I didn't like this team before, and now I really don't like their chances after what's gone on with Kobe Bryant and Jerry Buss. The only good thing they have in the whole franchise is Kobe, and he's definitely going to feel like this is another year that he can't win it. And that's all he cares about -- winning it ...
I don't like his poor supporting cast and I don't like what his attitude will be as a result. He'll be ready to jump ship. Both parties realize they can't win it, and that's what both sides are all about, so I think they will -- or should -- decide to part ways ...
I think Lakers fans are going to say, you know what, it's time to start over with a new team, because Kobe doesn't want to be here. They should make the trade now while he has value, before he can opt out in two summers. While he has value, why not get some really good young pieces and draft choices? I would take the chance because I just don't see the value of keeping a guy like Kobe in that environment ...
You look at what the Timberwolves did with [Kevin] Garnett. Could they have gotten more value by trading him a year or two earlier? There's no question that they could have. There's a team out there in Chicago that people have been talking about for Kobe, and they've got some nice pieces -- though the Lakers will be asking for everything under the moon. If they could get [Luol] Deng, [Ben] Gordon and a decent draft pick for Kobe, I really would think about it. Then maybe they also try to build up cap space to bring over LeBron James [when he can opt out in 2010], though let's face it, LeBron wants to win too. If Kobe doesn't want to be there, then why would LeBron want to be there? He might say that if they couldn't win with Kobe, then how could they win with me? So the Lakers are going to have a lot of work to do going forward ...
Is Kobe the best player in the league? He carried a non-playoff team into the playoffs every year, though he's not good enough to advance them. But if you put him in Chicago with good players around him, he's going to be like Michael Jordan. The thing now is that people know how to play him -- they bang the hell out of him knowing that the other Lakers aren't good enough to punish you for focusing solely on stopping Kobe. So I don't blame him for being frustrated ...
It's obvious that he's passionate about winning by the pride he shows in taking care of himself. We all know the problems he's had off the court, but you never hear anything about drinking or drugs that would set him back athletically. I bet he was devastated when they didn't get Kevin Garnett, but the truth is that -- other than Kobe and Andrew Bynum -- the Lakers have nobody that other teams would want. So if they keep him around this year, his attitude is going to be that instead of being a facilitator to help the young players get better, he's going to be frustrated and he's not going to be the kind of leader who would mentor these guys -- other than by the example of how hard to work and compete because he'll always be a good example that way. But I don't think he's going to go outside the lines and try to reach these guys because he doesn't think that's his job. He has no interest because these guys just aren't good enough no matter how much he mentors them ...
I haven't seen Kobe diminish athletically since the days when he was winning titles with Shaq. But his skill level keeps getting better, and he's especially better with the ball. He's lost his edge defensively because he doesn't want to expend energy on that side when it isn't leading to championships, but I think with a good team he can go back to being the defender he was. He's become stronger as his body has matured, and he can physically punish people now when he goes inside or drives to the basket. He hasn't lost very much quickness. He'll remain in his prime for the next three years or so ...
But if he has to stay with that team, I bet you'll see him becoming more and more of an individual player. I'm not naïve enough to think that wasn't the issue before, but now it's going to be even more so the case. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe's thinking that he'll just go after the scoring title and see if he can score 80 some nights ...
So now you look at the rest of that team, and there isn't much to talk about. I've soured on [Lamar] Odom. There was a time when I really thought he was good, but there's something big missing there. He's just not good enough. He has the body, the tools, but does he have the heart to win? He had that one good year in Miami when he was running the show, and maybe that's what he needs. Maybe you need to play through him with the ball in his hands because in the triangle he gets lost with all of the motion concepts and the undefined rules. It's an offense of space, and maybe that's not him ...
If you're asking me who is their third-best player, that's a great question because I'm not sure they have one. I guess you'd have to say it's Bynum, but he's two or three years away from being a good player -- and I don't know if he'll ever be a great one. He has good hands, instincts, footwork and strength, and he rebounds his position because he's so wide. By the end of this year he should be a guy you can go to and he'll be tough to stop one-on-one, in which case he might demand a double team. But right now against a decent defender, he doesn't demand double coverage. And as Bynum becomes more experienced, Kobe becomes older and more frustrated ...
