Phil willl have to duck and dodge that subject. He covered it clearly in his book and it took years for Kobe to forgive him. He can't stir that up with Kobe again.
Live interview on Dan Patrick radio today.
I got interuppted.
Anyone catch the Phildo?
Phil willl have to duck and dodge that subject. He covered it clearly in his book and it took years for Kobe to forgive him. He can't stir that up with Kobe again.
Yeah the teaser had Dan Patrick saying Phil would answer "Should the Lakers have kept Shaq, knowing what they know now?" Concur with you he will have to give some wishy washy zen politcal answer or non answer to keep Kobes pampers dry.
Hoping someone caught the interview!
Lakers = nba champs this year if shaq and kobe were still in LA and on the same page together.
Kobe>wade
Heat would be the same way LA is struggling to make a run in the playoffs without shaq.
Shaq is too arrogant to allow himself to be subordinated to Kobe Bryant, even if all he's good for is 13&10. Going into a new relationship with Wade where he's firmly the sidekick is one thing, but humbling himself is something he can't accept.
And, no, Cupcake's Lakers would not be the champions this season. Their roster has steadily depleted since 2001, and while you can get away with role players like White Chocolate and Antoine Walker starting, you can't win championships with a complete scrub like Smush Parker as your starting PG.
i caught it. he didn't say much about that, but he did say he was not offended when shaq said riley was a better coach. he thought it was an appropriate comment at the time, and said shaq pretty much lives in the moment. he did say the top 3 players in the nba are kobe, lebron, and wade, and that while the officiating did seem to favor wade, riley was the coach who took advantage of how the game was being called and instructed his players appropriately. he also said that avery and cuban were way too animated, and that probably cost them a bit, because the officials are human.
Gracias. Sounds like he more or less sidestepped the question? The other points he made were interesting. When he is giving views that are not about his team or an immediate threat to his team, he can give sound takes.
Wade>>Kobe. Team ball is part of the game. Compare Finals 2004 to 2006.
Bob Lainer while agree with a lot of your take, Smush is probably just as good as White Choc. Also since 2001 the Lakers picked up MailMan and Pouton, if even for a year. Shaq stayed and Mailman would have stayed also. They would have been a WC threat. What they really should have done is traded Kobe mid 2003-4 and kept Shaq. That would have kept them a WC threat for sure, even with a slower Shaq. Who knows who they could have gotten for Kobme and also what free agent coatail riders would have came over in hopes of a ring.
lol..without kobe the lakers have no guards that can score..and malone and shaq would be out of steam..therfore kobe stays shaq leaves
The Heat have role players who can shoot, unlike the Lakers. Also, perimeter defense was allowed in 2004, unlike in 2006.
No. No, he's not. Not even close. Neither of them play any defense, but Williams can actually shoot, dribble, and pass, none of which Parker quite understands yet. I really don't like Jason Williams, but he's capable of outplaying "MVP candidate" Chauncey Billups for an entire series, and has talent as a basketball player. Smush Parker does not.Smush is probably just as good as White Choc.
You're serious? 13&10 Shaq with Karl "I can barely even throw an elbow anymore" Malone would have been a contender? Free agent coattail riders are almost always players who can afford to be coattail riders because their careers are finished, and hence generally aren't very good (like Malone and Payton in '04). I don't know what the Lakers could have gotten for Bryant (wasn't he an unrestricted FA, a phone call away from signing with the Clippers, anyway?), but Shaquille O'Neal is virtually finished. He was overrated when Kobe was carrying him to championships in '02 and '03, but now - now he's barely a better player than Flexo. Without Dwyane Wade or a guard of comparable talent, he wouldn't be contending for anything.Shaq stayed and Mailman would have stayed also. They would have been a WC threat. What they really should have done is traded Kobe mid 2003-4 and kept Shaq. That would have kept them a WC threat for sure, even with a slower Shaq.
So midseason 2003-4 you feel the Lakers could get no guard in return for Kobme? That is lol.
Ray Allen or Michael Redd to name just two guards who could work well with Shraq and the Mailman.
Bob Lanier I never could stand the Mailman, but to deny what he did for the Lakers in that season is ignorant. 25-5 start before he got hurt, also a Finals appearance, albeit a loss. Altho he was out injured after the second game. He did fine that year. No reason to think he would not have done fine another year, and the Spurs kept a spot open for him for half the season. I certainly did not want his cheapshot cowardly ass here in San Antone but obviously the Spurs believed he could still play.
