jerry buss awakens from 8 year coma

[cranrab]

Buss: Bryant isn't untouchable
Lakers owner says he doesn't want to trade his star player, but he doesn't want to lose him and get nothing in return. He also defends Kupchak.
By Mike Bresnahan
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

October 11, 2007

HONOLULU -- Jerry Buss looked relaxed in a seashell-print shirt and khaki shorts as he sat down near lush hotel grounds of botanical gardens and koi ponds, a paradoxical setting for his frank discussion of the very real possibility that his star player might not be on the team in two years, if not sooner.

The owner of the Lakers spoke publicly for the first time since his team's off-season of disarray, providing details of his involvement and his deepest thoughts during several months' worth of distress signals emitted by Kobe Bryant.

The conversation Wednesday also steered in other directions, touching on his opinion of his front office, whether he would sell the team in coming years, and Coach Phil Jackson's unclear future with the franchise.

Buss, who has presided over eight championships and five other NBA Finals appearances in his 28 previous years of ownership, acknowledged considering offers for Bryant over the summer -- none of them deemed remotely good enough to act upon -- and also conceded that the gaping hole in Bryant's contract could make the nine-time All-Star an ex-Laker by 2009.

Buss, 74, also said Bryant was not necessarily off the table now that the new season had started. Offers will inevitably continue to trickle in, particularly if the Lakers struggle before the February trade deadline.

"I would certainly listen," Buss said. "At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody. It's just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit. You can't keep too many loyalties. You've got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it."

Bryant has four years and $88.6 million left on his contract, although he can end his Lakers career by terminating his deal in two years. Such a move by Bryant would leave $47.8 million of his money on the table, but would also leave the Lakers without one of the most dynamic players in their 60-year history.

"I tend not to think in basketball terms that many years down the road because things change so dramatically, but he could test the waters at that point," Buss said. "If he still is in that frame of mind, then hopefully we can do a sign-and-trade and get some comparable talent. I would like to think that we win between now and then so that it doesn't come up."

This will be Bryant's 12th season with the Lakers, the former child prodigy now 29 and coming off an eminently vocal summer in which he requested to play for any other team, even if it meant being shipped to Pluto.

Buss tried to talk Bryant out of his mind-set at a June meeting in Barcelona, but Bryant continued to voice concerns about the direction of the franchise and reiterated his demand to be traded.

His unhappiness had steadily grown from the time the Lakers were eliminated by Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs, making it two consecutive first-round knockouts to go with a 121-125 regular-season mark since reaching the NBA Finals in 2004.

"He was very, very respectful," Buss said. "I told him when I walked in that I was going to try to talk him out of it. And he said, 'I'll listen carefully.' And he did.

"He listened very carefully for 30, 45 minutes. I tried to explain to him how much the city of Los Angeles loved him, and that to leave 10 million sweethearts for unknown territory might not be the right thing to do. But when I was finished, he said he basically felt the same way. And I said, 'OK. With that, I will proceed to see what's available.' "

Declining to give specifics, Buss said he might have pulled the trigger on a trade offer that was "within reason."

"You have to get comparable value when you make a trade," he said. "It's very hard to trade somebody like him because people who have enough material to make it worthwhile are usually contenders and they don't want to make the trade.

"What was offered was not ever under consideration. And I told Kobe that. I told him I would try my best to accommodate his wishes, but that I could not afford to let him go unless we got comparable talent, if there is such a thing. . . . I even told him occasionally what I was offered and I said, 'You have to know that this is not in favor of the Lakers. This would just be terrible to do.' And he said, 'I understand.' "

Buss said he never saw the amateur video in which Bryant referred to him as "an idiot." Nor did he read a late-May website entry in which Bryant suggested he had been misled by Buss, who in the summer of 2004, Bryant wrote, "promised me that the Lakers would do everything to build a contender NOW."

"I heard it second- or third-hand," Buss said. "In that we haven't been winning, the criticism of me, I think, is natural. . . . Quite honestly, since I did not read any of those other comments, I was a little surprised at him because certainly he's never said anything to me like that. Always very respectful."

Buss also addressed the fact that he might be losing his coach, something he would rather not experience.

Jackson, 62, is in the final season of a three-year, $30-million contract and has repeatedly said he would wait to sign an extension until properly gauging his health while recovering from a second hip-replacement surgery in a year.

"If he feels up to it, then he will sign an extension," Buss said. "And hopefully, that's what's going to happen. I'm very fond of him. . . . If he feels up to it, I think he would probably declare himself for a couple of years."

Jackson appeared to side with Bryant during the off-season, granting a series of interviews last month in which he tweaked the Lakers' front office for not making big changes.

Buss acknowledged frustration at losing out to old rivals in Boston for Kevin Garnett's services -- "I personally feel that we made a better offer than the people who were successful," he said -- and also gave a vote of confidence to his often-criticized front office, specifically his son, Jim -- the team's vice president of player personnel -- and General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

"I think Mitch does a terrific job because I'm right there and I know what's happening," Buss said. "Mitch has done everything humanly possible. Our team does not have a lot of tradable players. Hopefully we will have some in time, but currently we do not.

