Kobe demands...
- Thread starter WayCide-Ridah
- Start date
Dammit, I want Kobe out of the WC, fuckers been killing the Warriors for years. I still remember I think it was his rookie or sophmore yr where he made crazy shot after crazy shot to bring the lakers within 1 from a blowout. And someone misses a FT and Kobe tips it in to win the game, FUCKER. If they bring in a big name the dubs will be in some serious trouble next season with Durant and Oden coming in the WC. This offseason will be crazy, the Suns have some trading to do as they'll be over the cap next season and need to trade one of the big 3 or Diaw.
Bryant asks for trade, says Buss masterminded trading O'Neal
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927
The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said he would welcome a trade.
"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant said on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?"
Bryant, interviewed by Stephen A. Smith, was asked if there was anything the Lakers could do to change his mind.
"No," Bryant said. "I just want them to do the right thing."
"[The Lakers] obviously want to move in a different direction in terms of rebuilding," Bryant said, adding he could have opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers or Chicago Bulls instead. "Three years ago when I was re-signing they should have told me they wanted to rebuild."
Asked if he had any preference for a trade destination, he said "At this point I'll go play on Pluto."
Bryant earned $17.72 million last season and is owed $88.6 million over the next four years. He can terminate his contract following the 2008-09 season -- a move that would leave $47.8 million on the table.
By requesting a trade, Bryant would obviously waive his no-trade clause, but he has a trade clause in his contract that is believed to add about $13 million to his total contract value, a cost to be absorbed by any team that acquires him.
"We are aware of the media reports. However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career.
"We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."
Earlier in the day, Bryant said Buss masterminded the trade of Shaquille O'Neal -- and Shaq later confirmed Kobe's account.
The issues between Bryant and the Lakers have reached a boil, beginning with Bryant voicing his displeasure with the club's direction, his suggestion that Jerry West should return to fix things, West's statement that he has no intention of undermining GM/good friend Mitch Kupchak, and, unrelated but bizarre in its timing, Buss' arrest early Tuesday for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Bryant was left "beyond furious" by a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times that read, "as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant's insistence on getting away from Shaquille O'Neal that got them in this mess."
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season, and the long-held belief has been that the deteriorating relationship between O'Neal and Bryant was a factor in O'Neal's departure.
In response to the Times' story, Bryant, interviewed by Smith for a Philadelphia Inquirer column, said Buss "called a meeting with me after he spoke with Jim Gray [of ESPN] to talk with him about Shaq's future in the middle of the 2004 season.
"He met with me at the Four Seasons Hotel here [in Newport Beach, Calif.] across from Fashion Island, which is now the Island Hotel," Bryant told Smith. "I went up to his penthouse suite. [Buss] looks me dead in the face and says: 'Kobe, I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he's getting older. His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait.
"This is my decision. It's independent of you. My mind is made up. It doesn't matter to me what you do in free agency because I do not want to pay [Shaq], period.'"
"Dr. Buss said that," Bryant told Smith. "And I haven't said anything for years because I've always felt like folks were just looking to create controversy. Now I know. I realize what extent [the Lakers] will go to, to cover themselves."
Reached afterward, O'Neal told Smith that he believed his former teammate to be beyond reproach.
"I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent.
"I would have respected Dr. Buss more as a man if he would have told me that himself, because I know he said it. But he didn't [tell me]. He never said a damn word to me."
Buss was unavailable for comment Tuesday, as was Kupchak. Buss, 74, was booked early Tuesday for investigation of drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above.
The Lakers missed the playoffs in the first season after O'Neal was dealt for Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round pick, and have been eliminated in the first round the last two seasons. O'Neal and the Heat won the NBA championship last season.
"Sure, Shaq and I had our issues," Bryant told Smith. "So what! We always did and we won three titles. That doesn't change what was told to me. It doesn't change the fact I never, ever, said to get rid of him."
While Bryant re-signed for $136 million for seven years the day after O'Neal was traded, he has pushed for trades -- he wanted Carlos Boozer, then Jason Kidd, then Ron Artest -- that the Lakers were unable to pull off. Meanwhile, Odom has undergone shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for training camp in October; Kwame Brown has undergone reconstructive surgery on his left ankle and might not be ready for the start of camp.
And now Bryant, who reportedly has made it clear to the Lakers that he may see fit to terminate his contract in two years, has told Smith he won't continue to wait for Buss to build the roster around him.
"Promises made to make this team better have not been kept," Bryant told Smith. "So where does that leave me?"
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927
The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said he would welcome a trade.
"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant said on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?"
Bryant, interviewed by Stephen A. Smith, was asked if there was anything the Lakers could do to change his mind.
"No," Bryant said. "I just want them to do the right thing."
"[The Lakers] obviously want to move in a different direction in terms of rebuilding," Bryant said, adding he could have opted to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers or Chicago Bulls instead. "Three years ago when I was re-signing they should have told me they wanted to rebuild."
Asked if he had any preference for a trade destination, he said "At this point I'll go play on Pluto."
Bryant earned $17.72 million last season and is owed $88.6 million over the next four years. He can terminate his contract following the 2008-09 season -- a move that would leave $47.8 million on the table.
By requesting a trade, Bryant would obviously waive his no-trade clause, but he has a trade clause in his contract that is believed to add about $13 million to his total contract value, a cost to be absorbed by any team that acquires him.
"We are aware of the media reports. However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career.
"We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."
Earlier in the day, Bryant said Buss masterminded the trade of Shaquille O'Neal -- and Shaq later confirmed Kobe's account.
