As The Lakers Turn

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The NBA season starts tommorow, and that little team we like to call the Los Angeles Lakers is setting up to have one of the most surreal seasons in sports history. who in the hell needs reality tv when you can just follow the Lakers season...

--You have 4 first ballot hall of famers in Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, all having to share the ball.

--You have Shaq and Kobe, who've never had the greatest of relationships... trading shots at the other's expense in the media...

"kobe should probably look to be more of a passer until he gets his legs strong."
-shaq

"I definitely don't need advice on how to play my game. Definitely not. I know how to play my guard spot. He can worry about the low post, and I'll worry about the [perimeter]."
-kobe responds

"As we start this new season, we want shit done right. If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. As long as it's my team, then I'll voice my opinion. If you don't like it, then opt out. (a reference to Bryant's plan to exercise an option in his contract at season's end and test the free-agent market next summer). Everybody knows that. You [media] guys may give it to [Bryant] like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship. So ... if you ain't right [physically], don't be trying to go out there and get right on our expense. Use the people out there, then when you get right you [can] do what you do. Just ask Karl and Gary why they came here. One person, not two. One. Period. ... I'm not telling [Bryant] how to play his position. I'm telling him how to play team ball."
-shaq responds once again.

--and then of course you have that other little matter of Kobe Bryant's sexual assault trial in Eagle County, Colorado. No one really knows how much time kobe will miss with the trial, but he will deffinetly miss some time. the issues of the case aside, there's the issues of how it will effect his play on the court, how will it effect the lakers as a whole, and how will visiting teams react to kobe. i imagine those trips to philly, new york and boston could get particularly interesting... and then there's the case it's self, which is setting it's self up to be the biggest trial this side of O.J.


when you combine all these factors together... phil jackson is probably yearning for the days when his biggest problem was wether or not dennis rodman was gonna show up to practice wearing a dress.

 

[Hewson]

Phil would probably help Dennis pick out matching shoes and a purse rather than deal with this mess.

 

[Chizip]

you hear kobe's latest reaction?

ouch

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Crazy stuff, man.

at "this is the Diesel's ship"!

Knick knack, Shaq attack, give the dog a bone...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The transcript of Kobe Bryant's interview with ESPN's Jim Gray:

GRAY: What was your reaction to Shaq saying the Lakers are his team, and everybody knows it?

BRYANT: It doesn't matter whose team it is. Nobody cares. I don't, Karl [Malone] doesn't, Gary [Payton] doesn't, and our teammates and the fans don't either. There's more to life than whose team this is. But this is his team, so it's time for him to act like it. That means no more coming into camp fat and out of shape, when your team is relying on your leadership on and off the court. It also means no more blaming others for our team's failure, or blaming staff members for not overdramatizing your injuries so that you avoid blame for your lack of conditioning. Also, "my team" doesn't mean only when we win, it means carrying the burden of defeat just as gracefully as you carry a championship trophy.

GRAY: Do you consider Shaq to be a leader?

BRYANT: Leaders don't beg for a contract extension and negotiate some 30 million [dollars] plus per year deal in the media when we have two future Hall of Famers playing here pretty much for free. A leader would not demand the ball every time down the floor when you have the three of us [Malone, Payton, Bryant] playing beside you, not to mention the teammates you have gone to war with for years -- and, by the way, then threaten not to play defense and rebound if you don't get the ball every time down the floor.

GRAY: Shaq says that you have not been a team player. Is he right?

BRYANT: That's ridiculous. I have been successfully sacrificing my game for years for Shaq. That's what Phil [Jackson] wanted me to do, so I did it. Last year Phil told me Shaq was not in physical condition to carry the trust of our offense, so he asked me to do it. But then he saw Shaq was getting upset that the team wasn't running through him, so Phil asked me to pull back and I did. This year is no different; my role is whatever Phil want it to be. Period.

GRAY: Through out the preseason, your leg and conditioning has been lagging. Are you in the proper shape to start the season?

BRYANT: My knee is not strong enough to play yet. I know it. When it is I will play.

GRAY: Does that mean you will miss the opener [Tuesday] night and other games?

BRYANT: I probably won't play tomorrow night or until I'm ready. But I don't need Shaq's advice on how to play hurt. I've played with IVs before, during and after games. I've played with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a torn shoulder, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I don't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious in the first place.

GRAY: Kobe, Shaq said if you didn't like what he had to say you can opt out and leave next season. Will you leave the Lakers?

BRYANT: I won't make that decision until the end of the season. I told Shaq last year that I was planning on opting out. He knew before anyone. I told him out of respect for what we have been through together. I thought he should be the first to know. The fact that he acts like this is such a big shock is a mystery to me. If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season is what I decide, a major reason for that will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy.

GRAY: Do you feel Shaq has been supportive in regards to your legal situation?

