M.L. Carr, Red Auerbach, and the decision to pass on Kobe for Antoine

[Roy H.]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14449708/truehoop-presents-how-kobe-bryant-almost-became-boston-celtic

Many of us are familiar with the general details of how the Celtics had Kobe in for a workout, but this story adds a lot of details.

I really dislike Kobe -- "hate" isn't too strong of a word -- but I do appreciate his insight on Larry and Red, in particular:

WHAT IF THE Celtics had drafted Kobe Bryant?

"I would've tried to carry on Bird's legacy," Bryant says without hesitation. "Absolutely. I would've done it with a tremendous amount of pride and honor."

Bryant's reverence toward Bird might come as a surprise to some, given the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, but Bryant says he studied Bird just as much as he did Magic and Jordan.

Anything specific?

"Timing. Reading situations. Tenacity with his teammates," Bryant says. "I've really studied. That's like the holy trinity for me -- Bird, Michael and Magic. I really watched everything about them."

And of Bird, Bryant says, "You have no idea how much I've studied this guy. Oh, man."

Bryant also raves about Auerbach, the Celtics' patriarch. "I read everything about him," Bryant says. "One of the things that I thought was really cool was how he created the legacy with the Celtics franchise. In other words, the players that he brought in eventually get older, and then they feel a sense of intimidation and insecurity with the younger group coming in. So Red just changed the culture by changing the dynamics and saying: 'Listen, you train them. As a result of you training them, you're here forever.'

"It's that little twist [that] enabled them to win year after year after year. Even though this generation of players is getting older and they're phasing out, they train them to win in that same way and now here they come. And in turn they do the same thing. As a kid watching that and reading that, stuff like that, little things like that, I've always picked up."

[slamtheking]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14449708/truehoop-presents-how-kobe-bryant-almost-became-boston-celtic

Many of us are familiar with the general details of how the Celtics had Kobe in for a workout, but this story adds a lot of details.

I really dislike Kobe -- "hate" isn't too strong of a word -- but I do appreciate his insight on Larry and Red, in particular:

WHAT IF THE Celtics had drafted Kobe Bryant?

"I would've tried to carry on Bird's legacy," Bryant says without hesitation. "Absolutely. I would've done it with a tremendous amount of pride and honor."

Bryant's reverence toward Bird might come as a surprise to some, given the Lakers-Celtics rivalry, but Bryant says he studied Bird just as much as he did Magic and Jordan.

Anything specific?

"Timing. Reading situations. Tenacity with his teammates," Bryant says. "I've really studied. That's like the holy trinity for me -- Bird, Michael and Magic. I really watched everything about them."

And of Bird, Bryant says, "You have no idea how much I've studied this guy. Oh, man."

Bryant also raves about Auerbach, the Celtics' patriarch. "I read everything about him," Bryant says. "One of the things that I thought was really cool was how he created the legacy with the Celtics franchise. In other words, the players that he brought in eventually get older, and then they feel a sense of intimidation and insecurity with the younger group coming in. So Red just changed the culture by changing the dynamics and saying: 'Listen, you train them. As a result of you training them, you're here forever.'

"It's that little twist [that] enabled them to win year after year after year. Even though this generation of players is getting older and they're phasing out, they train them to win in that same way and now here they come. And in turn they do the same thing. As a kid watching that and reading that, stuff like that, little things like that, I've always picked up."

based on these comments, I wonder what his reaction was to the Pierce trade

[LarBrd33]

I think a lot of the time Kobe just says what he thinks people want to hear.  Maybe this is all true, but he's also fluffing Boston media in those quotes.

[Redz]

I think a lot of the time Kobe just says what he thinks people want to hear.  Maybe this is all true, but he's also fluffing Boston media in those quotes.

spooning up the honey and pouring it gently in our mouths...

I reject your honey Kobe!