Their point-guard situation is awful, one of the worst in the league. Even if they'd gotten Jason Kidd last year, they still wouldn't be a championship-caliber team. But you look at that position now and there isn't anyone to stand up to Kobe if he breaks plays and goes for his own offense. None of them has a strong personality, no one has blow-by speed, no one can knock it down, no one is a great on-ball defender. They're all backups. All you have to do with Sasha Vujacic is lock down on him and you can take him out of the game. Rookie Javaris Crittendon has attributes, but he's not ready to contribute. The return of Derek Fisher might have made a difference if there were more good players around him, but as things are now he's not going to make an impact ...
Kwame Brown is a bust. Everywhere he goes he runs into icons who see how much potential he has but can't put up with him. Michael Jordan came down on him in Washington, and Kobe has no patience for him either. He doesn't work hard, he doesn't play hard, he doesn't compete. If his feet are set he can catch the ball, but otherwise he's unreliable. He runs very well and beats opposing centers down the floor, but in transition he's terrible catching the ball so what good is it? ...
Luke Walton isn't quick enough to defend the perimeter and he's not strong enough to defend inside, so people go right at him wherever he is. He's a 50-50 player who won't kill you, but he won't help you win games either. He's a do-nothing-wrong, do-nothing-right player as far as helping his team win. Some nights he may have it going, but other nights you'll see a mediocre opponent have a career night because Walton is guarding him. On a good team, he'd be your No. 8 or 9 player ...
Vladimir Radmanovic is going into his seventh year and who he is is still to be determined. He has great range, he can put it on the floor and he has a feel for the game. Yet those abilities have yet to come forth in a meaningful way, and he obviously doesn't defend ...
Brian Cook is a nice shooter but he can't defend a chair and he can't rebound out of his quadrant at all. Maurice Evans and Jordan Farmar are backups, Chris Mihm is soft and who the hell is Elton Brown? ...
It will be interesting to see how Phil Jackson handles things this year. I think he's getting tired. He's used to being in the NBA Finals and deep in the playoffs, and once you've been there with his ego, I can't see that he's going to like being in this position where he has no chance. I think this will be his last year ...
I don't know if anyone wants to be there right now other than they're all making great money. This is a franchise that has no direction, and that's what they need more than anything.
I don't like his poor supporting cast and I don't like what his attitude will be as a result. He'll be ready to jump ship. Both parties realize they can't win it, and that's what both sides are all about, so I think they will -- or should -- decide to part ways ...
I think Lakers fans are going to say, you know what, it's time to start over with a new team, because Kobe doesn't want to be here. They should make the trade now while he has value, before he can opt out in two summers. While he has value, why not get some really good young pieces and draft choices? I would take the chance because I just don't see the value of keeping a guy like Kobe in that environment ...
You look at what the Timberwolves did with [Kevin] Garnett. Could they have gotten more value by trading him a year or two earlier? There's no question that they could have. There's a team out there in Chicago that people have been talking about for Kobe, and they've got some nice pieces -- though the Lakers will be asking for everything under the moon. If they could get [Luol] Deng, [Ben] Gordon and a decent draft pick for Kobe, I really would think about it. Then maybe they also try to build up cap space to bring over LeBron James [when he can opt out in 2010], though let's face it, LeBron wants to win too. If Kobe doesn't want to be there, then why would LeBron want to be there? He might say that if they couldn't win with Kobe, then how could they win with me? So the Lakers are going to have a lot of work to do going forward ...
Is Kobe the best player in the league? He carried a non-playoff team into the playoffs every year, though he's not good enough to advance them. But if you put him in Chicago with good players around him, he's going to be like Michael Jordan. The thing now is that people know how to play him -- they bang the hell out of him knowing that the other Lakers aren't good enough to punish you for focusing solely on stopping Kobe. So I don't blame him for being frustrated ...
It's obvious that he's passionate about winning by the pride he shows in taking care of himself. We all know the problems he's had off the court, but you never hear anything about drinking or drugs that would set him back athletically. I bet he was devastated when they didn't get Kevin Garnett, but the truth is that -- other than Kobe and Andrew Bynum -- the Lakers have nobody that other teams would want. So if they keep him around this year, his attitude is going to be that instead of being a facilitator to help the young players get better, he's going to be frustrated and he's not going to be the kind of leader who would mentor these guys -- other than by the example of how hard to work and compete because he'll always be a good example that way. But I don't think he's going to go outside the lines and try to reach these guys because he doesn't think that's his job. He has no interest because these guys just aren't good enough no matter how much he mentors them ...
