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Back in the day(early 2000's) and vice versa? I'm assuming Fisher sides more with Kobe or else he would not have come back in 2006 or whenever it was but was wondering if the other Lakers fans here have more insight on this? Also Brian Shaw was Shaq's teammate in Orlando and he is also still with the Lakers as an assistant to PJ.

I'd say Horry, Fox, and Shaw would've been more on Shaq's side, and guys like Fish and George would've had Kobe's back.

I'm not sold that Fisher would have agreed with Kobe. Fish is a very logical guy, and even as a rookie/young player, was very mature (much moreso than a young Kobe), and while he is good friends with Bryant, I think he sided with Shaq, while still respecting Kobe as a player and person.

I think the overall turmoil got so ugly between Kobe and Shaq that none of the players wanted to be apart of it.

Everyone went their separate ways.

For all the fans who automatically took Shaq's side and was 100% against Kobe probably sees now who was the real problem.

Penny couldn't work it.
Kobe couldn't work it out.
Dwyane couldn't work it out.
Steve and Amare couldn't work it out.
Lebron couldn't work it out.

Seems to me someone can't stand it if the spotlight isn't mainly on him.........

Kali. Have to disagree with you man. How did it "not work out" with Wade? They won a Championship. Shaq got traded to PHX from MIA. He didn't just walk out (like he did in Orlando). How did it "not work out" with Steve and Amare? Shaq had a better season than anyone expected, and I don't know if there is anyone in the league who can't "make it work" with Nash. He was then traded to Cleveland, again, not as a free agent, but through a trade. Not sure how it "did not work out" with Lebron. Shaq said he was there to "win a ring for the King." Clearly, he was fine with LBJ taking the spotlight. Likely, he knew he would get adequate attention from the media. He walked away from Cleveland because he knew where they were going.

Kobe is astounding. But he was brash, arrogant and cocky when he played with Shaq. VERY immature. He wanted HIS. He wanted to prove himself. We all know this. He shooed away Karl Malone when Mailman set a pick in an ASG. He took shots that he shouldn't have. He forced the offense through himself when Shaq had clear advantages. While I am hardly saying Shaq is a saint, Kobe paved his own rough road.

Jase wrote:Kali. Have to disagree with you man. How did it "not work out" with Wade? They won a Championship. Shaq got traded to PHX from MIA. He didn't just walk out (like he did in Orlando). How did it "not work out" with Steve and Amare? Shaq had a better season than anyone expected, and I don't know if there is anyone in the league who can't "make it work" with Nash. He was then traded to Cleveland, again, not as a free agent, but through a trade. Not sure how it "did not work out" with Lebron. Shaq said he was there to "win a ring for the King." Clearly, he was fine with LBJ taking the spotlight. Likely, he knew he would get adequate attention from the media. He walked away from Cleveland because he knew where they were going.

Kobe is astounding. But he was brash, arrogant and cocky when he played with Shaq. VERY immature. He wanted HIS. He wanted to prove himself. We all know this. He shooed away Karl Malone when Mailman set a pick in an ASG. He took shots that he shouldn't have. He forced the offense through himself when Shaq had clear advantages. While I am hardly saying Shaq is a saint, Kobe paved his own rough road.

Does "Wonderboy" mean anything to you?

Jase wrote:Kali. Have to disagree with you man. How did it "not work out" with Wade? They won a Championship. Shaq got traded to PHX from MIA. He didn't just walk out (like he did in Orlando). How did it "not work out" with Steve and Amare? Shaq had a better season than anyone expected, and I don't know if there is anyone in the league who can't "make it work" with Nash. He was then traded to Cleveland, again, not as a free agent, but through a trade. Not sure how it "did not work out" with Lebron. Shaq said he was there to "win a ring for the King." Clearly, he was fine with LBJ taking the spotlight. Likely, he knew he would get adequate attention from the media. He walked away from Cleveland because he knew where they were going.

Kobe is astounding. But he was brash, arrogant and cocky when he played with Shaq. VERY immature. He wanted HIS. He wanted to prove himself. We all know this. He shooed away Karl Malone when Mailman set a pick in an ASG. He took shots that he shouldn't have. He forced the offense through himself when Shaq had clear advantages. While I am hardly saying Shaq is a saint, Kobe paved his own rough road.

There's no doubt that Kobe has a superstar ego which is out of this world himself.
As for Shaq though it's clear with his ABC primetime spot and all his rants following via twitter or ESPN after Kobe's past two championships that he holds onto grudges.

