Laker Sources: Kobe Bryant killing our chances to be successful again

[Nerf DPOY]

Rondo somehow manages to walk that fine line of being poison around the league while at the same time destined to leave Boston for one of many other max contract offers.

[Who]

It was a good article. Thanks for posting it.

[Eddie20]

So the Celtics and Lakers, the two most franchises in the league, both have players that according to reports sulky personalities are repelling free agents away.

How is Rondo repelling free agents away?

Yeah, I mean, he may be a bit of a jerk, but Rondo passes a heck of a lot, and shoots very little.

And many players have said that they would like to play with him.

including Kobe

I think that as C's fans we are too often bias as to what we choose to believe and what we don't. We love hearing all the stuff about Kobe, who most likely has players that DO want to play with him, but then ignore it when similar things are said about Rondo. At the end of the day, both Henry Abbot and Jeff Goodman are citing sources about the players, but what makes one report correct and the other discredited?

I'm certain that if a sensationalistic piece on Rondo was done, as the one Abbot wrote, and unnamed sources like Ray Allen, Tubby Smith, and others were cited then Rondo would look equally as bad. It's just that Rondo's star doesn't shine as bright as Kobe's so a piece on him doesn't carry the same weight.

[Cman]

Makes me feel all warm inside.

Ditto. It's gonna be fun having our young guys outplay a quickly ageing  Kobe over the next couple of years. Beyond that, as others said, the Lakers will be fine.

[slamtheking]

knew that his selfishness and contract would come back to haunt them.  no sympathy.  should keep them away from chasing another title for several more years.

[csfansince60s]

What about Kobe and Phil together again?

Kobe for Amare and Hardaway and or Schumpert?

Any chance Fakers do this?

[Beat LA]

That article was hilarious , but really, should it surprise anyone?  Who would ever want to play with that guy?  As far as I'm concerned, Kobe can play on horrible teams for the rest of his days, because, in terms of karma, he deserves it.  Pierce had to wait a decade to even get to the finals, and KG and Ray had to wait even longer, while Kobe has continually run guys like Shaq out of town and then has had the gall to complain that he needs, "help."   Give me a break.  My guess is that the final two years (right?) of his deal will likely play out like Jordan's with the Wizards, where MJ was trading guys based on how often they passed him the ball.  Oh yeah, that's greatness at work (sarcasm).  In both cases, these guys can only play in a certain system for a certain coach with certain players, because, at the most basic level, they just don't play well with others .  The Lakers have always gotten their way, and I'm glad to see them struggling.  The only downside is that their poor record will inevitably result in a high draft pick because they're the Lakers, and the NBA believes that it's better for the league when the Lakers and Knicks are doing well. 

There were some interesting quotes in that piece, though -

The story of the Lakers' losing Howard has been told as one of the big man chafing under Mike D'Antoni's offense. One Lakers source, though, says Howard's issue wasn't really with the offensive scheme but that "he saw one particular player play outside that scheme with carte blanche, with no accountability. These people who say Dwight couldn't handle the pressure of Los Angeles ... that's nonsense. LA was everything Dwight wanted. To be celebrated. To be among stars. To be among women of this caliber. To live, basically, in one big reality TV show. This was a perfect setting for him."

How misogynist is that?  I have absolutely no respect for Howard now.  None.  Especially when you add to that the fact that he and Harden called themselves, "cornerstones," or whatever, while simultaneously chastising their teammates a few months ago.  He's a fraud.  I wonder how much McHale and Hakeem want to deck him lol .  Has he even slightly improved his game, because I don't see anything different.

the league has changed around Bryant, and swiftly. The movement of people and the ball, 3s, rim attacks, coordinated defensive effort and generating open shots for teammates are what's winning now. Subsuming ego and glorifying teammates is a winning NBA strategy, and it's what D'Antoni and Nash attempted to bring to the Lakers.

After his first year with Bryant, Nash couldn't hide his disappointment when talking to Grantland's Zach Lowe: "I think it'd be nice to find a middle ground where he does his thing but the ball still can move for great parts of the game. ... But I knew it wasn't going to be the same. When you play with Kobe Bryant, the ball is gonna be with him most of the time."

Or it will be, at least, until he shoots it. Bryant has fired away for nearly two decades. He's fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, trailing only Kareem, Karl Malone and Michael Jordan. He's also just a few weeks' play from setting an all-time league record for misses. "The problem is, he's just not as good as he thinks he is," says one source in the Lakers' inner circle. "He's just not as efficient as he thinks he is. If he had the other intangibles, like LeBron, or if he was any kind of different person, it would have been easy for us to attract talent, retain it and win."

Who would have ever thought, even just a few years ago, that an espn writer would say that Lebron has the intangibles that Kobe lacks lol.  I'm looking at you, Skip Baseless

[Beat LA]

What about Kobe and Phil together again?

