Lakers: Ouch, that ESPN front page nuking Kobe

[baseline bum]

Frankly, the only thing about the Abbott piece that's somewhat unfair, is the fact he ran Dwight outta LA... Dwight is a loser, and in that sense, Kirby did right for the franchise, IMO.

No Snitch didn't. Howard would still have had great trade value around the league. Don't tell me Golden State wouldn't have thrown them Klay Thompson and Iguodala, for example.

[lefty]

[jag]

You rape what you sow, etc...

[ElNono]

No Snitch didn't. Howard would still have had great trade value around the league. Don't tell me Golden State wouldn't have thrown them Klay Thompson and Iguodala, for example.

True, I'm talking from a winning standpoint, tbh

[jag]

Meanwhile in San Antonio...

[jag]

Where is culburn in all of this, tbh?

[RD2191]

From that:
They took a step in the right direction this summer, landing Ed Davis on a budget deal, re-signing Nick Young -- who had a very efficient season last year -- to a four-year contract, drafting Julius Randle, trading for the expiring contract of Jeremy Lin and having Bryant back in the fold.

[spurraider21]

Where is culburn in all of this, tbh?

he hasn't been around since the story of Nash getting hurt carrying the bag

[UZER]

Where is culburn in all of this, tbh?

Cully bails faster than Kobe when hits the fan.

[jag]

The only thing Kobe can do now is go for 40 every night to prove the haters(?) wrong. It'll be glorious.

[UZER]

The only thing Kobe can do now is go for 40 every night to prove the haters(?) wrong. It'll be glorious.

And even if they're wrong, they'll still be right. Right now, Kobe is surrounded by swat with no escape route.


I'm just waiting for Magic to pull the out of his mouth and come running to poor kobes defense.

[RD2191]

Cully bails faster than Kobe when hits the fan.

[ambchang]

A rebuttal to Henry Abbott's hit job.

http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2...-espn-downfall

The two pieces are very much a he said she said deal, with none of the information being verifiable. That said, we have seen the rapid downfall of the Lakers over the last few years, reducing a once proud franchise into the laughing stock of the league over a very short period of time, and the only common denominators are Kupchak, Kobe and Buss Jr.

Both Kupchak and Buss Jr. have received their fair share of criticism from the main stream media, but it seems like Kobe is finally getting his.

There are many issues with the article you quoted though:

He's a five-time NBA champion, partnering with Shaquille O'Neal to bring glory back to the Lakers following Magic Johnson's early retirement, then doing so again with Pau Gasol and a well-rounded supporting cast.

He didn't partner with Shaq, he coatrode Shaq. Huge difference.

What goes up must come down. Inhale, exhale.

Kobe remains the only player in Lakers history to lead his team to two non-consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs. That's out of hundreds of players in the rich history of a once proud franchise.

They not only lost Paul, who would have immediately addressed the Lakers' biggest positional need for the last decade, but they essentially lost whatever value was left of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom

Players live through botched trades all the time. None of them ever lost their trade value because of it.

But this wasn't just Kobe running Howard out of town. Steve Nash, widely considered one of the best teammates in the NBA, struggled to mesh with Howard, even arguing on court after a miscommunication on offense. Of course, sticking with Nash, the former-MVP point guard noted he felt Howard didn't want to be with the Lakers, never felt comfortable in Los Angeles, and the team went into the free agency meeting without a chance of retaining him, according to a radio interview he gave ESPN LA:

"Ultimately, I think Dwight wasn't comfortable here and didn't want to be here and I think if he didn't want to be here, there's no point for anyone in him being here," Nash told "The Mason & Ireland Show" on ESPN LA 710 radio on Tuesday. "So, we wish him the best and move on." ...

"Frankly, I thought before the meeting, we didn't really have a chance and I'd like to think that after the meeting we had a chance," Nash said ....

"Dwight had some issues with the season," Nash said. "I think it kind of basically goes with what he said to the media that he never quite felt embraced in L.A. He never quite felt supported. That's basically it. I think in some ways you can read into that what you will, but I think he never quite felt comfortable at home and I don't know if that's anybody's fault."

Well, Dwight was never comfortable because he frequently clashed with Kobe, and with Kobe declaring it is "his team" before Dwight even unpacked his bags. Then there are the constant snipes at him throughout the season.

Also, miscommunicating on the court once does not mean they don't get along well. The Spurs do that all the time and they are known for their teamwork.

Some relationships just aren't meant to be. Not holding Howard, D'Antoni, Phil Jackson publicly undermining Jim Buss or the Lakers' front office accountable while placing the entire blame on Kobe is tunnel vision.

And so is placing the blame on anyone but Kobe for 18 years. It's funny how Kobe is always in these unfortunate situations that he has no hand in creating.