BRYANT: He is not my quote unquote "big brother." A big brother would have called to lend his support this summer. I heard absolutely nothing from him. I spoke to Devon [George], Rick [Fox], Mitch [Kupchak], Phil, and our owner Jerry Buss. And Shaq's own Uncle Jerome called and left three messages. Other teammates like Derek [Fisher], Mark [Madsen], and [Stanislav Medvedenko] left messages as well. Opponents called like [Chris] Webber, [Mike] Bibby, and many others. So did a lot of coaches. Michael Jordan, who didn't have my home phone, tracked it down to lend his support. So did Tiger Woods. But yet from my so-called big brother, I heard nothing.

GRAY: Why not resolve this behind closed doors? Why is this so public?

BRYANT: I asked Phil on Sunday [yesterday] to say something to calm this situation down before it boiled over. But he backed away, so now here we are. I have been a bigger person every time something happened with Shaq, and I don't expect this to be any different. But somebody in this organization had to speak up, because his unprofessionalism hurt us last year, and I don't want it to hurt us this year.

one would think with all the stuff going on in kobe's life that he would just shut up and turn the other cheek...

on a side note, yours truely had an e-mail read over the air by mike & mike on espnradio this morning...

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2003 05:12:07 -0800 (PST)
From: "Shannon Clancy" <clancy3434@yahoo.com> | Add to Address Book
Subject: Kobe & Shaq
To: mikeandmike@espnradio.com

Do you think maybe... just maybe... this is all a grand scheme by Zen Master Phil to get the attention off the rape trial and on to something else? Thanks guys

Sincerly,
Olver Stone

deffinetly made sitting through another morning commute on the long island expressway just a little bit enoyable hearing stuff you wrote read over national radio... then some 18 wheeler almost side swiped me, so reality came rushing back reeeeal quick.

 

[Chizip]

what did they say

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

they read it on the air and laughed... that's about it

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

and if i hear kobe bryant plea for symapthy about being accused of rape one more damn time i'm going to puke. "lend support to what i'm going through?" what the friggin hell?!?! how about someone lends support to what the alleged victim is going through. guilty or innocent, i have no sympathy for kobe bryant whatsoever... he is a married man, and it was his decision to get himself into this situation, wether it was rape or it was consensual. he doesn't invite this 19 year old girl into his hotel room and remains loyal to the mother of his children, NONE of this happens. so wether he's a rapist or just an adulturer (sp), he will still get no sympathy from this end.

 

[U2ME3]

he is a married man, and it was his decision to get himself into this situation, wether it was rape or it was consensual. he doesn't invite this 19 year old girl into his hotel room and remains loyal to the mother of his children, NONE of this happens. so wether he's a rapist or just an adulturer (sp), he will still get no sympathy from this end.

agreed

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

They should both grow up, quit the ego crap, go count their $ and buy some more bling bling or something..

And thank you for saying that about Kobe headache He's becoming an expert in making himself the victim

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

"they can't pay me enouth to deal with this shit."
-karl malone, object of db9's affection


the thing that has disturbed me tremendously over the whole kobe thing is the number of females who i've spoken to who defend him. i've been baffled... at the very least he took advantage of a 19 year old girl. and we all know what the worst is. stupified...

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Agreed here as well that Kobe is certainly not a victim.

I can't believe that interview is real! This could turn out to be a train wreck of a season for the Lakers if they don't get their shit together...and quick.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

ESPNRadio is now reporting that sources out of "Shaq's camp" are saying Shaq called Kobe twice over the summer, and Kobe never returned his calls. who the hell knows... Jim Gray, the guy who did the interview, is comming up on the Dan Patrick Show at 2:05. Should be interesting as to what he has to say... somehow jim gray always gets himself involved in controversy, that little weasel

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The L.A. Times reported that one of Kobe Bryant's representatives was recently overheard telling Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, "Save that cap space."

wouldn't that be a clusterfuk... kobe and shaq, both playing in los angeles, both with the staples center as their home court, but on different teams

 

[Hewson]

And the Clippers would still only manage to go 31-51.

 

[nbcrusader]

The L.A. Times reported that one of Kobe Bryant's representatives was recently overheard telling Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, "Save that cap space."

wouldn't that be a clusterfuk... kobe and shaq, both playing in los angeles, both with the staples center as their home court, but on different teams

Perfect - then they can truly settle the question "who owns L.A.?"

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

EAGLE, Colo. -- Prosecutors accused Kobe Bryant's defense team Friday of raising "preposterous" issues and not truly wishing to set a trial date in the sexual assault case.


In a terse reply to a defense motion, prosecutor Mark Hurlbert reiterated his wish -- and that of the 19-year-old accuser -- to have Bryant enter a formal plea and move on to trial.



He also took issue with defense attorney Hal Haddon's claim that Bryant has always wanted an early trial date but has been slowed down by the prosecution's legal tactics.