As for Shaq in Miami yes he won a chip with Wade but the following season when they got swept by the Bulls , he demanded a trade out of Miami.
He forced Miami's F.O to get him out of there.
Shaq won three Chips with Kobe as well as he forced the trade out of L.A.
Reoccurring theme?

In Phoenix the Suns didn't even make the playoffs.
Amare was really complacent with Shaq in the lineup and Steve .... Well Steve adjusted fine.
Nashy is just one of those special players who can co-exist with anyone.

In Cleveland yes he did say get a ring for the king where he didn't mind stepping down from the spotlight . He had no choice at this time.
It didn''t work out as they got manhandled by Boston.
Is it a secret that Shaq's presence in he key demands alot of attention?
So much attention sometimes where it throws his teammates off?
Boston nowadays don't seem to have that problem as much as they have no choice with Perk and Jermaine out with knee injuries .But for how long will it hold up? Who knows.

Look I give props for everything Shaq has done for the Lakers organization and am truly grateful for his services not just in a Laker uni, but for what he did for the game of basktball.

It's no secret he ruined alot of his relationships with his previous teams.
Kobe was just at fault for the ugly divorce with Shaq and the Lakers.
Kobe also never got his 100 million dollar contract at the time while Shaq was seeking his second 100 million + contract from the Lakers.
Kobe also never yelled at Dr. Jerry Buss while he was sitting on the sideline during a Pre Season game " PAY ME MY MONEY!!!!" .

Your going to threatened the Greatest Owner in TEAM SPORTS to pay you more money after you already collected over 200 Million dollars from him?

To me that's a F#@%ING NO NO.

P.S
When Kobe shoved Karl Marlone away while he was trying to set a pick during the All-Star game I was really glad.
At that time I didn't give a S#@% about the Mailman.
I hated him and the Jazz alot.
Going back to when Magic Johnson wanted to comeback out of retirement and Karl was openly complaining about not wanting to play on he court at the same time as Magic in fear of being exposed to his HIV virus.
Kobe is a huge Magic Johnson fan and maybe was told by Magic prior to the game to give Karl no love. LMAO.

Kalidogg24 wrote:

Jase wrote:Kali. Have to disagree with you man. How did it "not work out" with Wade? They won a Championship. Shaq got traded to PHX from MIA. He didn't just walk out (like he did in Orlando). How did it "not work out" with Steve and Amare? Shaq had a better season than anyone expected, and I don't know if there is anyone in the league who can't "make it work" with Nash. He was then traded to Cleveland, again, not as a free agent, but through a trade. Not sure how it "did not work out" with Lebron. Shaq said he was there to "win a ring for the King." Clearly, he was fine with LBJ taking the spotlight. Likely, he knew he would get adequate attention from the media. He walked away from Cleveland because he knew where they were going.

Kobe is astounding. But he was brash, arrogant and cocky when he played with Shaq. VERY immature. He wanted HIS. He wanted to prove himself. We all know this. He shooed away Karl Malone when Mailman set a pick in an ASG. He took shots that he shouldn't have. He forced the offense through himself when Shaq had clear advantages. While I am hardly saying Shaq is a saint, Kobe paved his own rough road.

Kobe also never yelled at Dr. Jerry Buss while he was sitting on the sideline during a Pre Season game " PAY ME MY MONEY!!!!" .

[/b]

That is just unbelievable..How could any regular working joe who watches the NBA respect someone like that?

Jase wrote:Kali. Have to disagree with you man. How did it "not work out" with Wade? They won a Championship. Shaq got traded to PHX from MIA. He didn't just walk out (like he did in Orlando). How did it "not work out" with Steve and Amare? Shaq had a better season than anyone expected, and I don't know if there is anyone in the league who can't "make it work" with Nash. He was then traded to Cleveland, again, not as a free agent, but through a trade. Not sure how it "did not work out" with Lebron. Shaq said he was there to "win a ring for the King." Clearly, he was fine with LBJ taking the spotlight. Likely, he knew he would get adequate attention from the media. He walked away from Cleveland because he knew where they were going.