Kobe for Amare and Hardaway and or Schumpert?

Any chance Fakers do this?

Kobe and Carmelo on the same team?  Ahahaha

[hpantazo]

What about Kobe and Phil together again?

Kobe for Amare and Hardaway and or Schumpert?

Any chance Fakers do this?

Kobe and Carmelo on the same team?  Ahahaha

I think Phil is smart enough to say no, but what if he does this and then signs Rondo next summer?

[rondohondo]

What about Kobe and Phil together again?

Kobe for Amare and Hardaway and or Schumpert?

Any chance Fakers do this?

Kobe and Carmelo on the same team?  Ahahaha

I think Phil is smart enough to say no, but what if he does this and then signs Rondo next summer?

how would you sign Rondo with Kobe's 25 mil per year contract ? plus melo

[hpantazo]

What about Kobe and Phil together again?

Kobe for Amare and Hardaway and or Schumpert?

Any chance Fakers do this?

Kobe and Carmelo on the same team?  Ahahaha

I think Phil is smart enough to say no, but what if he does this and then signs Rondo next summer?

how would you sign Rondo with Kobe's 25 mil per year contract ? plus melo

The salary cap is going up, and the Heat managed to get 3 max players under the cap, why not? Also, Rondo may not necessarily take the max if he's going to NYC to play with Melo and Kobe

[GetLucky]

Hearing Howard isn't thrilled by prospects of RR joining HR. Not that he's opposed but not crazy about it. Different attitudes & approaches
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) February 20, 2014

And why is this a bad thing?

[GreenFaith1819]

Good read, thanks for posting.

Most of this, though, seems to be common knowledge and appears more (to me) that Kobe is being thrown under the bus. This is a bit unfortunate to me, and I absolutely despise the Lakers.

I am guessing that if Kobe can regain some semblance of his old self then perhaps he can make LA a little competitive and a more favorable landing spot.

If not, then I'd hope that Kobe considers leaving LA - I'd welcome him in GREEN in a heartbeat. Sure would. Kobe Bryant - for all the negative that this article points out - is one of the last Alpha Dogs left in the NBA (Kobe, Dirk, KG, PP, Duncan, etc). You can add Rajon Rondo to that list, too - and some of US here want to see him gone, too lol.

If Kobe Bean Bryant has become such an albatross around the Lakers' necks then I only partly blame him for this situation.

[Vox_Populi]

From what I understand, Abbot has never been a fan of Kobe. His choice of language in some places is clearly biased:

While the Lakers were going after Anthony in vain, they quietly pursued Chris Bosh as well, but he preferred the carcass of the Heat.

Miami are in a far more ideal basketball situation, and a similar residential one, to the Lakers. The implication here is obvious.

I also question the part about George not wanting to play with Kobe. Kobe is his favorite player. And realistically, Indiana would have matched any offer that came his way.

And he tweeted this some hours ago:

Paul George (@Yg_Trece)
Now how crazy does that Kobe story sound to you ? #MediaReachingAgain

I don't think Abbot's sources are wrong in that major players probably don't want to play with Kobe, but I don't think the reason is as important as the fact. I mean, major players don't go join Nowiztki in Dallas either. The deal they signed him to was clearly stupid, but that has little to do with him.

[Who]

From what I understand, Abbot has never been a fan of Kobe. His choice of language in some places is clearly biased:

While the Lakers were going after Anthony in vain, they quietly pursued Chris Bosh as well, but he preferred the carcass of the Heat.

Miami are in a far more ideal basketball situation, and a similar residential one, to the Lakers. The implication here is obvious.

I also question the part about George not wanting to play with Kobe. Kobe is his favorite player. And realistically, Indiana would have matched any offer that came his way.

And he tweeted this some hours ago:

Paul George (@Yg_Trece)
Now how crazy does that Kobe story sound to you ? #MediaReachingAgain

I don't think Abbot's sources are wrong in that major players probably don't want to play with Kobe, but I don't think the reason is as important as the fact. I mean, major players don't go join Nowiztki in Dallas either. The deal they signed him to was clearly stupid, but that has little to do with him.

Yes, both guys are simply too old.

Star players do not want to go there and have to suffer through another rebuilding process in near future. Same with reports about CP3 not wanting to come to Boston to play with Big Three. He was trying to get out of a rebuilding situation in New Orleans. Not go somewhere where he'd have another rebuilding phase on his hands in 2-3 years time.

They want to go somewhere that can be Championship contender in near future + has a long window to try and get it done together.

Dwight Howard and James Harden could be together for 7-8 years if things go well. I mean, where is Dirk and Kobe in 3 years? Or they even still in the NBA? Let's say they are - what level are the playing at? Are they still All-Star caliber players? I seriously doubt it. What does that do to your new-look team?

Why risk a team facing a rebuilding process in near future?

Old star players just not that attractive to max money free agents in today's NBA.