The Lakers have been the most injured team in the NBA over the last two seasons, which is a challenge few teams could overcome. Los Angeles is still dealing with injuries heading into a fresh year.

Lack of a quality bench because nobody wants to play with Kobe could be a reason.

The Lakers biggest problem is their lack of talent across the board. They took a step in the right direction this summer, landing Ed Davis on a budget deal, re-signing Nick Young -- who had a very efficient season last year -- to a four-year contract, drafting Julius Randle, trading for the expiring contract of Jeremy Lin and having Bryant back in the fold.

They lack talent because Kobe refused to allow the Laker organization to build talent through youth. Remember Bynum and Kobe's tirade? Trading away picks for old geezers like Nash can have a direct line to Kobe as well as he has insisted on the win now mantra. Too bad he didn't put his money where is mouth is.

The ones that have mattered recently -- Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest -- through the second half of his career have nary said a word diminishing his character

Because every single one who ever criticized Kobe were banished by the media, even the almighty Shaq.

As for his extension, the Lakers still had more than enough space to sign free agents this summer, but simply missed out on players they felt could make a significant impact on the future, and present, of the team. Sure, they didn't have to room for the reaching scenario of signing two maximum-worthy players, but what were the odds of that happening? The Rockets had a much more appealing roster and lost talent to create salary space and still wound up with zero payout.

Because no one wants to play with Harden and Dwight after their way of treating Chandler on the way out, or how Harden plays defense. People don't want to go to LA? When did that ever happen? Isn't the place supposed to be the best place on earth?

But if you want to, go ahead. Just remember what he's done for the Lakers, and the NBA, along the way.

Does Kobe remember what the Lakers and the NBA did for him?

[Donkeybong]

^you have some might dumb retorts.

[Dex]

The most fantastic part of all of this is that Kobe is going to try to go out there at the start of the season and "prove everybody wrong".

[Shastafarian]

This gif and the original comment from Nono had me

[ambchang]

^you have some might dumb retorts.

Yeah. The article is dumb.

[Cry Havoc]

The ones that have mattered recently -- Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest -- through the second half of his career have nary said a word diminishing his character

Because every single one who ever criticized Kobe were banished by the media, even the almighty Shaq.

This is perhaps the most absurdly hilarious thing. EVERY SINGLE STAR TEAMMATE Kobe has ever had has made extremely transparent references to the fact that he's a ball hog who's at ude is disrupting if not completely destroying team chemistry. Pau said it, Bynum said it, Shaq said. Derek Fisher might be the exception, and that's because Kobe was always tip-toeing around Fisher and would never say anything bad about him.

The notion that no teammate "that mattered" has had anything negative to say about Kobe is some of the most ridiculous bull I've ever read.

[Koolaid_Man]

This is perhaps the most absurdly hilarious thing. EVERY SINGLE STAR TEAMMATE Kobe has ever had has made extremely transparent references to the fact that he's a ball hog who's at ude is disrupting if not completely destroying team chemistry. Pau said it, Bynum said it, Shaq said. Derek Fisher might be the exception, and that's because Kobe was always tip-toeing around Fisher and would never say anything bad about him.

The notion that no teammate "that mattered" has had anything negative to say about Kobe is some of the most ridiculous bull I've ever read.

who cares what his teammates think at least his wife doesn't think he's an under cover

[dirk4mvp]

lol around the horn trying to spin this

He's a Darwinistic player

[usdane]

Phil Jackson reaction.

https://twitter.com/PhilJackson11

Phil Jackson PhilJackson11 · 1h 1 hour ago “@flea333: henry abbott your @espn kobe article is absolute garbage and a blatant irresponsible attack. "Go get'em, Flea

[djohn2oo8]

Didn't that hypocrite write a book about how uncoachable Kobe was? ^

[Clipper Nation]

Didn't that hypocrite write a book about how uncoachable Kobe was? ^

I wonder how much Fredo is paying these guys to circle the wagons around Kirby....

[usdane]

Kevin Deng 10 year beat writer for OC Register and now bleacher report.

https://twitter.com/KevinDing

KEVIN DING kevinDing · 2h 2 hours ago Don't like to criticize others' work, but many asked me on Henry Abbott's ESPN Kobe article: En led to opinion, but so many "facts" wrong.

[Clipper Nation]

Kevin Deng 10 year beat writer for OC Register and now bleacher report.

https://twitter.com/KevinDing

KEVIN DING kevinDing · 2h 2 hours ago Don't like to criticize others' work, but many asked me on Henry Abbott's ESPN Kobe article: En led to opinion, but so many "facts" wrong.

Wow, shocker.... the LAKERS reporter for Bleacher Report is defending Kirby!