The issues between Bryant and the Lakers have reached a boil, beginning with Bryant voicing his displeasure with the club's direction, his suggestion that Jerry West should return to fix things, West's statement that he has no intention of undermining GM/good friend Mitch Kupchak, and, unrelated but bizarre in its timing, Buss' arrest early Tuesday for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Bryant was left "beyond furious" by a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times that read, "as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant's insistence on getting away from Shaquille O'Neal that got them in this mess."
O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season, and the long-held belief has been that the deteriorating relationship between O'Neal and Bryant was a factor in O'Neal's departure.
In response to the Times' story, Bryant, interviewed by Smith for a Philadelphia Inquirer column, said Buss "called a meeting with me after he spoke with Jim Gray [of ESPN] to talk with him about Shaq's future in the middle of the 2004 season.
"He met with me at the Four Seasons Hotel here [in Newport Beach, Calif.] across from Fashion Island, which is now the Island Hotel," Bryant told Smith. "I went up to his penthouse suite. [Buss] looks me dead in the face and says: 'Kobe, I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he's getting older. His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait.
"This is my decision. It's independent of you. My mind is made up. It doesn't matter to me what you do in free agency because I do not want to pay [Shaq], period.'"
"Dr. Buss said that," Bryant told Smith. "And I haven't said anything for years because I've always felt like folks were just looking to create controversy. Now I know. I realize what extent [the Lakers] will go to, to cover themselves."
Reached afterward, O'Neal told Smith that he believed his former teammate to be beyond reproach.
"I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent.
"I would have respected Dr. Buss more as a man if he would have told me that himself, because I know he said it. But he didn't [tell me]. He never said a damn word to me."
Buss was unavailable for comment Tuesday, as was Kupchak. Buss, 74, was booked early Tuesday for investigation of drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above.
The Lakers missed the playoffs in the first season after O'Neal was dealt for Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round pick, and have been eliminated in the first round the last two seasons. O'Neal and the Heat won the NBA championship last season.
"Sure, Shaq and I had our issues," Bryant told Smith. "So what! We always did and we won three titles. That doesn't change what was told to me. It doesn't change the fact I never, ever, said to get rid of him."
While Bryant re-signed for $136 million for seven years the day after O'Neal was traded, he has pushed for trades -- he wanted Carlos Boozer, then Jason Kidd, then Ron Artest -- that the Lakers were unable to pull off. Meanwhile, Odom has undergone shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for training camp in October; Kwame Brown has undergone reconstructive surgery on his left ankle and might not be ready for the start of camp.
And now Bryant, who reportedly has made it clear to the Lakers that he may see fit to terminate his contract in two years, has told Smith he won't continue to wait for Buss to build the roster around him.
"Promises made to make this team better have not been kept," Bryant told Smith. "So where does that leave me?"
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Im far from a laker fan, I been a LA hater for a long time homie. I never said Kobe wanted Shaq to stay, Im just stating what each player said in the last couple of days. IMO Kobe wanted Shaq out too coz he wanted the team to himself and thought he could win a championship all by himself. Times have changed and both of them I think now realize that when they are together they are hard to stop. So Im jus saying, I THINK they might be wanting to get back on the same team...
I don't let my hate for a team bias my opinion, my bad if that comes out to being a fan to you but im just keepin it 100....
I don't let my hate for a team bias my opinion, my bad if that comes out to being a fan to you but im just keepin it 100....
Boner said:
J-Rich, Monta, Foyle for Kobe, Evans, Turiaf = trade successful
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this deal
aranoid:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this deal
aranoid:
Boner said:
J-Rich, Monta, Foyle for Kobe, Evans, Turiaf = trade successful
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this dealaranoid:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this deal
aranoid:
The Lakers would laugh Mullin and Nellie right out of the staples center for that.
And who would that be?
Kobe does not know what the hell he wants. One show he says he wants to be traded, the next he says he never said that, then he says he will leave LA regardless...make up your fucking mind. If he doesn't want to play for the Lakers, then FUCK HIM, but at least get some decent players for him, unlike that BS Shaq trade...but man if he did leave, the Lakers would be fucked...but maybe for a few short teams, him leaving would open a lot of opportunities that are currently closed.
Kobe does not know what the hell he wants. One show he says he wants to be traded, the next he says he never said that, then he says he will leave LA regardless...make up your fucking mind. If he doesn't want to play for the Lakers, then FUCK HIM, but at least get some decent players for him, unlike that BS Shaq trade...but man if he did leave, the Lakers would be fucked...but maybe for a few short teams, him leaving would open a lot of opportunities that are currently closed.
Boner said:
J-Rich, Monta, Foyle for Kobe, Evans, Turiaf = trade successful
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this dealaranoid:
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...1~254~1018~110~1031~2789&teams=13~13~13~9~9~9
realgm.com trade ID: 3856341
we keep Biedrins and upgrade at the SG, plus gain some rebounding & hustle out of Turiaf & Evans essentially replaces Barnes/Pietrus
1- BD
2- Kobe
3- SJax
4- Harrington
5- Biedrins
GSW change in team outlook: +10.6 ppg, +1.2 rpg, and -0.6 apg
insiders tell me that Mullin is on the phone right now tryin to make this deal
aranoid:
that's a little better...
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/featur...9~1018~261~387&teams=9~16~16~13~13~13~16~9~13
i kno we givin up too much but itll do
i kno we givin up too much but itll do
why would you guys think that the lakers would trade kobe to a team that is not only in the same conference, but same division? what sense does that make?
I highly doubt the lakers are gonna trade kobe. why would they? just cuz he wants them to? too bad.. a contract is a contract. huff and puff all you want, but you're still under a legal obligation
I highly doubt the lakers are gonna trade kobe. why would they? just cuz he wants them to? too bad.. a contract is a contract. huff and puff all you want, but you're still under a legal obligation
