By Craig Kwasniewski
No this ain't no headline grabber... the Los Angeles Lakers front office truly believes that Andrew Bynum is better than Kobe Bryant.
(I'll explain while that statement sinks in.)
Local sportstalk radio here in LA is running amok with Kobe trade talk. With news of Kobe missing practice the past few days, the local screamers are claiming that the Kobe era is essentially over. Normally I'd write this off as attention grabbing radio fodder on a slow sports day, but it's who is saying this that really signifies the impending Kobe trade.
Mychal Thompson, (possibly the worst ever) Laker radio color commentator and incredible homer/company man has dropped his "Kobe's a Laker for life" and "all is well" stance and has accepted a Kobe trade. He's even claiming that a trade to Dallas for Josh Howard, Jason Terry and a bag of doughnuts is a done deal (which is even worse than the Shaq deal back in 2004... basically par for the course in the Mitch Kupchak era).
ANYWAY, for a Laker homer to start writing off the Kobe era... well it signifies the company line. Add in Laker pregame host (and 1/2 of one of my favorite shows PMS on 570 KLAC) Matt Money Smith, who is predicting a trade by this year's All Star break and you have a few Laker employees with a public personas talking about Kobe's impending departure from LA.
Like I've been saying, Kobe is a goner this year...
That bring me back to my original statement: the Los Angeles Lakers front office truly believes that Andrew Bynum is better than Kobe Bryant.
Rather than appease the wishes (and adhere to a promise made in 2004) of Kobe Bryant and improve their talent, the Lakers stood pat this summer believing that they have a roster prime for championship contention. So instead of trading Bynum for Jason Kidd or Jermaine O'Neal (both very real offers in the past 8 months) and instead of trading for Baron Davis or Carlos Boozer (both legit offers for even less than Bynum) the Lakers decided to keep Andrew Bynum and ship off Kobe Bryant.
I repeat: The Lakers chose NOT to trade Bynum for a established NBA All-Star, but they choose to trade away Kobe Bryant. Bynum whose on-court consistency reminds me of Benoit Benjamin over the best clutch player since Michael Jordan in 1998. Andrew Bynum, who has not proven to have the ability and desire to become an All-Star over one of the top 5 players in the NBA since 1997.
The Lakers choose Bynum over Bryant! (I'll keep repeating myself until you realize just how asinine this really is!)
Bynum over Bryant!!!! COME ON!!!!!
i hate to be in bynum's position. shd. kobe departs, the kid will be pressured to perform to appease the laker crowd. otherwise , bynum should change his name to byebyenum !
Posted by: coach | October 17, 2007 at 08:39 AM
... or remain bynonimous forever !
Posted by: coach | October 17, 2007 at 08:42 AM
I still can't believe Lakerfan ever put his hands together for the biggest douchebag ever to grace an NBA floor. And they continue to do it. The rest of us could see what Kobe was all about and we were labelled haters, etc, when our only crime was having the skill of perception.
I could ascribe this behavior to any number of serious mental, emotional and/or character flaws, and interacting with Lakerfan in Los Angeles and at wonderful websites such as Lakersground.net confirms that they all have one or more of them.
I don't want to say Lakerfan DESERVES what has happened to them since Shaq left (having a worse cumulative record than the Clippers, more current Clippers have won a playoff series as Clippers than current Lakers have as Lakers, etc.), because that might be perceived as blaming the victim, but Lakerfan deserves what is happening to their team and them. You make a douchebag your champion, don't be surprised at the results.
Posted by: John R. | October 17, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Very confusing post John...
Take all the personal feelings and negative fanfare away from Kobe and just judge him for what he does on the floor. (See and this is the problem with a guy like Kobe, people no longer have the ability to separate the off-court issues with the player on the floor... this is why Kobe Bryant is the most galvanizing player in basketball, people either love the guy or hate him, much like John R. shows in his comment.)
I don't care if he's an asshole in the lockeroom... Jordan was such a Type A presence in the Bulls lockerroom that few players could thrive... but the key is, players like Jordan and Kobe are levels above their piers (just look at how Team USA viewed Kobe after last summer, every player said that Kobe was the best player with the most drive.)
This is why I like Kobe! The guy's a fierce competitor who simply won't back down to any challenge. For all the KG's, who are great clubhouse guys that shrivel up and disappear during the clutch, you have Type A players like Kobe who have a lot of haters, but still come through in the clutch.
The Lakers are willing to give up on Kobe simply on the promise that Bynum MAY become an All-Star. It's a big may, because usually after three seasons in the NBA, to coin a cliche, "you are what you are." Well after 2 years, Bynum is Benoit Benjamin... and all Clipper fans know exactly what I'm talking about.
Well I don't want to trade a Kobe in order to keep Benoit Benjamin.
Posted by: Craig | October 17, 2007 at 04:30 PM
Hmm... and somehow, the Lakers' front office still comes off as the victim. Check this out: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AnGnk4YbjVReL3gXzoetz_05nYcB?slug=aw-lakers101707&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I've read this blog for almost a year now, and I can't say that I disagree with any of the criticisms towards the LFO, specifically Kupchak.
Posted by: Jay | October 18, 2007 at 01:30 AM
I have been a Lakers fan all my life. I was not happy about the Shaq and Kobe break up and I am sure both of these guys wish that they could have reconciled thier differences for the sake of the game. However life goes on. Let Kobe go so he can assist in winning somewhere else. Like all of us he is flawed but no one can disbute he is a winner!!
Posted by: Carol Stanley | October 18, 2007 at 05:15 AM
My predicition is that this turns into a Clippers blog starting late summer of 2008.
Posted by: The Duke | October 18, 2007 at 09:45 AM
yes. bynum over bryant. pack of cigs over bryant. big mac meal over bryant.
Posted by: zajzajer | October 19, 2007 at 03:15 AM
bynum looks retarded
Posted by: bhonjaze | October 29, 2007 at 10:01 AM
Good defense by the Los Angeles Lakers drama boys, if only we could patch up the difference, this will be a Los Angeles good season. They are running, switching in defense, rebounding see those efforts. We don't have yet the Lakers team down.
I which I could see some Lakers games live. I was looking for tickets all the good seats on ticketmaster were taken I had to check broker. And man you don’t want to do that especially for the Los Angeles Lakers. Thanks god there sites like Ticketwood which work as comparators here is the site
Lakers tickets
http://www.ticketwood.com/nba/LosAngeles-Lakers-Tickets/index.php.
I like slam dunks that take me to the hoop my favorite play is the ally-hoop,
I like the pic n roll,i like the given goal its basketball yo, yo lets go!
Go Lakers Go!!!
Posted by: britney Asbourne | November 05, 2007 at 02:50 AM
Haha This article and its writer are a joke. As are the people who posted about how the lakers are done. Just another byproduct of espn and its 5 min attention span and its rush to judgements. No one is ever realistic anymore. Lakers are know in 1st place with both Kobe, Odom and Bynum plus Pau. Mitch looks like exec of the year and Kobe MVP. Lakers will be 2008 NBA Champs.
Posted by: Sean Mac | March 19, 2008 at 02:03 AM
Bing knows something about sporting success, having been a Hall of Fame guard for the Detroit Pistons from 1966-75. And he is enjoying seeing the restaurants, bars and hotels bustling during the city's hot streak.
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