Your thoughts on Kobe Bryant

Rafer24 · Post #121 » by **Rafer24** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 9:56 am

Bryant has to finish his career in L.A.

No way the greatest laker of all time (along with Earvin) finish his career somewhere.

john248 · Post #122 » by **john248** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:39 pm

Reading like an obituary and some are far too sensitive. :lol:

Rosque · Post #123 » by **Rosque** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:07 pm

he joked about it. ease of

Post #124 » by **Kilroy** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:27 pm

Kobe always does what's best for Kobe first. Good or bad, if there was a deal out there, significantly better than what LA was offering, I'm sure he'd jump at it.
I expect him to 'retire' in LA, and then do what he's always said he'd do, sign in Europe somewhere and make money on endorsements.

At this point in time, it's pretty hard to reconcile being both a Kobe fan and a Laker fan. Unless of course he accepts a Ginobili like pay cut. I never complained about his contract. I thought it was too high but I understood it at the time... And if Kobe could stay healthy for a complete season, I know he'd command at least half what he's making now, but I think it's safe to assume at this point that he's not going to stay healthy for a complete season. So IMO he's worth about what Ginobili is making. And I think the FO has to be really hard nosed about those negotiations... No more sympathy money... Especially since it's clear playing with Kobe isn't a draw for any potential FA's.

So as much as it would be great to have Kobe retire a Laker, I think we owe it to ourselves as Laker fans, to make that a really tough decision for him. In essence, offer him a salary that forces him to decide how much KOBE BRYANT wants to retire a Laker.

john248 · Post #125 » by **john248** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:04 am

Well count me as one who doesn't really care if he retires a Laker. I'm not as sentimental as most here. I'm just happy that Kobe played great until 2013. I wouldn't have mind if management decided to rebuild following his injury (in hindsight). I did, at the time, think his contract extension was too high likely due to the Time Warner execs influencing the front office to sign him during a rebuilding period.

It really wouldn't bother me if he played in Europe after his NBA career is over or if he signed with another team. I'm a fan of the team 1st and the player 2nd. Kobe has been my favorite player as I have the number 248 in my user name. But the guy spent his prime and peak here where he was a major part of 5 championships in 7 trips. That's enough built equity for me to not care what he does from here on out whether playing in Europe or another NBA team.

Lakers415 · Post #126 » by **Lakers415** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:16 pm

rand0m wrote:
Lakers415 wrote:We would be worse team in the west and second worse in the league when Kobe retires...

You have that little faith in our youth and next free agency?

Next season is Durant

The season after is Westbrook

Both won't leave, so it essentially leaves us with one person if they come. However, if Kobe leaves, Durant won't come since KD is a huge supporter in Kobe......

Youth wise, the only player I can see a Laker in 3 years in D Lo

Rosque · Post #127 » by **Rosque** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:31 pm

^where is randle lol if russell is the only young laker from current roster. i'd want to see upshaq succeed as well as nance and browns.

RingsDontLie · Post #128 » by **RingsDontLie** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 6:43 am

I'd like to see kobe come back to the lakers if he can show that he can stay healthy. I think he will need to drop the whole Alpha dog routine. Can he do that? I think he can. But can Kobe fans deal with kobe playing 2nd fiddle to Kevin Durant or whomever the Lakers sign next? Not sure. But it would be nice to see Kobe go after Kareem's scoring title and possibly get a 6th ring.

rand0m · Post #129 » by **rand0m** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 8:04 am

Lakers415 wrote:
rand0m wrote:
Lakers415 wrote:We would be worse team in the west and second worse in the league when Kobe retires...

You have that little faith in our youth and next free agency?

Next season is Durant

The season after is Westbrook

Both won't leave, so it essentially leaves us with one person if they come. However, if Kobe leaves, Durant won't come since KD is a huge supporter in Kobe......

Youth wise, the only player I can see a Laker in 3 years in D Lo

Those won't be the only guys available to help us compete. We may be spoiled with championships but I'd just like us to be consistently competitive again. That combined with promising youth will attract the right guys to lead us back to the trophy. It's too early to tell if how any of our guys will pan out but I do believe we have at least 2-3 quality nba starters on the roster (outside of the vets of course).

As for Durant, I don't see him leaving at all. But if he were to consider the lakers I really doubt it'd be because a 38 year old Kobe (39 for Westbrook) no matter how much respect he has for him. I love Kobe but right now I'm just hoping he can just stay healthy this season let alone turn back time and turn it around for the franchise.

RingsDontLie wrote:I'd like to see kobe come back to the lakers if he can show that he can stay healthy. I think he will need to drop the whole Alpha dog routine. Can he do that? I think he can. But can Kobe fans deal with kobe playing 2nd fiddle to Kevin Durant or whomever the Lakers sign next? Not sure. But it would be nice to see Kobe go after Kareem's scoring title and possibly get a 6th ring.

I'm pretty sure it'd be tougher for Kobe to deal with playing 2nd fiddle to KD than his fans. Hell, by the time KD can come Kobe may have to be 3rd fiddle if the team were a contender.

Post #130 » by **Goudelock** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:51 pm

I just read the Yahoo! story about Kobe not talking to the Lakers new players (why did I read a Kelly Dwyer article?) and browsed through the comments section. Has there ever been a more disliked all-time great player than Kobe Bryant? He gets blamed for everything: injuries, bad coaching, teammates missing shots, not getting big free agents (this may be valid), etc. You'd think that he was a poor man's JR Smith if you only read comments sections.

