Trade Kobe?????

Let me just say that I've really never had a huge problem with Ric Bucher.  That changed yesterday when he proposed that the Lakers consider trading Kobe Bryant.  Yeah, you read that right, Bucher suggested that the lakers consider trading KOBE BRYANT!!!  This had to be one of the most bone headed ideas that I have ever heard.  His logic was basically that the team isn't gonna win as they are constructed now, and that Kobe's value is only going to decline from here on out.  He went on to say that the lakers should trade him now for young pieces rather than lose him in a few years to retirement with nothing in return for him.  If you're an unintelligent person, or maybe if you are just a laker/kobe hater than I can see why you would like to see this happen.  If you know anything at all about sports, then you know why this is just an idiotic suggestion.

The mistake that Bucher is making is that he is looking at the situation in the way that the Cleveland Cavaliers should have approached the Lebron situation.  The thing is, the Los Angeles Lakers are NOT the Cleveland Cavaliers!!!  The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most, if not THE MOST storied franchise in the NBA.   They've won 17 championships spread out fairly evenly throughout the entire history of the NBA (unlike the Celtics that won most of there games when there was like 10 teams in the league).  Not to mention they play in sunny California, where Lakers games are as much a Hollywood spectacle as they are basketball games.  What I'm getting to is that no matter who is on the team, they will have no problem attracting big name players to come there.  They have the history, the money, the weather, and provide the opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages in sports.  When Kobe leaves, that will be 25 million extra dollars they have to play with, and they will no doubt find stars that want to play there.

I just can't believe that Bucher would be so stupid to act like this would not be the case?  Who did they have when Shaq left Orlando to play there? Nick Van Exel? Eddie Jones?  They had the money and everything else that a big star could want.   Kobe Bryant continues to play at a high level and it would be a shame to ever see him in another uniform.  He's said himself that he never wants to play for another team, how about rewarding his loyalty by surrounding him with some pieces to fit around him.    The way I've read him lately, is that he feels like they can win pretty much with what they have.  Whether he's right or wrong remains to be seen, but I think he's patient enough to know that the moves they may need to make may not happen before the trade deadline.  The Lakers have shown him that they are willing to deal to improve the team, shit, they had Chris Paul but the commissioner threw a wrench in it.  Their involvement in Howard talks are obvious as well, Kobe can see that they are trying and I think he's ok with the effort they have put forth.  He's not gonna demand a trade anytime soon, no need to push the panic button and trade one of the greatest players of all-time, especially with him playing at such a high level.  I just wanna say SHUT UP BUCHER!!!! I  think he's just trying to make a splash so he can get some more twitter followers, or maybe he has a book coming out soon, I don't know!!!!!  Trading Kobe would be a Huuuuuuuuuuge mistake, and one that the rest of the league should hope that the lakers make.

My reasons for being a Kobe Bryant fan

I feel like it might be a good idea to take a look back at how and why I became a fan of Kobe Bryant.  I really began paying attention to the NBA in the 90s. Living in Minnesota, we didn't have a team until 1989 and it was many years before Kevin Garnett showed up and made them relevant.  I admit that I did what the rest of the country did, and hopped on the Bulls bandwagon.  I was born in 1984 so I'm saying I was a child when I started liking MJ and the Bulls, I didn't even know what the term bandwagon meant.  Watching Jordan play was a blast and I was at the time as much of a Jordan fan as I am a Kobe fan today.  But I knew that Jordan's career was coming to a close and I wanted to find the next Jordan as many others did.  I knew of Kobe, but I started really paying attention when he won the dunk contest in his rookie year. He had many similarities to MJ and overall he was just an exciting young player.  I can in fact remember telling a friend that I was looking forward to Jordan's retirement so that I could see Kobe and Shaq win some rings.  I've always view Kobe a little bit differently than I view a lot of NBA stars.  He's well spoken,  he speaks Italian, and actually did well enough on his SAT to actually get into college (unlike KG).  So many NBA frustrate the hell out of me because they can barely even speak ENGLISH as their first language.  I've always just thought he was more intelligent and well rounded person than most of the stars in the league.  Now, on to the more present day.  It's no secret that Kobe's drive is second to none.  He is on a mission to be the greatest nba player of all time.  Whether he's already there, or he's on his way, or if he has no shot whatsoever, none of those statements will effect the effort that he will continue to put in on his quest.  He famously only takes a couple weeks off after the season before he starts his training again which usually has him up working before 5 o'clock in the morning.  In contrast you have guys like Shaq that make shitty movies, video games, rap albums, and visit Disney World during there down time.  Love him or Hate him, Kobe works hard!  I don't see how people can hate the fact that someone wants to be the best at what they do?  Kobe has 5 rings, been to the finals 7 times, but I have no doubt in my mind that he wants to win more championships more than any other player in the league.  There's been times when Kobe's tried to take the game into his hands and failed, I'll admit that, but you're never gonna see him shy away from the moment like Lebron did against Dallas.  Kobe won't go down without a fight period!  That pretty much sums it up for now, I'm sure I'll probably come back to this later and add more.

What's Beef?

 I decided to start off writing about something that has been making me ANGRY for a few years now.  People constantly attack Kobe for running Shaq out of Los Angeles, because he wanted to be the man.  First of all, I think it’s bullshit, second of all even if it was true, I could perfectly understand why he might want to. When Shaq came into the league, he was instantly one of my favorite players.  He was breaking backboards left and right and his personality was just as big as his game.  He was fun to watch and clearly he was enjoying life.  He owned Orlando, and then he owned LA.  The thing with Shaq is, he’s a complete freak of nature.  Over 300 pounds, and extremely athletic, like nothing the NBA had ever seen before.  The problem is, the fame was more important to him than the game itself.  With his amazing God-given abilities, he was gonna win championships without having to put his whole heart into it and he did.  He was content to be a great player, but I really think that if he had the work ethic of Kobe, he would have shattered records, and stacked the championship trophies to the ceiling.  Shaq liked to spend his off seasons hanging out at Disney world, and filming shitty movies about genies.  He loves having fun, and he loves the attention that comes with the fame.  I completely understand the way he is, but when you compare him to Kobe it’s obvious why they had issues.