed their perspective a little bit and kind of shifted their focus to 'Okay, he's playing for a championship so this is what we need to do."
But Bryant's teammates aren't the only ones who've undergone an at ude adjustment. The other Lakers say Bryant's been more sociable than ever off the court, joining teammates for lunch before road games and things like that.
"When a team goes through stuff -- whatever it is -- it either grows further apart or closer together," Luke Walton said. "Our team's been through a lot, and I think it's definitely brought us all closer together. Kobe is a huge part of the team so the only way we can get closer is if he gets closer and he's definitely gotten closer to a bunch of the guys."
Harmony in Laker-land?
Apparently so.
Chris Broussard covers the NBA for ESPN The Magazine
Test....is DSF back?
He wont be a problem any more. He feels comfortable with the direction the lakers are headed!
But, he'll still want to win and compete more than any other player in The League.
(excluding KG of course)
Pat Riley once put a large bucket of ice water in front of him and told his team: "If you want to win a championship, you have to want it…"
Stopping in mid-sentence, Riley plunged his head into the water and kept it there for several seconds, which turned into a minute, which turned into even more than a minute. His players sat dumbfounded, watching, until Riley finally pulled his head out of the water and finished his sentence:
"…like it's your last breath."
Nobody, not A.I. not Duncan, not LeBron, nobody wants it like this ^ more than Kobe and KG.
Can anyone read this post?
Please respond.
Grazie....how come no one can read my posts under my normal SN?
It doesn't say that Im banned and it still shows that I was the last one to post in a thread....
Hmmmmmmmm...
LOL at his justification that him going on a rampage in the offseason was in fact beneficial to the club. Sort of like saying he had intentions of showing leadership and asking the team to aim higher is the reason he went out and publicly demanded a trade, chastised the owner and called out his teammates.
You got me? I noticed it yesterday saying you posted but nothing was there.
"I've realized that if I ever want to escape from the cluster I've created here, I've got to make all the right noises 24/7/365."
I really don't think kobe intended to actually consider trading him. I think Dr. Buss called his bluff.
I don't know about the whole team but It can be said that because of his criticism of Bynum, it made him work hard to prove that he can be a dominate player in this league.
Kind of. I think we all can in a way. I do spend thousands of hours of my life watching them as much as I can.Can you read players minds or something?
Lebron summed up his career goals as"global icon" ie; to become a marketing force.
Tim Duncan reacts to winning championships like he was a five year old girl getting a birthday present.
A.I. might come close to Kobe and KG, but y'know, damn if he'd actually want to sacrifice practicing based on the outside shot that it might make him better or able to win more.
I'm not saying these guys don't want it. But man, it's widely, widely known and accepted by fans and players alike that Kobe and KG are the most intense and probably work harder than anyone else to squeeze out every drop of their God given talent. I'm not saying they win more or that even their methods of trying to win are more effective. I'm just saying, nobody wants a ring like Kobe and KG do.
Kobe =
Rob Pelinka?
Unfortunately Yes
LMMFAO.
Blah blah blah blah. He'll be ing come Finals time when his team has been knocked out for a month and he wants to steal the spotlight from the last two teams.
It's hilarious how well he plays Lakers fans like a yo-yo.
Why did KG waste away in Minn. for all that time then?
I'm assuming $200 mil > a ring.
Kobe wants to win? That's why he couldn't keep the dynasty together? HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA people hate their employees all the damn time. They put it past them. He gets paid millions of dollars and can't even do this.
whiny .
mamba (lol) should just shut the up.
Who said they don't care about winning? Not me. Don't put words in my mouth. In fact, I specifically said.
Again, don't put words in my mouth. I didn't say ALL LeBron cares about is his image, I said he summed his career goal as to become a global marketing icon. Of course he cares about other things, including wins, but that doesn't change the fact that one could reasonably infer he's more concerned about being a billionaire someday.I'm not saying these guys don't want it.
Yes, he does take a physical beating during games. It's still true he NEVER has lifted weights or made any real attempt to improve his God given talent by truly practicing and working on his game. Again, don't put words in my mouth, I didn't come close to saying he didn't have heart. I'm saying Kobe and KG have more heart. Enough to try and continually make themselves better anyway.