"We've got two or three players that people would like to have, but they want them giving us not comparable returns. I am aware of every single trade that he has tried to make. What we had to offer just wasn't sufficient for them.

"One of the big problems we had was that Kwame [Brown] and Lamar [Odom] were both injured at the end of the year so that nobody knew how they would come back. The other guy that was good was [Andrew] Bynum and nobody knew, 'How good is he?' Nobody knows yet, really."

Buss also defended his son, crediting him for insisting on drafting Ronny Turiaf; casting an important vote in favor of drafting Bynum; and, more recently, bringing sharpshooting undrafted rookie Coby Karl to training camp.

"Jim, I think, is in the same boat as Mitch," Buss said. "I think he is criticized for everything and I'm not so sure what any of us have done [wrong]."

Near the end of the 38-minute interview, Buss temporarily shrugged off the summer of discord and all the questions surrounding the upcoming season.

He said he thought the Lakers would win "50-plus games" if the roster were healthy, and he relayed a big-picture message. Despite the soap opera that his franchise can become on a moment's notice, he is not selling the team any time soon. The plan is still to turn it over to his daughter, Jeanie, and Jim.

"People I trust offer me incredible amounts of money -- far more than you'd imagine," Buss said. "These are credible people. I keep thinking, 'OK, [if] I sell it now, I pay the taxes, I put the money in the bank and now I've got to decide what to do. I ought to do something with all this money that would be a lot of fun. I'll buy the Lakers.' It always comes back to there's nothing I could do that would be more fun."

 

[cranrab]

Buss appears ready to show Kobe the door
Lakers owner has always said what he meant and meant what he said, so when he says he's open to trading Bryant, it is not to be taken lightly.
Bill Plaschke

October 12, 2007

Those who have examined Jerry Buss' few public utterances over the years have come to understand one of the paradoxes of Hollywood's swashbuckling sports owner.

He doesn't act.

He doesn't posture, he doesn't pose, he means exactly what he says.

What Buss said in Thursday's paper about Kobe Bryant, then, was breathtakingly clear.

He said goodbye.

He said he was weary of Bryant's ridiculing his family and degrading his organization. He said he was tired of living with Bryant's consistent and vocal unhappiness.

He said he would listen to trade offers, which means he will eventually take one.

Maybe Bryant won't be traded this minute. Maybe he won't even be traded this winter.

But it is obvious the minute the Lakers can acquire anything that even resembles fair value, Bryant is gone, and Buss won't much miss him.

Hey, Kobe, turns out you're not the only one in the organization who feels betrayed, huh?

To understand the impact of Buss' statements in his annual interview with the team's beat writers on Wednesday, one must contrast them with his previous comments about his star.

Buss saying he would trade Bryant was like his coach suddenly announcing that the triangle had become a square.

Never has Buss shown anything but unconditional admiration for Bryant.

Never has he even hinted at anything other than wanting him to remain a Laker forever.

Go back to Feb. 22, 2004, when Bryant's rivalry with teammate Shaquille O'Neal erupted in nastiness.

Buss flatly told ESPN that he backed Bryant.

"I believe he will be a Laker for life," Buss said.

In the same interview, Buss questioned Coach Phil Jackson by saying, "There are times when it seems he doesn't want to coach."

Four months later, Jackson was gone.

Later, he also questioned O'Neal's attitude, saying, "We have to talk and see if he wants to stay here."

Five months later, O'Neal was gone.

Although Buss is an avid poker player, when it comes to talking basketball, he rarely bluffs.

Fast forward to later that summer, during free-agent negotiations with his favorite son.

On July 13, 2004, his public message to Bryant was, "Stay with the people who love you."

A year later, that love was still going strong.

On May 4, 2005, Buss said, "I don't want to trade Kobe. And I really think somebody would have to give me their franchise, their arena and the city in order to get him."

At that point, with Bryant firmly in control of the franchise, acting as both coach and assistant general manager, he and Buss were seemingly joined, swaggering hip to swaggering hip.

On Oct. 29, 2006, Buss said his relationship with Bryant "is closer now than it has ever been."

Even as recently as May 31, shortly after Bryant began his trade demands by implying that Buss was a liar and ripping the entire Lakers front office, the owner backed him during a phone conversation.

"We will continue to pursue every avenue possible to improve our team with him as the cornerstone," Buss said.

That was then.

This is holy cow.

Maybe Buss finally lost his patience when, in June, an audiotape surfaced in which Bryant referred to Buss as an "idiot."

Maybe Buss lost his cool when he heard Kevin Garnett say this week that he didn't want to become a Laker because of their front office problems. Maybe, then, Buss realized the incredible damage Bryant's public whining had done to the Lakers' reputation and brand.

Whatever the reason, when Buss sat down with the beat writers this week, you could hear how everything had changed.

"I would certainly listen," he said.