Mirjalovic · Post #131 » by **Mirjalovic** » Thu Jul 23, 2015 2:27 pm

PockyCandy wrote:I just read the Yahoo! story about Kobe not talking to the Lakers new players (why did I read a Kelly Dwyer article?) and browsed through the comments section. Has there ever been a more disliked all-time great player than Kobe Bryant? He gets blamed for everything: injuries, bad coaching, teammates missing shots, not getting big free agents (this may be valid), etc. You'd think that he was a poor man's JR Smith if you only read comments sections.

warning for future stars.

never destroy teams so bad and NSFW. Their fans will be salty.

dznutzz · Post #132 » by **dznutzz** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 12:45 am

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWGuXcsaqF0[/youtube]

going to be another fun season

Jedi32 · Post #133 » by **Jedi32** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:34 am

PockyCandy wrote:I just read the Yahoo! story about Kobe not talking to the Lakers new players (why did I read a Kelly Dwyer article?) and browsed through the comments section. Has there ever been a more disliked all-time great player than Kobe Bryant? He gets blamed for everything: injuries, bad coaching, teammates missing shots, not getting big free agents (this may be valid), etc. You'd think that he was a poor man's JR Smith if you only read comments sections.

No 30 year old wanna rebuild it's just that simple. Guaranteed if kobe were younger and healthy we would have a big 3 right now

leeprettyp · Post #134 » by **leeprettyp** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:16 pm

Thanks for the GREATNESS and RINGS Kobe #Top7DeadorAlive

john248 · Post #135 » by **john248** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:02 pm

I guess Kobe will finish his career with some minutes at PF. lol

LakersDynasty14 · Post #136 » by **LakersDynasty14** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 5:14 pm

My thoughts on Kobe Bryant, my thoughts you ask?

Kobe Bryant is unequivocally the greatest player ever to play the sport of basketball. Never in the history of the game has there been a player who possessed the level of skill combined with a work ethic, drive, and competitiveness.

Jordan would be the only guy who is close, but Kobe was a far more skilled offensive player, especially as an outside shooter. Defensively they are pretty close, but where Kobe really sets himself apart from everyone else is his competitiveness. Jordan quit on his team twice, and at times played like he didn't really care anymore, especially after he won a few rings. Kobe on the other hand was never content or satisfied unless he was competing for NBA titles year after year.

Most posters on the GB are big time haters when they come to Kobe and the Lakers, but that's usually because they are bitter their teams aren't as successful as the Lakers.

Hank7 · Post #137 » by **Hank7** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:26 pm

My five All Time Laker Fav's

1) Magic
2) Kareem
3) West
4) Chamberlain
5) Shaq

Great players and great teammates. Kobe's a great player.

Post #138 » by **Slava** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:29 pm

Hank7 wrote:My five All Time Laker Fav's

1) Magic
2) Kareem
3) West
4) Chamberlain
5) Shaq

Great players and great teammates. Kobe's a great player.

I thought Lin would be no.1 and lol at Wilt being a great teammate.

Marionettetc · Post #139 » by **Marionettetc** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:50 pm

My thoughts on Kobe, from someone who's watched almost every game of his career:

Would be the best player of all time if he had developed better shot selection and learned earlier to temper his ego.

Has HOF skills from every position, rebounding angle prediction, stealing, hustle, man defense, passing, unlimited range, natural athleticism, court vision. Whether through arrogant complacency or rationing out energy, tends to sag on D and naturally assumes a free safety approach. Coupled with his tendency to gamble on defense to compensate for his declining foot speed and weakening endurance earned him the "lazy defender" tag in his later years - despite being a repeat all NBA defender for the first half of his career.

Is a better RAW shooter and passer than Jordan, but whether through era or his own natural skills, never developed the same offensive efficiency.

As for a list of top whatever, I don't rate players in numerical order. I'd personally rather let history and time determine that.

Bill Pidto · Post #140 » by **Bill Pidto** » Sun Aug 2, 2015 4:53 am

PockyCandy wrote:I just read the Yahoo! story about Kobe not talking to the Lakers new players (why did I read a Kelly Dwyer article?) and browsed through the comments section. Has there ever been a more disliked all-time great player than Kobe Bryant? He gets blamed for everything: injuries, bad coaching, teammates missing shots, not getting big free agents (this may be valid), etc. You'd think that he was a poor man's JR Smith if you only read comments sections.

Dude.. You're on yahoo. Those are just trolls, nothing more. Know-it-alls who are probably too young to remember Kobe at his best. There's a lot of that crap here on RealGM too. Don't even bother with it.

Most people who were old enough to have watched Kobe win all of his 5 titles know that Kobe Bryant is the man. I know most Knicks fans love him, and all Knicks fans respect him. There was even a thread on our board a week or so ago about signing him next year lol.

Lakers fans need not listen to all the "hate". You think a guy like Kobe takes that sh*t seriously? Maybe in his prime, he used it as motivation. But I think now, he understands where it's coming from, and knows he has nothing to prove to those asshats.

I've never seen the Knicks win a title. I'd imagine if you are a Laker fan around my age, and got to witness all of those great runs with Kobe and those dominant teams, you have memories of KB that no one can ever take away, and it's something I'm jealous of. Kobe has had one of the all time great careers and has accomplished things no one can ever take from him either. And you best believe, whenever he retires, no matter when or how he announces it, his career will be celebrated.

I know how it feels to want to protect your favorite team and your favorite players from the harsh critics. As Knicks fans, we've dealt with it on a daily basis for years on end. But I've learned over time to ignore it and continue to enjoy the team, because they aren't going anywhere. We're lucky. The NBA will never move the Lakers or the Knicks to Las Vegas or Seattle lol. The Lakers are yours to watch and love forever. And Kobe's great career and status amongst the NBA's greatest players is forever too. Let the haters hate. They'll be the ones to suffer when Kobe is sent off in epic fashion. Because it will be epic, and he'll deserve every bit of it.