This is OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!

[LakerLegend]

Stern, the league, and the other owners(both big market and small) utterly massacring the Laker franchise to make an example and prop up their theologies forces me to defend our franchise.

FIRST…..so much has been made of the league wanting the big the franchises to be successful and helping them to do so. BOTTOMLINE……this is an example of them artificially propping up the OTHER franchises/allowing the power of jealous owners like CUBAN/DOLAN to influence the competitive nature of league regarding trades. In the process they royally EFFED over the Laker franchise, and possibly two others. Without the deal going completely through it left a toxic environment and now LA has been forced to trade Odom for pennies on the dollar and perhaps more will follow

There were not two but THREE teams involved in this transaction. There was fair TALENT and assets being shifted to all 3 teams. Paul signed onto that franchise when they had an OWNER, not when the league was running it on a shoestring budget This was NOT the Lakers bullying the Hornets into doing ANYTHING.

Which reminds me…as a franchise the Lakers have ALWAYS done it the RIGHT way.

We DRAFTED West, Baylor, Magic, Worthy, Kobe(essentially, and traded a top 12ish center for a 17 year old rookie in the NINETIES), Bynum, Fisher etc mind you.

We DRAFTED guys like Van Exel, Jones, Campbell which allowed us to later make moves for guys like Glen Rice and Horace Grant

Oh, that reminds me we DRAFTED MARC GASOL. Who along with draft picks and cap space was what we traded in that infamously “shifty” Pau Gasol. For all intents and purposes, that is a HAUL for a team about to lose its franchise player asking out., and even if it wasn’t COMPLETELY fair, what are the Lakers not allowed to pull a shrewd move?

We TRADED Shaq for Odom, Butler(Who helped turn into Pau).

Yes, we traded for Wilt and Kareem, but Wilt was at the end of his career and Kareem could just as easily have gone to NY(where he grew up and was one of his demanded teams) but Laker management offered the BETTER deal.

Yes we signed Shaq in free agency…..by being shrewd and clearing as much cap room as possible by trading guys like Peeler and Lynch. We were supposed to turn him down?

What, because the Lakers have consistently hired the right people and had good management, scouts, and ownership unlike say, New York, Chicago(Most of their history) Boston(for the last 20 years, except ahem when they made their big 3 which started this whole trend by getting Garnett from a team who‘s GM was a FORMER CELTIC who the Lakers were also trying to get), Golden State(Which plays in the massive Bay Area Market), Clippers, Miami(No one dare say the Lakers ever did something like collude to acquire 3 franchise stars in one offseason like that) or New Jersey(which has always played in the New York City Market), Dallas, Houston(4th biggest US market, we have been fortunate to avoid injuries to key stars unlike them, for which they have my sympathy) ……..
………WE SHOULD BE PUNISHED? The Lakers don’t even have a MULTIBILLIONARE OWNER, unlike say Portland, Orlando, or any number of other franchises.

What..because the LAKERS when Kobe asked for a trade were able to HOLD ON and win championships by building a better team we should be PUNISHED, because other teams with franchise players werent able to do so?

Kobe asked for a trade 2 YEARS after the Lakers lost Shaq. Cleveland, Orlando, Philly, New Orleans, Denver, whoever else etc had…HOW MANY YEARS to build title teams around their stars?

The Lakers could just as easily have been like NY or Chicago have been for the majority of their histories, but smart management and a commitment to winning TITLES(unlike NY who was always looking for quick fixes) were able to avoid it. Oh, if only we had hometown players like Marbury and Carmelo demanding trades to us as well?

We ARE NOT the Yankees who just rely on outspending everyone and taking their stars with money or the Cowboys who have relied on marketing for the last 15 years to prop up some artificial greatness

This is WRONG and will forever taint the league for allowing the owners to dictate player movement WITHIN THE RULES.

[aurareturn1]

Tell them.

[Jetset]

Stop crying.

[DarkXaero]

Do you even know the story of how Lakers got Kobe? So much for doing things the right way.

[blackstar]

damn, u mad

[bballcool34]

tl;dr

Although, may I guess that the gist of it was more whining from Laker nation?

[boobie-for-3]

I didnt read this but dude... just calm down. Nobody is trying to screw your beloved Lakers.

[SUN]

Go Suns!

[ninjabelly]

tldr

[JunkYardSubs]

This is sad

[RamonSessions7]

You're gonna get exactly the response you want on this board, Congrats.

[eagles nut]

I think everyone's pretty tapped out at this point on arguing over this trade and issues like this. I know I am.

[thamadkant]

You want some cheese with that whine?

[reapaman]

[advanced]

Just because you make a trade offer to someone it doesn't make them obligated to accept it. Stop being so entitled. The Lakers have never been and will never be shafted by the league. Grow up

[jzmagik]

/smallviolin

[AmareNY]

Maybe the Lakers should have offered more, Odom just went for a late first round pick & trade excemption. Gasol is a old 31 and does have as much trade value as some Lakers fans believe. I do not blame the 29 other owners of the Hornets, I would turned down the deal also.

[-Kees-]

I see where you are coming from, but Stern had a valid point to keep Paul until he sells the team.

[Kabookalu]

The last time I checked owners denying trades because they felt like it were within' the rules too.

[Harrison Barnes]

Stop crying.

lol...op..