The question was about trading Bryant, and the key words were "certainly" and "listen." Never have they been used together in a sentence on this subject.

"You can't keep too many loyalties," Buss said.

While witnesses said he used a matter-of-fact tone here, can't you just feel the sarcasm? Is there a more loyal owner anywhere than Jerry Buss?

His staff is filled with longtime employees. Even some of the ballboys have seemingly been there forever. This was a direct shot at Bryant's vindictiveness in the face of unconditional support.

"You've got to look at it like a business," Buss said.

Again, check the sarcasm here. Buss is a good businessman but, c'mon, does any owner in basketball use the word "family" more than he does?

Buss was clearly mimicking Bryant's mantra, his cold approach to a team that has spent the last decade wrapping him in a warm hug.

"[Bryant] looks at it the same way I look at it," he said.

Indeed, after an confusing summer, they are finally seeing the same two things.

Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers' front door.

Thankfully, finally, the owner of the joint is grabbing him by the collar and ushering him there now.

 

[hanginbals]

There's a lot of freakin word's!!!! Too many word's!!!!! I resign!!!!!

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

..you know, I was gonna post that story, but somehow I knew you would want to.

Shaq Shocked After Buss Says He'd Trade Kobe
October 12, 2007 - 5:38 am
Associated Press -
Jerry Buss has already shown that he'll part with superstars. Yet upon hearing that the Los Angeles Lakers ' owner would consider trading Kobe Bryant, even Shaquille O'Neal was shocked.

"I guess it's business before loyalty, but, wow. He said that?" O'Neal said yesterday in Miami after learning Buss told reporters he would trade Bryant under the right circumstances.

Buss told three Los Angeles-area beat writers covering training camp in Honolulu on Wednesday that he "would certainly listen" to trade offers for the two-time NBA scoring champion.

"At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody," Buss said, discussing Bryant publicly for the first time since the often-frustrated Lakers' star asked to be traded at the end of last season. "It's just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit."

"Anyone can be traded, but mine was different because I walked into the office and demanded a trade," O'Neal said. "I don't take loyalty lightly. If you tell me you're going to do something, I expect you to do it. And then when you change your mind without telling me, that means you're disloyal, so we can't be down anymore."

Bryant, 29, has four years worth $88.6 million left on the seven-year contract he signed a day after O'Neal was traded, but can terminate the deal in two years.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

...BTW, Phil Jackson thinks he's slick. He's gonna try to go to Boston (depending on how they perform)

 

[hanginbals]

...BTW, Phil Jackson thinks he's slick. He's gonna try to go to Boston (depending on how they perform)

He know's where theres a team that can win it all, He's gonna tap that resource and win that ring!!

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Writer Roundtable: If Kobe leaves L.A., where's his next stop?

ESPN.com

Updated: October 15, 2007, 5:04 PM ET

Last week brought us a new chapter in the Kobe Bryant saga, with Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss saying he's open to trading his superstar.

To assess where things stand now, we brought five of ESPN's top NBA reporters together:

Does Kobe want out?

J.A. Adande, ESPN.com: After three years of inspecting the grass color on the other side of the fence, Kobe Bryant learned his lesson. (And this was before he spent the summer in the lush landscape of Team USA.)

So now he realizes that sharing the spotlight with other superstars isn't so bad, that there's plenty of candlepower to illuminate everybody when the team wins championships.

He knows there won't be victory parades in Los Angeles in the near future, and he's horrified of the prospect of wasting his prime years without playing in June. That outweighs his desire to wear the same uniform for his entire career.

Chris Broussard, ESPN The Mag: I think Kobe definitely wants out, but he realizes it's not good for his image to continue battling the Lakers' front office and demeaning his teammates in public. So instead, he's saying all the right things, focusing on basketball and privately hoping the Lakers can pull off a trade.

Remember, in his brief response to Buss' comments last week, Kobe said the owner's statements just shed more light on the conversation they had had over the summer. So apparently that conversation didn't include Kobe's rescinding his trade demand.

Ric Bucher, ESPN The Mag: In a perfect world, Bryant would stay a Laker for life.

But we don't live in a perfect world and he's painfully aware of that, so, yes.

He knows his years as the league's best player are numbered and he'd like to spend at least some of them playing for a championship. The Lakers, based on their refusal to trade Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd, aren't feeling the same sense of urgency.

Chris Sheridan, ESPN.com: He wanted out all summer, and the fact that Jerry Buss spent 45 minutes in Barcelona unsuccessfully trying to get him to change his mind -- and Buss' acknowledgement of subsequently fielding offers -- shows how strongly both sides felt about the situation. Kobe shut down his public pleas for a trade, but the underlying reasons he wanted out in the first place always remained.

So the big question now for me is this: Was Kobe being deceptive on media day Oct. 1 when he said he was back on board? If not, how does he explain his change of heart on wanting to pursue "a new road ahead?" Kobe, we're waiting to hear from you ...

