Henry Abbot: Lakers FO can't wait for Kobe to retire

[NashtyNas]

they shouldn't have given him that extension, it was a horrible deal and ruined their cap space to attract multiple stars this past offseason

Based on "multiple FO & agent sources," that wouldn't matter. People don't want to play with KOBE - it has nothing to do with his contract. The Lakers had more than enough money to go after max guys and pay them the max they wanted. The problem isn't creating the cap space - it's attracting FA's and apparently Kobe is making that impossible.

He's always been that way, but in his prime, he could get you rings. Now, he's just a bitter old man who hasn't played in years and all he cares about is his numbers, on and off the court. Winning isn't a priority with this squad and no one wants to be subjected to being second fiddle to Kobe at this point in time. That is why Dwight left, and that is why neither Carmelo nor Bosh were really interested in coming to LA.

So in summary. The first year the Lakers actually have cap-space. Bosh and Carmelo choose to take more cap-space form their current teams as opposed to taking less to come play with bitter Kobe. ( Also, they only had cap-space for 1 of them)

It has been discussed to death and the difference between what they took and what they would get with the Lakers is actually minimal when you disregard the 5th year. Obviously guys like Carmelo and Bosh would get that type of money in that 5th year regardless, so that difference means very little.

Then again, those guys didn't go to Houston either - but I think that also has more to do with not wanting to play for McHale/Morey than the $$.

The Lakers at this point offer nothing that entices people top players to come play for them.
They don't have a good team, they haven't won in a few years, they don't have a great coach, they don't have a great owner.

All they have is the limelight and money to offer, and that might be enough for mediocre players, but it's evidently not enough for top tier players.

[LLcoleJ]

Based on "multiple FO & agent sources," that wouldn't matter. People don't want to play with KOBE - it has nothing to do with his contract. The Lakers had more than enough money to go after max guys and pay them the max they wanted. The problem isn't creating the cap space - it's attracting FA's and apparently Kobe is making that impossible.

He's always been that way, but in his prime, he could get you rings. Now, he's just a bitter old man who hasn't played in years and all he cares about is his numbers, on and off the court. Winning isn't a priority with this squad and no one wants to be subjected to being second fiddle to Kobe at this point in time. That is why Dwight left, and that is why neither Carmelo nor Bosh were really interested in coming to LA.

So in summary. The first year the Lakers actually have cap-space. Bosh and Carmelo choose to take more cap-space form their current teams as opposed to taking less to come play with bitter Kobe. ( Also, they only had cap-space for 1 of them)

It has been discussed to death and the difference between what they took and what they would get with the Lakers is actually minimal when you disregard the 5th year. Obviously guys like Carmelo and Bosh would get that type of money in that 5th year regardless, so that difference means very little.

Then again, those guys didn't go to Houston either - but I think that also has more to do with not wanting to play for McHale/Morey than the $$.

The Lakers at this point offer nothing that entices people top players to come play for them.
They don't have a good team, they haven't won in a few years, they don't have a great coach, they don't have a great owner.

All they have is the limelight and money to offer, and that might be enough for mediocre players, but it's evidently not enough for top tier players.

So in summary. The first year the Lakers actually have cap-space. Bosh and Carmelo choose to take more cap-space form their current teams as opposed to taking less to come play with bitter Kobe. ( Also, they only had cap-space for 1 of them)

[unpossibl1]

Huge, giant grain of salt with this article due to who the author is. Abbot has a long history of being a Laker and Kobe hater. Doesn't mean he is necessarily wrong about everything he said, but it's a very biased point of view to present. To place all the blame on Kobe is simply irresponsible. The current state of the Lakers is somewhat Kobe's fault due to his personality/injuries/contract, but there is also blame on David Stern for the CP3 fiasco, Lakers management for giving away draft picks and poor contracts, Steve Nash for injuries, etc (Players aren't to blame usually for injuries but they do still hurt the team and franchise).