Agreed. Bob Lanier's analysis was incorrect. GP and the Mailman were solid pickups for the Lakers in 2004, and a big reason why they lost in the finals was because of Malone's injury. The Lakers were 25-5 before he injured his knee, and struggled in games 3, 4 and 5 because Malone couldn't defend power forwards with his reinjured knee.
And going back to Shaq...that's the amazing thing about him. Even as his game deteriorates, if you surround him with a good wing player, he can win championships. While he didn't play that well in the Finals, he abosolutely decimated the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. He outhustled and outplayed the Wallace Bros on his own, and provided the inspiration and set the tone in the critical games (especially game 6) of that series.
i think only shaq n duncan were the ones who humiliated teh wallaces
See you guys see the Heat win a le and you wonder why didn't the lakers keep Shaq.
Well the reason is simple why Shaq is in a heat jersy. All that Shaq did in Miami he didn't do in L.A
Shaq lost weight which made me believe world peace around the world can be achieved.
He took a freaking paycut something he wouldn't do in L.A
He became a second fiddle to Wade which he wouldn't do in L.A. In fact told Kobe this is my team so you can opt out if you don't like it.
Shaq in L.A was fat, getting older, and getting more injury prone. He didn't want to admit that Kobe was better then him and should be the number 1 option. Which in result is the reason why he had to go.
Word. What's all this Shaq love all of a sudden? There's two sides to every story. Kobe may have been at fault for why Shaq had to leave LA, but the above reasons mentioned were also Shaq's fault. Also, blame the LA GM if anything.
i agree. everyone blamed everything on kobe when shaq left but it wasnt all his fault.
Assumes facts not in evidence. How do you know if Kobe was traded for Ray Allen that Shaq would not have been just as motivated to slim down in LA to prove Kobme wrong? Maybe even moreso.
Also compare the 2004 with 2006 Finals. Kombe ballhogs his way to 37% shooting and 17% on treys, all while taking the most shots. Wade goes for 46%, not great but factor in the sinus flu he had in Games 1 and 2. After that he is well above 50% while taking all the big shots and doling out key assists. Wade is the far better team player.
At any rate has anyone else heard what Phil said about it?![]()
OK, you're building a team right now. Who would you take:
Wade
LeBron
Kobe
Other
What? Kobe is a FA so he can't be traded. Also Riley requested for Shaq to lose weight and he did. The laker brass wanted him to lose weight and he never did. Seeing that Miami is probaly the slimest I have seen Shaq since the 90s there was little hope that shaq was going to lose weight.
Did you just compare the 04 to the 06 Finals?
The Pistons basically double teamed Kobe early, often, and inbetween. Plus the Pistons defenisvely are far far superior to the Mavs. The Mavs tried to double Shaq and Wade went off on them period.
Kobe is the better player and to be honest Wade isn't even in the top 5 of the NBa last year.
In terms of talent
Kobe
Bron
Wade
In terms of future wise
Lebron
Kobe
Wade.
I'd pick Lebron if I was starting a new team.
The whole point of this thread and the timeframe being talked about is midseason 2003-4 when Kobe most certainly could have been traded. Phil Jackson wrote in his book that he approached Mitch Cupkake and requested that Kobme be traded.
The weight issue is that Shaq could well have become motivated once he saw the entire media spotlight was on "How you gonna do without Kobe." Up until the 2004 Finals finished, Shaq was able to get away with being fat for the most part, getting plenty of help from the refs and teamates to reach the Finals 4-5 years.
As to poor Kobme being doubleteamed in the 2004 Finals, gee that must mean that 3 Pistons are trying to cover the other 4 Lakers. Any chance anyone is open? Instead of having plenty of assists, Kobme takes the most shots at 37%.
and hand checking was aloud in 2004. if kobe played against the pistons this year he would average 40.
i would pick lebron. can you imagine lebron playing with shaq?
WTF????? A Kings fan taking up for kobe????? lol
@ some point kobe was going to have to get out on his own side of the road so I agree because it was inevitable that someone would have to leave…. And ShaQ was placing huge financial demands on the franchise………..
I think Buzz realized that in the short term there was the possibility that almost any team with ShaQ had a realistic shot ……
But that had to be weighed against the long-term prospect of keeping $haQ (loosing the younger kobe) and a couple years down the road have this huge contract and an overweight player unable to perform………..
It was a great move for the Kings to get his big mouth and ass out of our division…
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)