Marc Stein, ESPN.com: Every indication I get is that Kobe's preferences haven't changed. He might have stopped saying so publicly but, by all accounts, he'd rather be elsewhere, with Chicago holding particular appeal because he knows it's easier to get to the NBA Finals in the East.

I don't see this changing, either, because Kobe finally sees how hard it'll be for the Lakers to return to title contention. The odds were that it was always going to take years to recover from Shaquille O'Neal's departure. The big change here is that Kobe, after three rough seasons on his own, sees that now.

Why did Jerry Buss say last week that the Lakers are open to trading Kobe?

Adande: Jerry Buss' candid comments in Hawaii were the equivalent of a Craigslist ad: Talented superstar available; make your best offer.

He was infatuated with Bryant, so much so that he coddled him throughout Bryant's sexual assault case, then chose him over a Hall of Fame center and a Hall of Fame coach. Bryant's response was to ask out after things went bad. Buss entrusted Bryant with the future of the franchise, and this was the payback he received. Last week, Buss said this is about "business," but really it's personal.

Broussard: Buss is insulted that Kobe had the audacity to call him an "idiot,'' and he feels that Kobe has shown no loyalty or appreciation for the fact that the Lakers stuck by him -- and even went above and beyond the call of duty -- during his darkest days (the sexual assault case).

If I were an owner, paying a guy megamillions, and he disrespected me in that way, I'd be willing to trade him too (but as Buss has said, only if it's a good deal for the Lakers). Not to mention that Buss knows Kobe will opt out of his deal after next season anyway.

Bucher: He's a doctor, isn't he? What does a doctor do before he performs a painful surgery? (Yeah, I know he's not that kind of doctor -- just roll with it.) He lays out what he plans to do and why. It gives the patient time to come to terms with what is about to happen. That's the only logical reason for announcing to the public what he said privately to Kobe months ago.

Sheridan: To me, Buss' comments showed how much he has already come to grips with the idea of moving forward without Kobe. Buss has been fully aware of Kobe's dissatisfaction since the end of May, so he's spent more than four months pondering the likelihood of a Kobe-less future.

Stein: The timing wasn't as surprising as it seemed because Buss always sits down with Laker beat writers when the team holds camp in Hawaii and he was obviously going to get lots of Kobe questions.

And while I do believe Buss now feels betrayed after standing by Kobe for years -- and perhaps even that he wants to start preparing his fans for the post-Kobe era -- I still hear (and believe) that he's not yet ready to trade No. 24. Not this season. Not because Buss loves him unconditionally anymore, but because he knows there's no hope of even coming close to getting equal value.

Is Kobe going to be traded in the next year?

Adande: The Lakers have to trade him. They can't let one of the league's top players walk away (in the summer of 2009) and get nothing in return.

The most logical time for Bryant to be traded would be just before the 2008 draft. By then teams will know the draft order and can offer specific picks to the Lakers to sweeten deals. Those teams will also have a sense of where they stand, and whether they should maintain the status quo or make a dramatic move.

The Lakers don't want to wait until the February 2009 trade deadline because everyone else will know Bryant's opt-out decision is looming and will make lowball offers.

Broussard: I don't think it's that cut-and-dried. Phil Jackson has Kobe playing more like a facilitator this preseason (so far), and if the Lakers are healthy and Kobe continues to share the wealth, they may have some success early, which could quell tensions. Remember, this is the team that had Phoenix on the brink less than two years ago.

Also, if the Bulls (one of Kobe's prime suitors) have a great season, they won't be so quick to trade for Bryant. But if the Bulls struggle, they could pull the trigger before the trade deadline. If Dallas (and particularly Dirk) shows it can't bounce back mentally from consecutive postseason meltdowns, the Mavs could decide to part with Dirk for Kobe (doubtful but possible). If you put a gun to my head, though, I'll say "Yes."

Bucher: Has to be, if the Lakers want to make the best of this mess. At this point, the longer they wait, the less they can demand in return, particularly if their season starts off rocky. (Exhibits A and B, the KG and AI trades.)

Sheridan: I'd say it's more a question of whether he's going to be traded by the deadline in mid-February. Here's why: Kobe will hold more leverage over the Lakers next summer, because he can threaten to exercise his veto over any trade, play one more season in L.A. and then opt out and leave as an unrestricted free agent and refuse to do a sign-and-trade, leaving the Lakers getting nothing in return for him.

Anyway, to answer the question, I'd say it's more likely than unlikely.

Stein: During the season, no. Not until, like J.A. suggested, closer to the draft at the earliest.

Buss has been deeply stung by Bryant's recent displays of disloyalty, but the Lakers know he's virtually irreplaceable on the floor, at the box office and in the team shop. So they're not going to trade him until they absolutely have to.

The Lakers have to listen to every offer because Kobe can become a free agent in the summer of 2009, meaning they can lose him without compensation in less than two years. But it doesn't make business sense to do it now. They can offset their struggles in the standings by winning business-wise with Kobe for another season. You are safe to even expect a trade next offseason when the threat of Kobe's leaving becomes real. But between now and the trade deadline? I'd be floored.

