The Lakers cannot fathom why Kevin Durant doesn't want to meet with them

[greece66]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:16623825

Thought I would post this to see if you agree with Ramona that KD needs to meet with the Lakers out of respect, due to their storied history, etc. etc.

Funny, I don't recall her or anyone else at ESPN saying in prior years that the top free agents need to meet with the Celtics "out of respect."

Curious to get your comments. 

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85830.msg2122665#msg2122665

(Maybe unify threads?)

[Robb]

Of course all players need to feed the entitlement that the Lakers fans and franchise feel.  Scratch that, there should be a mandatory two season contract that every NBA player must sign to play with the Lakers out of the [claps hands on table] respect that they should have for Laker-exceptionalism. Ugh. Millennials.

[footey]

Thanks for merging, must have missed that one!

[Irish Stew]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:16623825

Thought I would post this to see if you agree with Ramona that KD needs to meet with the Lakers out of respect, due to their storied history, etc. etc.

Funny, I don't recall her or anyone else at ESPN saying in prior years that the top free agents need to meet with the Celtics "out of respect."

Curious to get your comments. 

My thought exactly. In the four major sports, there are only three hallowed franchises: Yankees, Canadians, and Celtics. The NFL is more muddled.(maybe Packers) TP

[RMO]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:16623825

Thought I would post this to see if you agree with Ramona that KD needs to meet with the Lakers out of respect, due to their storied history, etc. etc.

Funny, I don't recall her or anyone else at ESPN saying in prior years that the top free agents need to meet with the Celtics "out of respect."

Curious to get your comments. 

It's crazy how personal ESPN seems to take it that the lakers are bad right now.  Stephen A Smith (yes, he's a loud mouth and this probably aligns with his schtick) is practically demanding that Jim Buss be fired.  Whether he should or shouldn't is not up to ESPN and their reporters to endorse.  Plenty of teams out there with bad owners that you hear nothing about.

[GratefulCs]

major TP snakehead


Sums up laker fans

[Vermont Green]

The perception of the Lakers has really shifted.  They chose to play up the Hollywood aspect of the franchise because they seemed to think all NBA stars were looking for the Hollywood lifestyle.  LaMarcus Aldridge kind of spilled the beans on them after his process last off season.  The tide has turned and it happened pretty fast.  Now a guy like LeBron James is going from Miami to Cleveland instead of the opposite.  The whole idea that NBA stars in general want that hip-hop celebrity attention seems to have shifted.  Sure, there are still some but it seems like there are a lot more LaMarcus Aldridge, LeBron, Durant stories now where stars are more concerned with basketball legacy over lifestyle.

I am no expert on this of course but if this is true as it appears, it is good for the Celtics.

[D Dub]

I think players are traveled enough to understand that LA is really a miserable place to live.

Nothing is walking distance, and every road clogs with traffic.  Public transit doesn't exist.  Beaches look nice on TV, but the water rarely warms up past 62 and because of it's sheltered nature, is constantly the subject of runoff/quality issues. 

It's sunny, sure, but as soon as you get a mile or two away from coast --- it's oppressively hot (after all, it is a desert).  Also, I'm convinced that downtown LA doesn't really exist, where it should you just find street after street of skid row.

That said, there are some nice houses up in the hills if you are a baller -- but the smog is so thick that those ocean views you paid tens of millions for only appear for a few hours after the most violent winter storms pass through. 

Everyone talks about the earthquakes -- but the real problem are mud slides and the fact that the whole city is a flood basin just waiting with open arms for the next major tsunami. 

LA is not somewhere you choose to live.  It's a place you try and get out of as soon as possible.

[Moranis]

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:16623825

Thought I would post this to see if you agree with Ramona that KD needs to meet with the Lakers out of respect, due to their storied history, etc. etc.

Funny, I don't recall her or anyone else at ESPN saying in prior years that the top free agents need to meet with the Celtics "out of respect."

Curious to get your comments. 

My thought exactly. In the four major sports, there are only three hallowed franchises: Yankees, Canadians, and Celtics. The NFL is more muddled.(maybe Packers) TP

This is just silly.  While the Lakers have less titles, they have way more Finals appearances.  Here is the decade by decade look at the NBA with the title leader

50's - Lakers 5 (Celtics 2)
60's - Celtics 9 (Lakers 0)
70's - Knicks/Celtics 2 (Lakers 1)
80's - Lakers 5 (Celtics 3)
90's - Bulls 6 (Celtics/Lakers 0)
00's - Lakers 4 (Celtics 1)
10's - Heat 2 (Lakers 1, Celtics 0)

The Celtics have just 4 titles since the 75-76 season.  The Lakers on the other hand have 10 in that time frame.  The Celtics have been to 21 Finals, the Lakers 31.  I get that 17 is more than 16, but 13 of the Boston titles came before the NBA/ABA merger.  The Lakers haven't made the playoffs for 3 straight years, this is the longest span in the franchise's history of not making the playoffs.  Previously the franchise had only one time ever going back to back seasons without making the playoffs (74/75 and 75/76) and only had 57/58, 93/94, and 04/05.  So prior to this current 3 season run, the Lakers had only missed the playoffs 5 seasons in their entire history and they were an original franchise.

[Fafnir]

Yeah silly comment.

But remember she is largely Lakers beat from LA (now Clippers too), all of her sources and thus career is based on it. So like many reporters before and since she absorbs their PoV and wants to keep them happy.

[D Dub]

Ramona's latest comment is just pure gold--

As for Lakers failure to meet w/ KD. One league source incredulously asked yesterday why Kupchak/Buss haven't spent last 8 months on this

Bahahahahaha! 

[jpotter33]

Apparently the Lakers can't even get a meeting with Whiteside 

[greece66]

Is it OK to be happy with their misery? 

Lakers prepared for another summer of rejection

[colincb]

major TP snakehead


Sums up laker fans

TP, A picture is worth a thousand words.

[SparzWizard]

Since I live in LA, I enjoy watching these Lakers fans look miserable. Every time I walk around with my Celtics #34 jersey they give me crap and the occasional "wheelchair" mock.

When they're wearing their #24 purple/yellow jerseys walking around, I just point to the trash can and hint them to just dump that garbage they are wearing in there lolol.