Wed May 11, 2011 8:29 am
Wed May 11, 2011 10:09 am
Wed May 11, 2011 9:59 pm
Wed May 11, 2011 10:42 pm
Thu May 12, 2011 1:04 am
Thu May 12, 2011 2:22 am
Thu May 12, 2011 4:56 pm
For those people advocating wholesale changes in the wake of the Los Angeles Lakers’ early exit from the playoff this season, Kobe Bryant has a message for you.
Forget about it.
The Lakers’ star made that clear Wednesday morning after his exit interview with Lakers’ brass at their practice facility. Sure, there are going to be changes. Phil Jackson is done coaching this team.......But Bryant is convinced that the nuts and bolts of a team that spent the past four season winning (two), losing (one) and competing for NBA titles needs to return intact if the Lakers plan on chasing another ring next season.
“This is nonsense,” he said. “I remember [the Lakers] had a pretty good era in the ’80s and they didn’t win three [titles] in a row. They didn’t break that team up.”
Bryant said he’ll leave the particulars of where to tweak the roster to Lakers’ general manager Mitch Kupchak......he has no doubts this group can get back to its championship form with a little rest and refocusing between now and the start of next season.
He was clear, though, about what this season looks like to him now. “A wasted year of my life,” he said when asked to describe it.
Like every one of his teammates, he expressed his support for longtime Jackson assistant and former Lakers player Brian Shaw as the Lakers’ next coach. But he stopped short of making a pitch for Shaw and said he will not make a case for Shaw or anyone else until someone asks his opinion.
“What I think about is shutting up the mofos that say I’m done,” he said and smiled. “That’s what I think about.”
.......Lakers center Andrew Bynum wanting an increased role with this team offensively. Bynum said Tuesday that he is looking to come back as more than just a third or fourth option and the Lakers’ defensive anchor, a role he played to near perfection this season while healthy.
But Bryant made it clear that the food chain for the Lakers won’t be changing anytime soon, at least not on his watch.
“Well, it’s tough to do on this team,” he said of moving Bynum up on the list of offensive priorities. “Ultimately, he’ll have to fall in line. Because I’m gonna shoot the ball. We all know that. Pau is going to get his touches. He’s no. 2. And then [Andrew] will have to fall in line.
Thu May 12, 2011 4:59 pm
Thu May 12, 2011 8:06 pm
But Bryant made it clear that the food chain for the Lakers won’t be changing anytime soon, at least not on his watch.
“Well, it’s tough to do on this team,” he said of moving Bynum up on the list of offensive priorities. “Ultimately, he’ll have to fall in line. Because I’m gonna shoot the ball. We all know that. Pau is going to get his touches. He’s no. 2. And then [Andrew] will have to fall in line.
Thu May 12, 2011 8:42 pm
Thu May 12, 2011 8:49 pm
Fri May 13, 2011 12:07 am
Mon May 16, 2011 12:55 am
Wed Jun 15, 2011 5:21 pm
kingjames23 wrote:http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=5rb9kd5
well.... this is how i would do it... if i were a GM. its my opinion. feel free to ream me for it. i have also been up all night, so pardon my poor grammar.
how about giving LA, ORL, (still hoping to contend) and PHX, & DET (who are both rebuilding) something to build around instead of unrealistically gutting other teams in ways nobody would ever go for?
LAKERS (with a HUNGRY young Howard, a DESPERATE old Nash... and an upgrade in the spot up shooter category, i think this would put them right back in the mix at the top of the league. with a great 3 man rotation in the paint With Odom spelling Gasol or Howard at any given time, a rotation of SG/SF's who can spread the floor, chances are that at least one of these guys will be hot from outside on any given night. i dont mind Fish as a backup to Nash either)
Howard/Ratliff
Gasol/Odom/Smith
Reddick/Q-Rich/Barnes
Bryant/Brown
Nash/Fisher
MAGIC ( he is a top 5 center when he is healthy, so maybe Bynum can be like "Dwight lite". they would have Artest's perimeter D and some good shooters still coming off the bench... i would look for Ben Gordon to flourish on a team like this. good depth all around, i think. i think they would be damn near as good as they were last year)
Bynum/Anderson/Orton
Bass/Allen
Artest/Turkoglu
Gordon/Richardson
Nelson/Duhon
SUNS (losing Nash like i think they will anyways, why not get a set of scorers for their loss? Arenas wasn't fitting in in ORL and PHX needs a pointguard when Nash jumps ship)
Lopez/Gortat
Warrick/Frye
Pietrus/Dudley
Hamilton/Childress
Arenas/Blake
PISTONS (this is a team rebuilding, so give them a star in VC and let him re-team with T-Mac, Hamilton was basically benched the 2nd half of last season.. i dont see him staying in DET so thats why i see him headed to PHX with Arenas)
Wallace/Monroe
Maxiell/Wilcox/Villianuava
Prince/Walton
Carter/T-mac
Stuckey/W. Bynum