If and when Bryant is traded, which team will get him?

Adande: The Chicago Bulls are the only logical bartering partners for the Lakers. A trade to Chicago gets Bryant out of the Western Conference, so they don't have to worry about his paying multiple visits to their home court each season, or igniting against them during the playoffs.

The Bulls have a wealth of talented, smart young players. But the Lakers have to hold out for Luol Deng and/or Ben Gordon. They can't make the same mistake they made the last time they dealt a superstar, when they sent Shaquille O'Neal to Miami and didn't get a single all-star in return.

The Bulls could still have enough pieces to be competitive, and it's a good market, so Bryant would be less likely to exercise his no-trade clause. Chicago appealed to him when he was a free agent in 2004, and three years later, with the Baby Bulls growing up, it's an even better destination.

Broussard: The Bulls have to be the likeliest destination because Kobe wants to go there and they have the young assets to get a deal done. Plus, I don't think the Bulls as currently constructed can win a title. Once they realize that they'll be willing to trade for the closest thing there is to MJ.

I think Dallas will be in the hunt (if I were the Mavs, I'd trade Dirk for Kobe straight up). Forget the Knicks, and I don't see how Phoenix can get it done without breaking up its duo of Nash and Stoudemire.

Bucher: Technically, Dallas and Chicago, because those are the only teams currently on Kobe's list. But the field could expand, depending on what the Lakers want in return.

If the Lakers would accept a Paul Pierce package, he'd happily go play with KG and Ray Allen. Would the Lakers accept a Suns package that didn't include Nash or Amare? He'd go there, too.

My guess is that Chicago remains the only logical choice for both Kobe and the Lakers, because it puts him in the East, far from L.A. -- as well as San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix, if you can smell what I'm steppin' in. He does have a no-trade clause, so he won't go just anywhere and he won't go to a team stripped of contention by the deal.

This, by the way, is the price a team pays for screwing up its relationship with its best player. If it's any consolation, the Lakers are only the 914th team in league history to put itself in this position.

Sheridan: If the Lakers trade him -- and I think it'll take one more blow-up from someone to push it forward -- I still see Chicago as his likeliest destination. But that works only if Bulls GM John Paxson includes Luol Deng in his offer (along with Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, a No. 1 pick or Thabo Sefalosha plus P.J. Brown -- currently a free agent considering retirement -- for sign-and-trade purposes, to make the salaries match).

If the Bulls are stingy (and some league sources believe Chicago owner Jerry Reinsdorf has no stomach for giving Kobe an extension if he acquires him), the Knicks will be in the picture if Kobe thinks New York is an acceptable fallback destination. Bryant has a trade veto and is wary of playing for a franchise run by Jim Dolan in the wake of last month's sexual harassment case by a fired Knicks executive. But no one has deeper pockets than Dolan, who would be more than willing to pay Kobe's full trade kicker and give him an extension that would make even Allan Houston jealous.

Still, there's always the question of whether the Lakers would accept anything offered by New York, which would try to overwhelm the Lakers with some voluminous combination of Jamal Crawford plus young talent on rookie contracts (David Lee, Renaldo Balkman, Nate Robinson, Randolph Morris), plus Malik Rose or Quentin Richardson for salary cap purposes.

I don't believe Buss will trade Kobe to a Western team, but if he does, I think it'll be Dallas -- in part because Buss has a good relationship with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.

My long-shot team is New Jersey, for a package starting with Vince Carter, although that can not happen until after Dec. 15, when players (like Carter) who signed over the summer become trade-eligible.

Stein: Don't forget that Kobe will continue to have a stronger-than-anyone say in this whole process; he has the NBA's only active no-trade clause in his contract. And the three-team Kobe wish list that keeps coming up on the front-office grapevine -- with apologies to the Knicks -- is Chicago, Phoenix and Dallas.

The Suns and Mavs, though, continue to rank as pretty much the last two teams Buss would want to send Kobe to. The Bulls, then, are by far the most logical destination, because they possess more trade assets than anyone and given that Kobe actually likes the idea of trying to win in Michael Jordan's city. But Chicago is just as likely as Buss to want to wait until season's end before seriously considering this.

The Lakers would certainly be holding out for Luol Deng and/or Kirk Hinrich as the cornerstones of a package for Kobe and the Bulls aren't going to part with their best players without giving them at least one more shot to go far in the playoffs. You are bound to hear folks suggest that the Lakers need to move to fast, because the offers will be better now rather than later, but I'd argue that the bids in this case might not get better until teams start to believe that Kobe is really attainable. Any potential trade partner, furthermore, is more likely to break up its team after playoff disappointment than in October or February.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Kobe Situation Touch And Go
October 16, 2007 - 7:57 pm
Los Angeles Times -
Kobe Bryant acknowledged being "caught off guard" by comments made last week by Lakers owner Jerry Buss, but said he would "strap it up" and play if he were still on the Lakers' roster when the regular season rolled around Oct. 30.