Kobe is astounding. But he was brash, arrogant and cocky when he played with Shaq. VERY immature. He wanted HIS. He wanted to prove himself. We all know this. He shooed away Karl Malone when Mailman set a pick in an ASG. He took shots that he shouldn't have. He forced the offense through himself when Shaq had clear advantages. While I am hardly saying Shaq is a saint, Kobe paved his own rough road.

with wade it didnt work out, shaq didn't come out and openly bash him the way he did with kobe and penny, but it is pretty clear that he was against the organization - mainly riley and wade.
with lebron, he really couldn't say anything, but it didn't stop him from going after people who clearly were better options within the offense - see mo williams
with the suns, it changed the whole dynamic of that team and took away from nash's best attributes - also if you remember, he stole the idea of shaq vs. from nash himself
now with boston, there is no wiggle room, he is clearly the 5th option for the team, but he is playing with all vets, and has people who can deal with him ego, also they lack a mega star who dominates the ball like penny, kobe, wade and lebron do, so there is more balance among the team, so really i dont see any complaining coming from this situation.

back to the siding with kobe or shaq during the early 2000's, its hard to see anyone siding with kobe because of how young and introverted he was, compared to shaq who was the life of the locker room, and one of the most dominant players in the league.

To answer the original question...
I think the only guy on that team who really had Kobe's back wasn't a player but had been for most of the time the two played together... Brian Shaw...
The rest were either with Shaq, or thought they both were goofy, like Fish and Fox...

D.George is too much of a goof to have anyone's back and I can't really see him standing up for anybody but I think he would have been leaning toward Shaq too...

Ron Harper had been gone a couple seasons but he seemed to be on Kobe's side most of the time from what I remember.

It's funny though, that seems so long ago, it's really hard to keep it straight... Or care...

When Shaq ran down the court in pre-Season yelling at Buss to pay him... I was officially done with the 'Shaq Era'... I was a big fan before that, but Lakers first... And I honestly turned the page right then.

I also turned the page on Kobe when he demanded a trade and it's taken some time to get back to a level of respect for him as a Lakers fan.

Kilroy wrote:To answer the original question...
I think the only guy on that team who really had Kobe's back wasn't a player but had been for most of the time the two played together... Brian Shaw...
The rest were either with Shaq, or thought they both were goofy, like Fish and Fox...

D.George is too much of a goof to have anyone's back and I can't really see him standing up for anybody but I think he would have been leaning toward Shaq too...

Ron Harper had been gone a couple seasons but he seemed to be on Kobe's side most of the time from what I remember.

It's funny though, that seems so long ago, it's really hard to keep it straight... Or care...

When Shaq ran down the court in pre-Season yelling at Buss to pay him... I was officially done with the 'Shaq Era'... I was a big fan before that, but Lakers first... And I honestly turned the page right then.

I also turned the page on Kobe when he demanded a trade and it's taken some time to get back to a level of respect for him as a Lakers fan.

Can you blame him?

Shaq demanded a trade out of Miami? You sure about that? I don't recall that being the situation, but I could be wrong. Link?

And Bryant shooing away Malone in the ASG has nothing to do with the Jazz or Malone itself. It was Kobe symbolizing that his individual play/performance outweighed the team game for him at that moment, which pissed off Malone, and as much as I loathe the Mailman, I can't blame him.

Jase, you need to pick up a book, or one of the several articles existing that detail what a pr*** Shaq was to a young Kobe. Anything ensuing thereafter was fruit of the poisonous tree/foundation that Shaq laid early on.

As to the OP, it's pretty well documented that the majority of the locker-room sided with O'Neal. If I were to guess who might have had Kobe's back, it would begin with Fox, Shaw, and possibly Fish, and end there. Phil/the coaching staff babying Shaq and cowing to pretty much his every request/demand didn't help Kobe's case either.

It's part of why it was so easy to paint Kobe as a villain for so long. Ignorant/uninformed fans of other teams would point to the Lakers situation and say "hey look, nobody likes Kobe, nobody wants to play with Kobe" without having any grasp on what actually transpired.

And Shaq's squabbles/falling out with Wade & Penny are well documented. Lebron & Shaq apparently had rifts, but both actually (apparently) did a decent job of keeping it under the radar. I'm not sure Nash ever had personal problems with Shaq, merely a problem incorporating him into a winning scheme. But even if that's the case, his re-peat history with Kobe, Wade, Penny, and Lebron (when he was well past his prime) should more than speak for itself.

There were a few articles about Shaq asking Riley to buy him out after the Heat was pretty much expected to finish at the bottom in 08. He still had 40 mil left on the contract so the idea of a buyout is downright laughable. Think about this, Riley is a man who always designs his offense around traditional bigs, why would he trade Shaq, who doesn't affect 2010 capspace for Marion and Banks, whose contract goes to 2011? If Shaq hadn't made demands he would have stayed, Riley had no reason to trade him for a 6'7 SF who scores on garbage baskets. Wade and Shaq also ignores each other every time they played against each other. Nothing has been said to the public about their relationship after Shaq's departure, but the most likely possibility is that they don't like each other very much after the split.

