Kobe speak with forked tongue (monumental dink as usual)

[Chris]

If Paul Pierce started talking about opting out of his contract and playing for a team in Europe, as Celtics fan I'd be miffed about his lack of loyalty to the franchise where he played his entire career.  (I know PP doesn't have a player's option, BTW).  Last summer, Kobe was angling for a trade.  This season, after a trip to the Finals, no less, he's talking about possibly opting out. 

Kobe is a disloyal slug. I wonder how much longer Lakers fans are going to stand by this guy, who has a burning desire to express his hope of possibly leaving his team at every opportunity. Thankfully, our star swingman knows a thing or two about loyalty and sticktoitness. 

Lebron is too right?

or are we going to gloss over that kobe said he would considered playing in europe when he was asked if he supported lebron's statement from the day before?

To be fair, I don't think Lebron ever said that, the only quote I saw was from "a source close to Lebron". 

[crownsy]

true, but when i hear stuff liek that, i just assume its the athlete putting it out there.

i mean, do we really think one of lebrons friends just put this out there and risked the golden goose?

its much like "a source in the red sox organization said x" to me that might as well be stamped "the team wants x to leak"

[iowa plowboy]

Kobe is a disloyal slug. I wonder how much longer Lakers fans are going to stand by this guy, who has a burning desire to express his hope of possibly leaving his team at every opportunity. Thankfully, our star swingman knows a thing or two about loyalty and sticktoitness. 

    I marvel at the revisionist history on display in this statement.  I must be living in a parallel universe.  I just can't, in my fertile memory recall the St Paul of Celtics past you're referring to.

Apparently, essentially playing half-court basketball for 3 seasons, sitting out while healthy for most of the last half of a season in a quest for draft position and trashing your teammates as the team's best player is an example of stellar leadership and is the definition of a star swingman's loyalty and sticktoitiveness. 

I am a fan of Paul Pierce's amazing basketball talent.  But OT, please be real.

[nickagneta]

Kobe is a disloyal slug. I wonder how much longer Lakers fans are going to stand by this guy, who has a burning desire to express his hope of possibly leaving his team at every opportunity. Thankfully, our star swingman knows a thing or two about loyalty and sticktoitness. 

    I marvel at the revisionist history on display in this statement.  I must be living in a parallel universe.  I just can't, in my fertile memory recall the St Paul of Celtics past you're referring to.

Apparently, essentially playing half-court basketball for 3 seasons, sitting out while healthy for most of the last half of a season in a quest for draft position and trashing your teammates as the team's best player is an example of stellar leadership and is the definition of a star swingman's loyalty and sticktoitiveness. 

I am a fan of Paul Pierce's amazing basketball talent.  But OT, please be real.

iowa's 1000% correct here. How duplicitous is it for a Celtic fan to blast Kobe about talking about life and career after he has become a free agent when our very own captain, just about 14-15 months ago, was making public his desire to be traded away from the Celtics. And may I add that hasn't been the first time or even the second time that has happened over the years.

I hate Kobe and I feel a little "dirty" having to defend him but the length's to which people are going to attack this guy when all he has done is say he's proud of representing America, that he thinks the Olympics are more important than the NBA Finals and that if someone offered him $50 million a year to go play in Italy after he becomes a free agent, then he might consider it, borders on lunacy.

And considering the similar paths that Kobe and Pierce had last off season demanding trades and then becoming essential parts of NBA Finals teams, aren't we being tremendously two faced in our criticisms of Kobe while forgetting that Paul Pierce was acting very much like Kobe last year.

Listen, Celtic-Laker hate runs deep, but just as Laker nation is acting like idiots hanging on every word and deed that Paul Pierce does, you people are no different with Kobe. The season is over. Let the hate begin anew on Christmas Day. For now let's allow Paul Pierce to have a vacation and believe what he wants and let's let Kobe go win this country a gold medal in basketball, a truly American sport and ignore every answer to a question that he gives.

[TripleOT]

Nick and iowa, are you guys for real?  Comparing Pierce contemplating his NBA future in a contract year (and then signing with the Cs) three years ago, and then quietly exploring a possible trade from his young, floundering team at the beginning of last summer doesn't belong in the same paragraph as Kobe 1) blowing up a title contender with the Shaq feud, 2) holding his team hostage in his first FA go around 3) publicly demanding a trade last summer, and now 4) publicly talking about his opt out and possible signing with an Euro team this summer.  Heck, Kobe's machinations started even before he was even in the league, when he engineered his way out of a possible drafting from the Nets with the threat of signing in Europe if picked.   

Pierce may have had some on court issues, but off court, he did show loyalty to his team.  Kobe obviously has not. 

[crownsy]

Nick and iowa, are you guys for real?  Comparing Pierce contemplating his NBA future in a contract year (and then signing with the Cs) three years ago, and then quietly exploring a possible trade from his young, floundering team at the beginning of last summer doesn't belong in the same paragraph as Kobe 1) blowing up a title contender with the Shaq feud, 2) holding his team hostage in his first FA go around 3) publicly demanding a trade last summer, and now 4) publicly talking about his opt out and possible signing with an Euro team this summer.  Heck, Kobe's machinations started even before he was even in the league, when he engineered his way out of a possible drafting from the Nets with the threat of signing in Europe if picked.   