Bryant granted a brief interview Tuesday afternoon to a small gathering of reporters awaiting him near his Bentley in the players' parking lot of the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo.

Bryant, when asked Tuesday if he had played his final game in a Lakers uniform, was non-committal.

"I don't know," he said. "Talk to Mitch [Kupchak] and Mr. Buss about that. I'm just getting ready. If I'm here, I'm ready to strap it up. My job is to play the game and get ready to play the game, and that's what I'm doing.

"It's my job to play basketball. It's not my job to worry about what management is doing. I'm just going to get ready and let them do their job."

The Lakers declined to comment publicly, but they are not looking to trade Bryant.

"There's nothing imminent," Jackson said.

He removed some personal items from his locker, but some remained.

"There's a book sitting there," Jackson said. "There's a net bag with some workout clothes that were sitting there this morning. There are things that were out of the locker, I will say that."

Jackson did not peer too far into the future.

"We can't project anything right now," he said. "I think there's a certain progression of things that we have to go through. We have to see how the feelings are in the situation, see if there can't be some remedies for it. From there, the next step takes place, and that is, how do we go forward as a basketball club?"

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Does Kobe Really Want To Be Traded?
Authored by Graham Flashner - 16th October, 2007 - 2:43 pm

Call me crazy, but I think Kobe Bryant’s about to have the year of his life.

And if he does, he can thank Jerry Buss.

All Buss did was call his whiny, disrespectful superstar on his — crap.

After quietly absorbing a summer of tantrums and immature behavior from a franchise player he’d been unflinchingly loyal to, Buss finally had enough. Shocking long-time Lakers' watchers, and a room full of media at the Lakers’ training camp in Honolulu, Buss declared that Bryant was no longer untouchable, strongly intimating that if the right deal came along, he could be gone this season.

To an outsider, this hardly qualified as surprising news, since Bryant’s been begging for months now to be put out of his Lakers' misery.

To those on the inside, Buss’s words were stunning. Never had he so much as hinted at a willingness to move his most revered employee. Perhaps Buss could no longer endure another slight. Perhaps he was dismayed by Kevin Garnett’s recent comments about how he’d been scared off by the Lakers’ front office problems. Problems magnified by Bryant’s outbursts.

You’d think that Bryant might have greeted Buss’s comments with a huge sigh of relief, but all he offered was silence. Which leads me to wonder how serious he was about being traded in the first place. Was all this just the exaggerated diva demands of a frustrated athlete? He’d used sports radio as his personal pulpit, called Buss a liar, and famously said, “I’ll go play on Pluto” rather than return for another season alongside Bynum, Odom & co.

Then, as abruptly as it started, the histrionics ceased. The trade demands stopped. Bryant dutifully showed up for camp figuring bygones were bygones.

What he didn’t count on was Buss, an avid poker player, calling his bluff. Raising the pot.. Playing the ‘challenge Kobe’ hand.

For years Bryant has gotten away with murder. He’s held all the cards; been the pampered, favorite son allowed to rum amuck through the organization like a spoiled child berating his helpless parents. The Lakers have indulged his legal problems, his blow-ups at teammates, his rants about the incompetence of the front office, and his accusations of the team’s broken promises to build a championship contender around him (not all of which are unfair).

Still, Buss stood by him at every turn. In 2004, with the Kobe-Shaq feud heating up, Buss told ESPN that Bryant “will be a Laker for life” and traded Shaq five months later. When the whispers began that Kobe had forced Shaq out, it was Buss who came to his defense, saying that Shaq had become a commodity he couldn’t afford.

In the summer of 2004, Buss’s public message to Bryant, then considering a move to the Clippers, was, “Stay with the people who love you.”

A year later, with the Kobe love-fest in full bloom, Buss said, “I really think somebody would have to give me their franchise, their arena and the city in order to get him.”

Now, it appears that somebody only need give him the right combination of players.

Said Buss to the media, “You can’t keep too many loyalties… Bryant looks at it the same way I look at it.” In other words – nothing personal. Just business.

After what Kobe has put the organization through, you couldn’t blame Buss for reaching his breaking point and saying what many have privately wished he’d said earlier.

Yet his timing was odd, considering that on October 2 —the day before the Lakers flew to Honolulu for the start of camp – Kobe and the Lakers put on their best united front, with Bryant saying all the right things about putting the past behind him and looking forward to a fresh start. Or, as he told the Los Angeles Times, “The most important thing is that I want to bring a title back to L.A.”

He’d seemingly patched things up with Andrew Bynum, who he derided in a now-infamous off-the-cuff parking lot video and even complimented the front office for their valiant effort at acquiring Garnett.

It may not have been the most convincing show of unity – Bryant had already burned too many bridges over the summer and was only in uniform because, like an employee under contract to a large corporation, he had no choice – but it was a politically correct show.

Less than ten days later, Buss shattered whatever illusions anyone had that the Lakers’ summer of discontent was behind them.