I'll concede that maybe you could throw Nash in the conversation. Except for the fact he routinely spends little to no energy on defense. As far as Manu goes, that's Pop's call. Besides, to everyone outside San Antonio Manu Ginobili is the embodiment and archtype for cheating little es. I could care less if he cares about winning a lot. He's a punk that routinely flops up and down the court to do so. He cheats, he's a cheater.
(BTW, I pre-emptively refuse to argue about Manu, so don't even try. He's by far my least favorite NBA player and no amount of bickering between us will change my level of disgust for him and his game)
Okay then take the words of Paul Shirley who played with both of them. Most of the article is spent calling Kobe the an hesis of KG, but here's the telling part.
http://www.slate.com/id/2169154/pagenum/all/
Focused on what? Being the best they could possibly be so as to achieve NBA success.For all their differences, Garnett and Bryant do share one trait. They might be the two most focused human beings I've been around. In fact, if they were on the same team, they'd probably each reach new heights as a result of their efforts to outdo the other.
I already countered this part of your argument-
I'm not arguing that they're bigger winners, or that they even play in ways that are ultimately conducive to team success. Or the twisted notion you keep wrongly attributing to me; that nobody else wants to win at all.I'm not saying they win more or that even their methods of trying to win are more effective. I'm just saying, nobody wants a ring like Kobe and KG do.
I'm just saying that if the NBA championship came down to wanting it like you'd hold your last breath- Kobe and KG would hold their breath the longest. By far.
Last edited by balli; 12-14-2007 at 11:58 PM.
In your opinion.
In my opinion it's pretty silly to make sweeping blanket statements about hundreds of people you've never met and no nothing about except for what the media feeds you.
Making qualitative judgments about entirely subjective factors such as desire is something we all do as fans, but we should probably just leave it at that...unless your intention is to come across as a boring simpleton.
you man. Don't call me simple for having an opinion. Who the said it wasn't an entirely subjective judgment? I never said my opinion was bond, you're right it is just that, my opinion. I'd say it's as an informed one as a fan could make.
I'd also dispute your notion of the media. I have league pass homey. Have had for several years. Doesn't have to do with the media feeding me.
I've watched both these guys since they were drafted and I've watch games highlighting every team of the past decade for thousands upon literally thousands of hours and I use my eyes and brain in conjunction. I'm allowed to come to conclusions asshole.
If they can assemble a team that looks like the Jordan led Bulls then yeah he should be happy. That means they gotta have another guard like Pippen who can score but also is the perfect wingman for Kobe. They need a rebounding monster like Rodman who can pull down 10-20 rebounds per game. If not that, then they need two wings that can pull down an average of 7-10 rebounds per game. Their Center position does not have to be great but if they can get a big man then so be it. They need guard who can push the guard and score from any position. A long range specialist like Kerr and then if all the pieces fall in place watch out.
Well I don't have any concrete evidence. I provided a quote by their mutual former teamate, calling them the two most focused people on Planet Earth, if that helps. The fact is, this is a message board and this is a subjective argument. Furthermore, this opinion of mine is the message I'm posting. You could choose to ignore my argument and likewise, I could ignore yours. But if that's the case why are we here in the first place? To list a bunch of facts that we can all agree are statistically accurate?
I'll contend that it was Dr. Buss' decision. Maybe they could of won another ring together, but based on the falling apart of the 04' team, I highly, highly doubt it. Also, based on the way Shaq is playing now I think whoever made the decision (Kobe or Buss) it was the correct one.
I remember one single occasion; the second half of a game seven where Kobe flat gave up in an unwinnable blowout after putting a bunch of scrubs on his back and literally carrying them ENTIRELY BY HIMSELF to three playoff wins against an incredibly good Suns team. That series? The one where Kobe played better than he ever has before for six games and got no help from his teamates in games 5, 6 & 7, whatsoever? That one?
I'll just say this. I'm from Utah and I watched Malone and Stockton play from the time I can first remeber my conciousness. I saw the entirety of their careers and I don't think Malone wanted it more than Kobe or KG. Stockton did, but not Karl. I'll concede that veterans hanker for les, no doubt, but among active vets today, not more than Kobe or KG.
Look it's pointless to argue about this. As has been pointed out, it comes down to opinion. These are just mine. I base them on defense, intensity, intimidation and practice. You can have yours too, but I'm done arguing about it.
Last edited by balli; 12-15-2007 at 01:06 PM.
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