Pierce may have had some on court issues, but off court, he did show loyalty to his team.  Kobe obviously has not. 

while i agree with some of that, and paul's my all time favorite Celtic, and his name doesn't belong with kobe's IMO. that said, it strikes me that alot of the differences quoted in that paragraph are seen through

[TripleOT]

Nick and iowa, are you guys for real?  Comparing Pierce contemplating his NBA future in a contract year (and then signing with the Cs) three years ago, and then quietly exploring a possible trade from his young, floundering team at the beginning of last summer doesn't belong in the same paragraph as Kobe 1) blowing up a title contender with the Shaq feud, 2) holding his team hostage in his first FA go around 3) publicly demanding a trade last summer, and now 4) publicly talking about his opt out and possible signing with an Euro team this summer.  Heck, Kobe's machinations started even before he was even in the league, when he engineered his way out of a possible drafting from the Nets with the threat of signing in Europe if picked.   

Pierce may have had some on court issues, but off court, he did show loyalty to his team.  Kobe obviously has not. 

while i agree with some of that, and paul's my all time favorite Celtic, and his name doesn't belong with kobe's IMO. that said, it strikes me that alot of the differences quoted in that paragraph are seen through

Is that all you can bring to this picnic? 

[crownsy]

i wasent aware it was a competition, nor do i care about your approval.

i was simply pointing out, in a fun way, that while i agree with you on most points in your post, all of them are very one sided, and seen through a perspective i share. I've seen similar posts while trolling over on lakers blog, excusing kobe and blaming everything on the media.

i'm sure they feel just as justified making them as we do about paul.

 

[TripleOT]

i wasent aware it was a competition, nor do i care about your approval.

i was simply pointing out, in a fun way, that while i agree with you on most points in your post, all of them are very one sided, and seen through a perspective i share. I've seen similar posts while trolling over on lakers blog, excusing kobe and blaming everything on the media.

i'm sure they feel just as justified making them as we do about paul.

 

It isn't a competition.  If you feel the need to chime in, it would be nice if you brought something salient to the discussion, if that's possible. 

[crownsy]

i wasent aware it was a competition, nor do i care about your approval.

i was simply pointing out, in a fun way, that while i agree with you on most points in your post, all of them are very one sided, and seen through a perspective i share. I've seen similar posts while trolling over on lakers blog, excusing kobe and blaming everything on the media.

i'm sure they feel just as justified making them as we do about paul.

 

It isn't a competition.  If you feel the need to chime in, it would be nice if you brought something salient to the discussion, if that's possible. 

what else did you want me to bring to a one paragraph exoneration of paul that includes a celtic centered version of events we've rehashed 300 times? I said i agreed with you in principle, but pointed out that its written with a very celtic tilt to it.

also, see my above post. theres not much content to your post other than "its different because it's paul"

its different when he sits out so we can tank

its different when he leaks trade demands

its diffrent when he pulls one of the most childish acts ive seen after a playoff loss.

and, while i agree that those incidents were very different, I still dont agree with your stance that everything paul does is excusable. paul was a dink when he was younger, part of the reason he is my favorite player is because ive gotten to  watch him grow up while i grow up.

what nick and iwoa were pointing out, correctly, is that we have a different opinion on those events because were celtic fans.

 

[iowa plowboy]

I think OT brought polluted green koolaid to the picnic....Glad I wasn't there.

St Paul of Celtics Past made Dan Dickau look like Bruce Bowen defensively the three years previous to 2007-2008.  His effort defensively was embarassing.  Not embarassing for somebody of his talents...Embarassing for for a player on an NBA roster.  Since Rivers rewarded it, the team leader set the tone and nobody defended.  That in between the horrendous antics both during and postgame after the Tinsley acting job in the playoffs and the trade requests.  I'd say the loyalty was more from management than from Paul....And while it looks good now...It wasn't justified.  Paul was a warrior and leader pre Rivers.  He became a poor leader under Rivers until Danny idiotproofed the roster.  Part of that I pin on Rivers.  But the youth would have developed faster and better had the team's best player played close to his talent for those three seasons.

Like Kobe's antics or not.  Kobe gives it his all on the court regardless of who the coach is or who his teammates are or whether he's happy or not.  He got to the Finals last year with the most overrated coach in NBA history and the team's best inside defender out for most of the year.  I doubt that anybody will ever see him preside over a tanking.

That being said, whether he says it or not...There is no way that Kobe goes overseas and no way that a gold medal approches a world championship to him or anybody else on the olympic roster.

[Schupac]

I wasn't calling him unpatriotic, I was calling him a GD inconsistent hypocrite.

He's all about TEAM USA when he's trying to justify Team USA being more important than the NBA Finals and wave his little stars and stripes.

But he's ready to kick the U.S. to the curb and spout the globalism line when he can make a few extra bucks overseas (or use it to leverage it for more shekels here). Can't have it both ways, Mmaba.

I really dont understand the hypocritical part.  I think that actually makes him more consistent.  The NBA is not Team USA, so when he says that it's more important to play for team USA than the NBA, and have the option to play in Europe when the contract is up, then he's being consistent that he would rather win for Team USA than a NBA team.

Exactly, TP for you.