Bryant has yet to address the notion he could be traded. Early reports out of training camp, however, suggest that he’s becoming the facilitator the Lakers have long wanted him to be. Coincidence? On a team with more plot twists than a Spanish telenovela, probably not.

Bryant, the most ferocious competitor in the NBA, also has a championship-caliber ego. Now that his boss has called him, in so many words, expendable, I can see the old fire returning to Bryant’s eyes, the kind of fire he exhibited with Team USA over the summer, ruthlessly shutting down Leandro Barbosa in the game against Brazil.

Could it be that Bryant realizes how good he has it being king of L.A. and is now determined to prove that no owner in his right mind would want to trade him?

Reached by email, ESPN’s Ric Bucher, a long-time Bryant confidant who over the summer predicted that Bryant would never wear a Lakers' uniform again, had a more measured response.

“I believe he's feeling his basketball mortality for the first time,” Bucher wrote. “He's not willing to risk his assets -- a restored image after the Colorado incident and $19.5 million in salary -- to force the Lakers to move him.”

And he may not want to go down in history as the man who forced Jerry Buss to trade him. Which is why, if the Lakers get off to a good start and Bryant has the year of his life, Buss will look like a poker-faced genius.

 

[Dark Gable]

Dude needs to go to The Knicks.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Dude needs to go to The Knicks.

Kobe No Longer Interested In New York
October 17, 2007 - 7:13 pm
Newsday -
Kobe Bryant, according to Newsday, put out word through intermediaries last week that he’s taken the Knicks off his wish list because of all the turmoil at the Garden.

His two top choices are believed to be Chicago and Dallas.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Sources: Lakers Won't Initiate Kobe Trade Talks
October 17, 2007 - 1:29 pm
ESPN -
The Lakers, according to NBA front-office sources, have no looming intentions to initiate any Kobe Bryant trade discussions and still would prefer to hang onto him.

There is nonetheless a growing belief around the league that the proposals will be flooding in now and that Bryant will indeed be moved -- possibly even before the season starts -- after last week's admission from Lakers' owner Jerry Buss that he "would certainly listen" to trade offers for Bryant in the wake of Kobe's loud declaration in May that he wants out … and Kobe's subsequent refusals to recant the request.

 

[ronmch20]

Yeah Jerry go ahead and trade the only marketing chip you have. You'll really fill the seats without Kobe. You make Mitch Kupchak look like a genius.

 

[xfactor]

Yeah Jerry go ahead and trade the only marketing chip you have. You'll really fill the seats without Kobe. You make Mitch Kupchak look like a genius.

That's the dilemma for old Jerry. Trade Wobe and win games or keep Wobe along with the marketing dollars (because that is where the money is coming from) and be a loser.

If I was Buss, I'd go for the W's.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

That's the dilemma for old Jerry. Trade Wobe and win games or keep Wobe along with the marketing dollars (because that is where the money is coming from) and be a loser.

If I was Buss, I'd go for the W's.

I have to agree..Winning will make fans forget.

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Jackson Worried About Bryant's Commitment
October 27, 2007 - 10:50 pm
L.A. Times -
Three days before the start of a season prefaced by a summer of discontent and a fall of uncertainty for Kobe Bryant, the Lakers guard is still not fully committed to the team in the opinion of his coach, Phil Jackson.

"Obviously he hasn't thrown his heart and soul into performing on the floor," Jackson said after practice Saturday at the team's El Segundo training facility. "That hurts me a little bit. . . . He was going to work at this thing and [would] put his full being into this. Right now, he's having a hard time doing that."

Asked specifically what Bryant is struggling with, Jackson replied, "Mentally getting himself here and playing hard. . . . Is that a surprise to you guys? I mean I'm not breaking new news."

It came as news to Bryant, who responded to Jackson's remarks by denying any lack of commitment on his part.

"That [should be] the least of his concerns or anybody's concerns," Bryant said. "You don't have to worry about that. . . . I'm ready to play. Period. You don't have to worry about me."

 

[Gloom]

when will this mess end

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Barkley Criticizes Kobe
October 29, 2007 - 8:04 pm
Los Angeles Times -
Charles Barkley criticized Kobe Bryant Monday for the way he asked the Lakers to trade him, then for not appearing to give his full effort since owner Jerry Buss said he would consider a deal.

So when Barkley goes on the air Tuesday night for TNT's season-opening doubleheader, he will probably have some strong words about Bryant for the second time in three years. He said Phil Jackson's questioning of Bryant's effort over the weekend was the "final straw."

"What Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was like they're at the point of no return now. There's a point where you know you can make a marriage work, but what Phil Jackson said yesterday, that was the end of it," Barkley said at a luncheon with fellow studio analyst Kenny Smith.

"That's the one thing I respect most about Kevin Garnett. Even though he played on terrible teams, there is not a player in the last 10 years who played harder than Kevin Garnett. And that's the one thing that disappoints me. Phil said that Kobe's just going through the motions. ... And if your coach tells you you're just going through the motions, that's pretty much the end of the straw."

