[snackdaddy]

So the Bulls let Tom Thibodeau go? Rumors were speculating that the Lakers would be interested. He's considered a good defensive mind. I wouldn't mind it.

[Rams Dominate]

Right after that happened (Thibodeau firing) I just happened to click on a news interview & Kupchak says he's happy with the status quo, so it looks like its Byron Scott this coming season anyway, who knows down the road...The Lakers will get 3 pretty high draft picks in the draft & they don't expect the Lakers to play next year like they did this year, at least Kupchak hinted at that...

[snackdaddy]

Lol, I remember Magic getting in Divac's face in a playoff game. Divac was trying to flop and it wasn't working. Magic basically told him to play like a man. Flopping back then wasn't in style.

[Elvis]

Divac was probably stopping for a cigarette...

[Rams Dominate]

Lol, I remember Magic getting in Divac's face in a playoff game. Divac was trying to flop and it wasn't working. Magic basically told him to play like a man. Flopping back then wasn't in style.

Pat Riley never said a word about Magic doing his job on the floor, that was a tight knit group & Magic was the team leader, even Kareem toe'd the line when Magic spoke up... In Magic's rookie year the Lakers played a game in San Diego (I forget why or who) but I watched the game on Directv & Kareem hit the winning shot off a pass from Magic at the buzzer & the picture of Magic jumping onto Kareem made national headlines because Kareem just wasn't a hugger & the shock on his face was classic "what the hey's going on ?"LOL,,,What a talent Magic was...

[moklerman]

I was never much of an NBA fan but I became friends with someone who is and he's a die-hard Lakers fan. They're the local team and around that time is when they drafted Kobe and consequently started winning championships.

But, I've never really liked Kobe. That's not to say that I don't think he has any talent but IMO, his personality is...what's a stronger word than cancerous? IMO, he ruined the dynasty the Lakers had going and worse than that, he pouted and quit on the Lakers in the playoffs. It's always been more about him than the team. I know many(most) Lakers fans won't agree and consider Kobe very driven and heroic but I can't stand him and look forward to when he retires.

I also have serious reservations about the management of the team. I hope they can put it all together but West leaving was huge and Buss being gone is just piling on. Hopefully all of the youth coming in will start a new chapter of winning but it's been years since I cared about the Lakers and I think it'll take Kobe retiring/leaving before I climb back on board.

[snackdaddy]

I was never much of an NBA fan but I became friends with someone who is and he's a die-hard Lakers fan. They're the local team and around that time is when they drafted Kobe and consequently started winning championships.

But, I've never really liked Kobe. That's not to say that I don't think he has any talent but IMO, his personality is...what's a stronger word than cancerous? IMO, he ruined the dynasty the Lakers had going and worse than that, he pouted and quit on the Lakers in the playoffs. It's always been more about him than the team. I know many(most) Lakers fans won't agree and consider Kobe very driven and heroic but I can't stand him and look forward to when he retires.

I also have serious reservations about the management of the team. I hope they can put it all together but West leaving was huge and Buss being gone is just piling on. Hopefully all of the youth coming in will start a new chapter of winning but it's been years since I cared about the Lakers and I think it'll take Kobe retiring/leaving before I climb back on board.

You know, I can understand why people don't like Kobe. He's got a very abrasive personality. He's probably not even a fun guy to hang out with. But I disagree about the cancerous thing. Cancerous would be a guy destroying the locker room with his me first attitude. Dividing teammates and pitting some against others. Constantly challenging the coach's authority.

Kobe is all about winning and he's probably the hardest worker the NBA has ever seen. And he demands hard work out of his teammates. Sure, he can be hard on them, expecting too much out of them. But I've heard it said that with the last two championships, if Kobe was just the talented guy he is but passive and didn't push his teammates, they would never have won those titles. As far as the ball hog thing and how many times he shoots, face it, before Gasol came along he couldn't trust his teammates to step up in crunch time.

Lamar Odom coulda been a Hall of Famer. He was that talented. Too big for a guard and too quick for a forward to guard. He could handle the duties of bringing the ball up the court, or he could post down low. Played pretty good defense and could rebound. But he didn't have the mindset needed to assert himself every night.

[Rams Dominate]

Gotta agree with you Snackdaddy, I've never heard a peep about Kobe being a locker room cancer & the only one that ever said anything about Kobe that I heard was Shaq & talk about a ball hog Shaq was indeed that...His feud with Kobe was over just that, sharing the ball, he didn't like sharing the spotlight with Kobe at all...There was one particularly nasty incident years ago where Shag got downright ugly with a profanity laced tirade re: Kobe, that got me down on Shaq, it happened at some nightclub & you can't even print some of the things Shaq said, but ugly it was...
Today the stuff I read about Kobe is about his legendary work habits & being like a coach on the floor, the guy just wants to win & won't tolerate less than full out effort & doesn't mind letting a teammate know about it if they aren't playing hard...At one time period in his career he was known as one the best defenders in the NBA & for several years he always made the 1st team All-Defense as well as 1st team All Pro...

[Hacksaw]

Kobe Bryant is a focused Alpha male dog who would steal the ball from his mother if it meant a win. I've had the displeasure to meet him and he lives up to his rep of being a jerk.
As he's gotten older he has mellowed like the fine wine thing though. Perhaps he's humbled being flawed like the rest of us.
Now it's questionable whether or not he can perform up to the level of his bloated contract.

The NBA is full of big ego's and two of the biggest belonged to Kobe and Shaq. Kobe busts(ed) his arse everyday and expects others to do the same. Shaq, aka Krispe Kream, was always out of shape. What a tool. As much as I loved the hire, he could have been the most dominant player ever. It's a shame he was so lazy and got away with it.
Kobe called him out, Shaq didn't like it and the rest is history, , which doesn't include Kobe's 6th ring.

He called out that D12 as well, stating he would "never let Howard's clownish disposition take over the Lakers locker room". And Howard split for less money. Tool/

That Colorado incident didn't help his reputation either, but somehow (and this is no excuse if he did rape Ms Faber) it seems that almost any other player (MJ for example) had been involved like that, the spin would have been thwarted, but not so for Kobe.

Now he is dragging the team into cap hell because the Lakers are rewarding him for services rendered. Class organization but it might be time to take one for the team Kobe or hang 'em up..

That # 2 pick was a beautiful thing and with the return of Randall, Clarkson and a few of the others, Lakers play post season again in 2015-16.

[Rams Dominate]

Well said HS, agree with everything you said, don't know about cap hell, Kupchak was trained by the Master, Jerry West, & we will come out of this draft with 3 pretty high picks, one of them a center that is still growing...Next year will be interesting indeed...
The NBA draft is in a week or 2, so we'll see said the blind man