Nash had an idea about doing a show where he competes with other athletics, and Shaq took the idea as his own. There was a lawsuit over it, and Shaq was forced to credit Nash as one of the 'producers' before his show launched. If you manage to piss off Nash you must be doing a heck of a job.

I haven't seen anyone talk about bad blood between Shaq and Lebron, but he was traded to the Cavs because he was making demands to the front office again. You really think Shaq just happened to get traded to his most desired destinations?

When Shaq left LA I thought Kobe was the reason things didn't work out, but seeing as how he has left two other teams while burning the bridge in the process you have to say Shaq needs to be held accountable. Just because it isn't on the ESPN frontpage doesn't mean the events didn't happen, and Shaq will still play the Mr Nice and Funny guy personality to the public until the media has revealed enough dirt about him he could crawl up and die.

Honestly, if I was a Laker during the period I would've taken Shaq's side too. And it had nothing to do with right or wrong, its just that Shaq was treasured much more than Kobe during the time. If Shaq didn't like you on the team, he goes to the FO and you're likely gone at that point. Not so much Kobe.

As for the right/wrong part, I think both are equally at fault. Shaq was lazy and a egotistical prick, and Kobe was immature and selfish.

Back in the day...10 years age is not back in the day. Maybe 1980 is back in the day. I think Fish had Kobe. Guards seem to stick together as bigs do.

if i was on that team and not just a fan, it would be REALLY hard for me to overlook kobe bringing up shaq's womanizing to the authorities.

Jase wrote:I'm not sold that Fisher would have agreed with Kobe. Fish is a very logical guy, and even as a rookie/young player, was very mature (much moreso than a young Kobe), and while he is good friends with Bryant, I think he sided with Shaq, while still respecting Kobe as a player and person.

from logic point fish has to be with kobe s side alone.
lets take a look;

Just prior to the start of the 2003–04 season, Bryant privately warned Jackson, "If (O'Neal) starts saying (unreasonable) things in the press, I'll fire back ... I've had it."

beginning,that screams as shaq was already feuding with kobe behind closed doors

With Bryant absent from camp due to his legal situation and his recovery from knee surgery, O'Neal said "the full team is here." Later, after sitting out an exhibition game to rest a sore left heel, O'Neal said, "I want to be right [in the regular season] for Derek [Fisher], Karl and Gary." Bryant was again ignored by O'Neal.

first comments&return of the star wars,look who is starting it.

When Bryant joined the Lakers in camp, O'Neal told reporters Bryant should look to be more of a passer than a scorer until Bryant's knee was fully healed. Bryant said that he knew how to play the guard position, and O'Neal could worry about the low post.
O'Neal agreed that Bryant could handle playing guard, but Bryant needed advice on how to play team ball. O'Neal added that he would voice his opinions as he saw fit because the Lakers were O'Neal's team. He said that if Bryant, who would be a free agent at the season's end, didn't like what O'Neal had to say, Bryant should just opt out since O'Neal said "I ain't going nowhere."

and this is just gold.
after that last comment kobe striked back.
looks like you really dont know how that feud started coz from logical standpoint everyteammate on the team has to be on kobe s side.
and this all started coz kobe dominated year before and shaq saw his alpha male days are nearly over,he attacked and he attacked hard.

And Bryant shooing away Malone in the ASG has nothing to do with the Jazz or Malone itself. It was Kobe symbolizing that his individual play/performance outweighed the team game for him at that moment, which pissed off Malone, and as much as I loathe the Mailman, I can't blame him.

you know shaq literally slapped kobe in the face right?

then again you saying 'individual play/performance' reminds me shaq in 01,saying he wants to be traded coz kobe scored 38 and he only scored 10ish while we gettin W.

about topic im sure about fish,fish was the guy who congratulate kobe after his every point in games.
and he was there when we played phx in playoffs in 06-he was asked does he cheers for lakers he said 'no im cheering for kobe'.
and also i saw couple of articles about how he says 'fish was the guy who helped me during 04 season'
they were always good friends and they always protected each other.

dont know about rest of the guys.

Didn't Shaq say that their real beef wasn't as big as it was made out to be?

And that Phil hyped it up a bit for his own motivational agenda?

Is there any credence to that?