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

This dude is a trip. From espn.com

A source with knowledge of the trade talks said Deng has been included in proposals swapped between the teams, but Bryant has continually threatened to veto almost any deal in which Deng would be included. Bryant wants to be sure that the team he joins has enough talent remaining to compete for the NBA title.

The reason he won't get moved is because the fucked up deal you and Buss agreed on it fucking things up...no wonder dude is getting DUIs

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Lakers' Future Can Be Great If They Act Now
Authored by Christopher Reina - 1st November, 2007 - 7:23 pm

I’ve been playing NBA Live 08 with Kobe Bryant on the Bulls for a few weeks now while patiently anticipating what had appeared to be an inevitable trade.

ESPN's Chris Sheridan reported Thursday morning that the Bulls are making Luol Deng available in a trade package, which will edge a trade closer before Kobe can exercise his veto.

But as of Thursday afternoon, John Paxson loudly said the trade talks are dead (for now).

There is virtually zero chance that Deng will be traded to the Lakers, and this is likely why Paxson made such a public decree. Not only to show the Lakers that he is willing to walk away from acquiring Bryant but, more importantly, to show the player he (and the entire organization) thinks so highly of that he will be in Chicago indefinitely.

The only logic of including Deng in a trade package (which Kobe would likely veto anyway) would be to let the Lakers realize that it is an impossible scenario, and in order for them to rebuild, they will need multiple talented players instead of one very goo, but ultimately a lunch pale small forward with zero star power.

It was curious, however, that the Bulls were not more aggressive in signing Deng to an extension. The decision not to extend Ben Gordon was expected, but it was somewhat surprising for them not to extend Deng. Signing Deng or Gordon would have made it extremely difficult for a trade to occur involving either player due to that newfound poison pill status. And assuming a trade does not occur, leaving one guy without a contract (Gordon), while extending the other (Deng), could have generated considerable locker room friction.

The discount Deng would have given the Bulls on October 31st will surely not be seen again in July, but nothing else beyond that was lost.

Meanwhile the Lakers, while not really gaining anything by rushing into a deal, would actually do well to deal Bryant for the Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah package.

Since the Lakers are sealing their own fate by not dealing Andrew Bynum (first for Jason Kidd and Jermaine O'Neal in June and apparently now again), they may as well enter into a full rebuild mode immediately. I'm not as convinced Bynum will be a top-three NBA center, but the Lakers better be.

In this era of the NBA, a full rebuild mode only lasts as long as you get lucky in the lottery and cease attempting to prop the franchise up as a fringe playoff contender.

This isn't 1996 anymore, and they won't all of a sudden find "the new" Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant on Jerry West's doorstep in a single summer.

Maybe they could have had their Kobe and eaten Bynum too if they hadn’t made post-Shaq blunders such as signing Vlade Divac and Aaron McKie, trading for Chucky Atkins and by only getting Kwame Brown back for Caron Butler.

But unless there is a sea change and they finally do trade Bynum, they should do the above Bulls’ package before Thomas develops too quickly and Paxson changes his mind while Bryant's value decreases as the situation becomes more toxic.

Team for remainder of 2007-2008

PG: Derek Fisher/Jordan Farmar
SG: Ben Gordon/Javaris Crittenton
SF: Lamar Odom/Luke Walton
PF: Tyrus Thomas/Joakim Noah
C: Andrew Bynum/Kwame Brown/Ronny Turiaf

Their two-year run of making the playoffs is over, as these Lakers are not a team that will win more than 30 games this season, but it does give them a shot at a top-three pick in the 2008 lottery.

Their top choice at this point would likely be the multi-dimensional O.J. Mayo, who would come in with great fanfare after his one season down the road at USC. He fashions himself as the next Magic Johnson (even wears 32) and could now potentially play in L.A.

Derrick Rose is another big point guard who has the makings of a perennial All-Star and like Mayo, would be about as good of a backcourt complement for Gordon (an undersized shooting guard) as there exists.

But Michael Beasley is the pick who gives the Lakers’ new era the most upside, especially if Crittenton shows flashes of high potential. He would give them a big who can become a superstar scorer from anywhere on the floor.

Team in 2008-2009 and beyond

PG: Javaris Crittenton/Jordan Farmar
SG: Ben Gordon/Sasha Vujacic
SF: Michael Beasley/Luke Walton
PF: Tyrus Thomas/Joakim Noah
C: Andrew Bynum/Ronny Turiaf

*They can either let Odom's contract simply come off the books after the 08-09 season or possibly move him to a desperate team looking to make a playoff run for a package of young talent.

This team, or even one that is smaller and substitutes Mayo or Gordon into the backcourt, would immediately be on an ascent plan as optimistic as the ones in Portland and Seattle.

Lottery luck isn’t a foolproof strategy, which could leave them instead with a Nicolas Batum or Chase Budinger, though an Eric Gordon (Gordon & Gordon) is a decent alternative.