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Hey sorry if this has already been discussed on the GB but I was wondering what everyone thought about Kobe's tweeting in Game 1... Do you think it could be a distraction?

I for one do NOT have a problem with it. I mean Kobe isn't ranting a bunch of non-sense. His tweets have been dead on the money! And, as a fan I can certainly appreciate his passion for the game and his team.

I don't have a problem with it at all either as I think it's nice to see what his mind thinks during a game.

Of all the things he could be tweeting, people have a problem with him critiquing the games... I enjoyed it.
It was nice to discover he has a lot of the same thoughts we do.

I understand it could be awkward for the Lakers, MDA, and maybe the NBA, but I personally think that kind of awkward is a good thing. And Kobe knows what lines he can't cross, so if he does and gets dinged for that, so be it.

That said, I can also sort of see the point MDA presumably was trying to make in that, if he's doing that, he's distancing himself from the team and acting more like a Fan than a team mate.

So Kobe has to decide how best to remain true to his roles as both Lakers Franchise player as well as Sports Icon... I didn't think it was that big a deal, but I understand why he's not doing it anymore.

Yeah I think Kobe is more than just "a fan" at this point... I mean he has been the Laker's franchise player for many many years. And at this point he still has to be immobilized and can't be at the games. It must be killing Kobe to not be on the court or at least in the arena helping his team. IMO people (including D'Antoni) should cut him some slack!

D'Antoni has been disrespectful to several Lakers players this season. Either he doesn't know how to communicate with the media, or I just don't 'get' him.

D'Antoni doesn't need to cut him any slack cause D'antoni didn't say anything bad about kobe.

anyway, i think its best if kobe not do it, and it seems he feels that way too. he already said he's not going to do it again.

Calling him a 'fan' is disrespectful. He's still under contract and he is still a member of the team. He's the reason the Lakers made the playoffs, so Mike Fraudtoni needs to show some class.

i think the "he's a fan" comment has been so totally misconstrued by the media

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYTin0Pta7I[/youtube]

starts at 2:40

to me, all he's referring to is that its fine for kobe to tweet because just like fan, he's is going to get excited and going to want to express himself and feel like part of it. he then goes on to say that he's obviously going to get more attention that just a fan cause its kobe.

he's not calling kobe just a regular joe fan, he's saying kobe is a obviously going to be cheering for the team and wanting them to do good just like a fan.

That youtube didn't help his case to me. Sounds like a prick, as usual.

totally disagree. i think the whole fan thing is being blown out of proportion by media and fans. pretty obvious what he meant.

he's not calling kobe just a regular joe fan, he's saying kobe is going to be cheering for the team and wanting them to do good just like a fan, and like a fan he's going to want to feel like a part of the game and if he wants to tweet its fine.

I guess we're on two different sides then. Personally I don't need media and other fans opinions to form my own. D'Antoni's visual body language told me everything I needed to know to help put some context to his comments. I've been listening to his interviews all season and whenever a question irks him, he'll stutter and come up with a smart ass comment that makes him look like a prick.

Like I said, perhaps I just don't 'get' him. Either way, if all is well then Kobe will continue to tweet during games.

i know what you're referring to and i see it too, i just don't see it with this fan stuff. i didn't see him stutter, i didn't see the smart ass look or tone. he was being straight forward with that.

He should not.. I can't imagine Lebron, wade, cp3, Durant tweeting after plays, and in a way him tweeting the way he did just shows how detached he is from his teammates. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe got a phone call from John black to cut that **** out.

He rolls his eyes after saying 'it's great to have that commentary'.

TyCobb wrote:He rolls his eyes after saying 'it's great to have that commentary'.

thats not when he makes his "fan" comment. thats in the previous question when they ask him about kobe saying "post, post, post". i would've rolled my eyes too since they were going into the post. the fan comment was when they asked him if he had an issue with kobe tweeting.

Yeah, I know, but for context matters the entire reference to Kobe in that post-game interview needs to be taken into account.

I kind of like that he's a prick. It takes some thick skin to endure the level of abuse he has received so far.

TyCobb wrote:Yeah, I know, but for context matters the entire reference to Kobe in that post-game interview needs to be taken into account.

i edited my post after u responded, but i think its important to make a distinction between the question that elicited a rolling of the eyes and the one that brought out the fan comment.

the 1st question that was asked was about kobe tweeting "post, post, post" or something like that. MDA accurately responded that they did try to post, a lot. MDA rolled his eyes, may be he shouldn't have, but i might do the same.

the 2nd question that was asked was whether he had a problem with kobe tweeting, and i thought he was pretty genuine in saying he didn't have a problem with it cause right now kobe is at home and as a fan of the team, he's going to want to feel a part of the game.

Fair enough. I think, given his history this season with Pau, he's kind of lost some leeway with me. That coupled with how Kobe responded/is responding makes his margin almost in the negative range. This whole thing has definitely been blown out of proportion, but I think it could have been avoided had Mike not called him a 'fan' and responded with 'we'll keep in touch, talk some things over, and discuss his views pertaining to the strategy going forward', or something along those lines. I understand D'Antoni is the coach, for now, but I'm sure Kobe's insights are far greater than any fan can contribute.

TyCobb wrote:Calling him a 'fan' is disrespectful. He's still under contract and he is still a member of the team. He's the reason the Lakers made the playoffs, so Mike Fraudtoni needs to show some class.

Agreed