RealGM

There were also business rationales to keeping Bryant. The first is that the Lakers are the opposite of a typical NBA team, as a business. Yes, they have more revenue. But they require tons more because the Lakers are the family business. In most ownership groups, nobody is relying on the team as the prime revenue stream; the team is the high-risk end of a much bigger portfolio. In LA, the team is the linchpin supporting six heirs.

And there is no more important income than the 20-year, $3 billion Time Warner deal to broadcast Lakers games locally. One well-placed source who has reviewed Lakers team finances says the Lakers' annual income from that deal hinges on ratings, which tend to go up when Bryant is on the court. If the team had jettisoned Bryant and tanked the past season in the name of a high 2014 draft pick, the resulting low ratings would have smacked the business of the Lakers hard.

That's presumably part of the reason Kupchak has been outspokenly anti-tanking; his bosses won't tell him to outright tank because tanking costs them a fortune. Meanwhile, it's not as if Bryant didn't have his supporters. Lakers season-ticket holders are a who's who of power brokers and celebrities, and in what one Lakers insider believes was a coordinated effort, many called Jim to make clear they expected him to bring Bryant back.

Slava wrote:I'm amazed you read that article and the first thing that popped in your mind was Lin.

crazyeights wrote:Ramona favorited Ding's tweet BTW. That about sums it up for me.

I've refused to even click on the original article knowing it's just clickbait BSPN creating a false controversy.

crazyeights wrote:Ramona favorited Ding's tweet BTW. That about sums it up for me.

I've refused to even click on the original article knowing it's just clickbait BSPN creating a false controversy.

Sedale Threatt wrote:

crazyeights wrote:Ramona favorited Ding's tweet BTW. That about sums it up for me.

I've refused to even click on the original article knowing it's just clickbait BSPN creating a false controversy.

Wow, that's interesting. Isn't Abbott ESPN's NBA editor? So she's blasting her boss to a certain degree? Or maybe she works under someone else.

Slava wrote:

Sedale Threatt wrote:

crazyeights wrote:Ramona favorited Ding's tweet BTW. That about sums it up for me.

I've refused to even click on the original article knowing it's just clickbait BSPN creating a false controversy.

Wow, that's interesting. Isn't Abbott ESPN's NBA editor? So she's blasting her boss to a certain degree? Or maybe she works under someone else.

Abbott is a true hoop series writer, Ramona and Stein are the top people with league sources right now for ESPN. I think Ramona is a few notches above Abbott in the pecking order.

Sedale Threatt wrote:

Slava wrote:

Sedale Threatt wrote:
Wow, that's interesting. Isn't Abbott ESPN's NBA editor? So she's blasting her boss to a certain degree? Or maybe she works under someone else.

Abbott is a true hoop series writer, Ramona and Stein are the top people with league sources right now for ESPN. I think Ramona is a few notches above Abbott in the pecking order.

Yeah, but I thought they promoted Abbott last season to the editor of their NBA coverage as well...oh well, no matter. I am a fairly big Kobe critic -- how about this: I have a friend who knows D'Antoni pretty well; said Kobe is the worst person (not player, PERSON) he's ever dealt with in his coaching career -- but even I think Abbott has an axe to grind.

(And another line from D'Antoni, on the notion that George Karl might have been interested in coaching the Lakers: "He's already had cancer twice." Rim shot...)

Sedale Threatt wrote:

Slava wrote:

Sedale Threatt wrote:
Wow, that's interesting. Isn't Abbott ESPN's NBA editor? So she's blasting her boss to a certain degree? Or maybe she works under someone else.

Abbott is a true hoop series writer, Ramona and Stein are the top people with league sources right now for ESPN. I think Ramona is a few notches above Abbott in the pecking order.

Yeah, but I thought they promoted Abbott last season to the editor of their NBA coverage as well...oh well, no matter. I am a fairly big Kobe critic -- how about this: I have a friend who knows D'Antoni pretty well; said Kobe is the worst person (not player, PERSON) he's ever dealt with in his coaching career -- but even I think Abbott has an axe to grind.

(And another line from D'Antoni, on the notion that George Karl might have been interested in coaching the Lakers: "He's already had cancer twice." Rim shot...)