I haven't seen Kobe diminish athletically since the days when he was winning titles with Shaq. But his skill level keeps getting better, and he's especially better with the ball. He's lost his edge defensively because he doesn't want to expend energy on that side when it isn't leading to championships, but I think with a good team he can go back to being the defender he was. He's become stronger as his body has matured, and he can physically punish people now when he goes inside or drives to the basket. He hasn't lost very much quickness. He'll remain in his prime for the next three years or so ...
But if he has to stay with that team, I bet you'll see him becoming more and more of an individual player. I'm not naïve enough to think that wasn't the issue before, but now it's going to be even more so the case. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobe's thinking that he'll just go after the scoring title and see if he can score 80 some nights ...
So now you look at the rest of that team, and there isn't much to talk about. I've soured on [Lamar] Odom. There was a time when I really thought he was good, but there's something big missing there. He's just not good enough. He has the body, the tools, but does he have the heart to win? He had that one good year in Miami when he was running the show, and maybe that's what he needs. Maybe you need to play through him with the ball in his hands because in the triangle he gets lost with all of the motion concepts and the undefined rules. It's an offense of space, and maybe that's not him ...
If you're asking me who is their third-best player, that's a great question because I'm not sure they have one. I guess you'd have to say it's Bynum, but he's two or three years away from being a good player -- and I don't know if he'll ever be a great one. He has good hands, instincts, footwork and strength, and he rebounds his position because he's so wide. By the end of this year he should be a guy you can go to and he'll be tough to stop one-on-one, in which case he might demand a double team. But right now against a decent defender, he doesn't demand double coverage. And as Bynum becomes more experienced, Kobe becomes older and more frustrated ...
Their point-guard situation is awful, one of the worst in the league. Even if they'd gotten Jason Kidd last year, they still wouldn't be a championship-caliber team. But you look at that position now and there isn't anyone to stand up to Kobe if he breaks plays and goes for his own offense. None of them has a strong personality, no one has blow-by speed, no one can knock it down, no one is a great on-ball defender. They're all backups. All you have to do with Sasha Vujacic is lock down on him and you can take him out of the game. Rookie Javaris Crittendon has attributes, but he's not ready to contribute. The return of Derek Fisher might have made a difference if there were more good players around him, but as things are now he's not going to make an impact ...
Kwame Brown is a bust. Everywhere he goes he runs into icons who see how much potential he has but can't put up with him. Michael Jordan came down on him in Washington, and Kobe has no patience for him either. He doesn't work hard, he doesn't play hard, he doesn't compete. If his feet are set he can catch the ball, but otherwise he's unreliable. He runs very well and beats opposing centers down the floor, but in transition he's terrible catching the ball so what good is it? ...
Luke Walton isn't quick enough to defend the perimeter and he's not strong enough to defend inside, so people go right at him wherever he is. He's a 50-50 player who won't kill you, but he won't help you win games either. He's a do-nothing-wrong, do-nothing-right player as far as helping his team win. Some nights he may have it going, but other nights you'll see a mediocre opponent have a career night because Walton is guarding him. On a good team, he'd be your No. 8 or 9 player ...
Vladimir Radmanovic is going into his seventh year and who he is is still to be determined. He has great range, he can put it on the floor and he has a feel for the game. Yet those abilities have yet to come forth in a meaningful way, and he obviously doesn't defend ...
Brian Cook is a nice shooter but he can't defend a chair and he can't rebound out of his quadrant at all. Maurice Evans and Jordan Farmar are backups, Chris Mihm is soft and who the hell is Elton Brown? ...
It will be interesting to see how Phil Jackson handles things this year. I think he's getting tired. He's used to being in the NBA Finals and deep in the playoffs, and once you've been there with his ego, I can't see that he's going to like being in this position where he has no chance. I think this will be his last year ...
I don't know if anyone wants to be there right now other than they're all making great money. This is a franchise that has no direction, and that's what they need more than anything.
by SI.Com
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