"He says he has always wanted to move the case along, yet will wait so Fifth Judicial District policy can take its course," Hurlbert said. "We are, through no fault of the people, 10 months after the crime with no arraignment."



Hurlbert added: "It is the people's position that no party has been directly responsible for any delay in these proceedings and to try to assign blame is petty and unnecessary."



Bryant, 25, has said he had consensual sex with the woman last summer at the Vail-area resort where she worked. If convicted of felony sexual assault, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.



Haddon said the defense would wait to enter an innocent plea until most or all the pretrial hearings are completed. Those hearings are currently scheduled into mid-May.



The legal sniping in the case has gone on for months. Haddon has even challenged the prosecution's references to the woman as a "victim" and "girl," and questioned whether the case should get priority in court because of the "serious dispute" over whether a crime occurred.



Hurlbert called those arguments "preposterous," adding that everyone knows the term "victim" legally means "the person alleging to have been subjected to a criminal sexual assault."



The next hearings in the case are scheduled for April 26-28.

this is all really getting sickening... the reason why the defense is delaying the trial is obvious to anyone with a clue... they want to delay it until after the NBA playoffs so that kobe and the lakers can attempt to win the title. it's bullcrap if ya ask me.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

the season started in chaos, and chaos is how it shall end... the most dysfunctional team in nba history ends it's season just as it began... a complete mess.

 

[Hewson]

Time to blow it all up.

 

[Mr. BAW]

As of 06/18/04, its official....
Phil Jackson may not be back as coach but might be placed elsewhere within the organization....how about boss' son-in-law???

Shaq now demands a trade due to what GM Kupcheck told the press that they would "try to accomodate him"

Lakers have 7-years $140M to offer Kobe but he wants to opt out of his contract...

Same for Malone, Fisher and Payton...

Word up...possible coaching replacement....Rudy Tomjanovich, George Karl and maybe Henry Bibby from USC... that one worries me!!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

ka-boom


an article on ESPN.com

Jerry Buss is going to break up the Lakers, or the state of Colorado is going to break 'em up. Either way, say your goodbyes.

Because the doors to the Laker house have been flung open, and the big boys are leaving.

Phil Jackson is already gone and, the truth is, Shaquille O'Neal wants to join him.

It looks like Buss, the Lakers' owner, has made his choice: Kobe stays; the others can go. In other words, he is not averse to trading Shaq and is willing to build his franchise around a narcissist who's on trial for rape, doesn't make his teammates better and is in denial over all of it.

ouch

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=1824721

 

[Mr. BAW]

Tonight, Pat Riley's name joins the short list.......

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

?????

 

[U2Kitten]

?????

NOOO! I have a lot of relatives in VA and NC who will cry and puke their guts out if that happens! Stay at Duke! If he must go to the NBA, don't join the ego show that is the Lakers If he goes, I will lose all respect for him.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

NOOO! I have a lot of relatives in VA and NC who will cry and puke their guts out if that happens! Stay at Duke! If he must go to the NBA, don't join the ego show that is the Lakers If he goes, I will lose all respect for him.

i don't know if i'd go that far as to lose all respect... he has absolutely nothing left to prove at duke, and despite this most recent version, the lakers are one of the most storied franchises in all of sports.

college basketball has changed so much that even duke can't keep their players in school more than 1 or 2 years anymore. as much as i'd love to see Coach K stay at duke and retire there the same way the great Dean Smith did 8 miles down the road at carolina, i wouldn't blame him if he wanted to take the jump to the next level. we shall see

 

[U2Kitten]

If he is going to the NBA he should pick a team that needs a good coach and build them. To go to the fucking Lakers is only becoming part of the media circus and the big ego show of the all star squad. They are only collecting big names. I can't believe a man of his integrity would be a part of that. To me the Lakers are closer to the Harlem Globetrotters than a real NBA team.

Doesn't the NBA have a salary cap like the NFL to prevent one team corraling all the big names in one place? I think that makes the entire league less competitive and less interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if some teams give up and fold. All the fans will know, no need to watch, the Lakers are going to win! I'm so glad the Pistons beat them, but they are always going to be at the top and most teams have no chance to come close to them. That is a bad thing for the NBA.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

?????

My sister started yelling at me over the phone when she heard about this on SportsCenter tonight. Our hearts are in Krzyzewskiville tonight with all the other Dukies. Don't go, Coach!!!!!! We love you at Duke, and if the college game has changed too much for you to keep with it, go spend some time with Mickey and your family and retire in style as a legend.

*will be monitoring this story closely*

 

[Hewson]

The Celts made a run at coach Kruzyuski (remember that commercial?) several years ago (and lucky us we ended up with Rick Pitino instead), he turned that offer down, and my guess is the Lakers will hafta blow his doors off to lure him.

 

[DiGi]

i hope he stays at Duke as it will be better when Maryland crushes them this year if coach k is around.