It's finally official: Blame Kobe

[7even]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=aldridge_david&id=1848060

 
Shaq shot down Kobe's belief that they could've coexisted on the Lakers.
In a telephone interview, O'Neal said that he didn't think Bryant ever appealed to Lakers management to keep the team together, though Bryant maintained at a news conference earlier this month that he could have played with O'Neal next season. And O'Neal made it clear that he believes Bryant wanted him out of Los Angeles.


"Be careful what you wish for, buddy," O'Neal said several times during the 15-minute conversation.


Asked if Bryant ever lobbied for him or for Phil Jackson, O'Neal said, "Probably not. I think he would have made it vocal. He never said anything, Magic (Johnson, the Hall of Famer and Lakers' minority owner) never said anything. Nobody ever said anything. They're having a press conference, and I'm at home eating cereal, and I see Phil's getting fired. And then Mitch (Kupchak, the general manager) had his little press conference. I knew things were going to be different. I'm loyal to Phil. I couldn't see myself playing for Mike Krzyzewski."


O'Neal said that he thought Jackson would retire after the season, and went to Lakers management during the season with the idea of hiring Rudy Tomjanovich as head coach if Jackson decided to call it quits. O'Neal says he never heard from anyone about Tomjanovich or George Karl, whom O'Neal says was his second choice to replace Jackson.


Asked what he thought about the Lakers now, O'Neal said, "I think it's very funny. We are the No. 1 team, and instead of keeping the No. 1 team, they break it up and we have to start over ... and the Lakers traded the Diesel and got Vlade Divac.

[KING VerbalAssaulta]

kobe asked for it now he got it...now he can watch his career go down the tube with it

[white Boy]

fuck kobe

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I still don't see why we should blame Kobe...Shaq is the one who decided to leave.

[RXL]

Blame him for what?  ^^is right, it was Shaq's decision.

[Smoke]

Oh, so mr "TRADE-ME-OR-ILL-RETIRE" is blaming nobody but Kobe? That's some exciting news!

[Machiavelli]

Whose Kobe

[Javier]

both were acting like lil dicks.    Just look forward to next season

[.:DayGoStyLz:.]

Yeah, honestly i dont blame Kobe for this. I dont think any player on that team would be able to influence this decision. I mean, its not like Jordan was on the team lol. Like Magic said, this was a "business decision". Shaq is the MVP of the team...true. But, Kobe can give u more years. LA is basically in a rebuilding stage, with the idea of building around Kobe. Guarenteed, if Shaq was in his prime they would have kept him over Kobe..but you cant start a rebuilding process around a player who might only stay in the league for 2-3 more years.

[.:DayGoStyLz:.]

Oh, so mr "TRADE-ME-OR-ILL-RETIRE" is blaming nobody but Kobe? That's some exciting news!

*Kobe's Dick* ~~~~~~~> *Antonio's Mouth*

[Don Jacob]

 i don't see how this is kobe's fault . it's jerry buss and Mitch's fault

[Smoke]

Oh, so mr "TRADE-ME-OR-ILL-RETIRE" is blaming nobody but Kobe? That's some exciting news!

*Kobe's Dick* ~~~~~~~> *Antonio's Mouth*

Just look at my sig, you fool. I'm not pro-Kobe, i'm not pro-Shaq. I'm pro-Lakers. But i dont like them both blaming each others like idiots. That's all. Kobe aint better than Shaq, but for damn sure Shaq aint better than Kobe. Other than that it was easier for Dr. Buss to re-sign Phil Jackson, to re-sign Shaq, to re-sign Malone and to sign-and-trade Kobe. He didnt. I cant blame Kobe. It's just stupid. Buss had Shaq telling him he didnt want to play with Kobe, cause he wanted the ball more. He had Kobe saying he didnt want to play with Shaq & Phil, cause he wanted to prove he's the best player in the league without Shaq. He had Kobe & Payton saying they didnt like Phil Jackson and the triangle, and Kobe who wanted Coach T, and Shaq who wanted Phil or George Karl. And we had Dr. Buss to make the final decisions. He did it. Period.

[Sikx]

im waitin next season so much how will kobe now score without shaq around him.

[7even]

call me a conspiracy dude... but here's what I was thinking from DAY 1:

-Kobe was a unrestricted free agent after this season, everbody knew that
-Shaq had still a contract
-Lakers couldnt trade Kobe
-Lakers could trade Shaq
-Kobe makes it clear, subtle, but clear, that he doesnt want to play with Shaq and Phil no more. He wants to be the Man. He wants to average 38 Points a game. So if they stay he'll leave.

Now what would you do if you was Jerry Buss.
You have 2 great Players, one is 25 years old and one is 32 years old.
If you keep the older one, the younger one leaves. For nothing in return.
If you keep the younger one, the older one has to leave.. for 4 decent players in return.

I think the choice is pretty easy.



Just my 2 cents,
Harbinger

[Smoke]

Not only. Another problem was Phil Jackson. If you keep Phil and Shaq, then Kobe and Payton leaves with nothing in return. And you have Malone injured who still doesnt know if he can return. So it's a possible 3 starters out for nothing in return, just to keep Phil Jackson and Shaq. And Fisher wanted to test the free agency market. So if you keep Fisher, you dont have money to sign a SG free agent, and possibly a PF free agent. Like that he had to sign 2 PG (1 starter), 1 SG (starter) and 1 or 2 PF (starter or bench, it depends on Malone resigning).

The other soluction was to fire Phil Jackson and to sign Coach T. To sign Kobe and Payton and to trade Shaq for 3 good players. Signing Divac and trying to force Malone to sign a 1-2 years contract. Now that's totally a different scenario. You have a good coach (Coach T is very good) getting the same money they gave to Phil Jackson, Payton, Kobe and possibly Malone still in the roster, and Grant, Divac, Butler and Odom instead of Shaq. If you think 2 seconds about it, you know Dr. Buss did the right thing. Like that he just miss a PG and maybe (but let's hope Malone will return and sign with the Lakers) a PF to start from the bench.