Shouting "Sources! It's all Kobe's fault!" is a great way to stir up lots of hits and get people talking, but certainly isn't a very positive indicator of Abbott's integrity.

[on7on8]

"Kobe is like the big rock in their front yard," says an agent who has had a Lakers client in recent years. "You can't mow over it, so you just have to mow around it."

Another agent with current Lakers clients was asked whether Bryant undermined the team's rebuilding by alienating would-be free agent recruits. "Well, duh," he replied. "Isn't that obvious?"

"He wants to win," says a source close to Lakers decision makers. "But only as long as he's the reason we're winning, as long as the performance is not affecting his numbers. No one works harder than Kobe. And no one sabotages his own efforts more. He's scaring off the free agents we're trying to get. We're trying to surround you with talent and your ego is getting in the way."

And so it is today that the Lakers' faithful strain to envision titles with a rejuvenated Bryant supported by Jeremy Lin, rookie Julius Randle and journeyman bigs Jordan Hill and Ed Davis. The view in the Lakers' front office is that any real rebuild will have to wait until after Bryant's retirement. "This has finally come home," says a Lakers insider. "Major players don't want to play with Kobe, and Jimmy is waiting for him to leave.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11717596/is-kobe-bryant-reason-los-angeles-lakers-downfall


hmmmm....interesting

[Dez]

No the idiots that gave him that contract are crippling the Lakers, anyone would have taken that deal when they put it in front of them.

I'm not a Kobe fan by any means but if you give him that contract, don't complain about it later.

(If anyone in the Laker FO is actually complaining)

[Scalabrine]

crippling them in preseason.

At the end of the day, both sides were happy when they signed the contract, the Lakers gave him that deal, knowing exactly who he is, and that he just suffered an injury that noone has ever fully recovered from, BEFORE he signed the deal. Cant really blame Kobe for signing the deal, and like hes said, he generates enough money for the Lakers to make that more than worth it.

[NyCeEvO]

We've been talking about it over here:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1350057

[LLcoleJ]

#kobeisgreatkobesucksfraudsessionsjimmitchgeorgemelohowardlebronCBAcontractfanboishatersefficencyblahblahblahlolbtwfyifwiw

[Neptune]

The Kobe hate needs to stop.

[Hero]

Kobe is irrelevant at this point. The league has moved on.

[LLcoleJ]

Kobe is irrelevant at this point. The league has moved on.

Where exactly have you derived that from?

[kingkirk]

ESPN writes and anti Kobe article after he calls them idiots?

Hmm.

[BodieB]

No the idiots that gave him that contract are crippling the Lakers, anyone would have taken that deal when they put it in front of them.

I'm not a Kobe fan by any means but if you give him that contract, don't complain about it later.

(If anyone in the Laker FO is actually complaining)

Despite that contract they had enough room to sign Carmelo and make other moves.

[Chicago-Bull-E]

ESPN writes and anti Kobe article after he calls them idiots?

Hmm.

Came in to say the exact same thing.

What a joke that network is.

[Wonderllama]

I would love to read a tell-all biography on Kobe when his career is over. He's a fascinating player, almost as much as Michael Jordan.

[COY0607]

this is being blown out of proportion- Kobe's contract is not great, but the Lakers were due to go thru a re-build (mediocrity) period

Even if he was making 15M instead of 24M, things wouldn't have been all that different

[Slava]

Once isn't good enough, you got to do it twice for good measure.

[kodo]

No the idiots that gave him that contract are crippling the Lakers, anyone would have taken that deal when they put it in front of them.

I'm not a Kobe fan by any means but if you give him that contract, don't complain about it later.

(If anyone in the Laker FO is actually complaining)

Kobe deserves at least that much in terms of how much money he generates for the Lakers and the NBA.

And the article states the problem is Kobe's personality and his refusal to relinquish control over the team. That's going to be an issue even if Kobe makes the vet min.

[will]

SMH

[Exodus]

Is this the same article as the other thread?