LOS ANGELES -- The theme of the night was convergence. Within a three-block radius you had all three Los Angeles obsessions on display Sunday night: cars, celebrities and Kobe.The crowd gathered outside Staples Center wasn't there because the Lakers were about to play the Chicago Bulls. The fans' eyes were fixated across the street, where pop stars were arriving for the American Music Awards at the new Nokia Theater. Meanwhile, parking garages in the area were at capacity from people attending the L.A. Auto Show at the convention center next door.
Honestly, Lakers vs. Bulls turned out to be the worst entertainment option of the three. Loads of turnovers and missed shots in the Lakers' 106-78 victory, with the only second-half tension stemming from the distinct possibility that Kobe Bryant would personally outscore the Bulls in the third quarter. (After Kobe took an early 9-2 lead, the Bulls wound up winning, 14-10.)
The game's underlying theme and its real intrigue came from the, ahem, convergence of the still-unsatisfied Bryant and the most-discussed trade destination for him, the Bulls. Here was a chance for some one-stop shopping, to gaze down on the court, swap a few uniforms in your mind and imagine a world in which the trade did go down.
In reality, it currently looks as if this is as close as Bryant is going to come to the Bulls. The problem was the Lakers wanted too much initially, while the Bulls offered too little initially, and they never could come close after those disparate starting points.
Publicly, at least, things have cooled off.
"It's over," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "It's dead. Dead story."
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said: "There's nothing to discuss."
Still, until Bryant recants his trade demand and the Lakers officially take him off the market, nothing can be discounted.
That's why Bulls forward Luol Deng doesn't believe the story's over.
"Nah," he said. "I'm pretty sure every team in the league is talking. I feel that every team that's struggling is trying to get better. That's the way it should be."
With a 2-7 record, the Bulls are definitely among the strugglers, and they're sinking to the point that not even the addition of Bryant would transform them into a championship team. True, Deng didn't play Sunday, still bothered by a sore back he first injured at Phoenix Thursday night. But he would probably have to be included in a trade package that the Lakers would accept, so his absence wouldn't change the scenario. You'd probably also have to subtract Ben Gordon, the Bulls' only consistent scoring threat Sunday night, who finished with a game-high 20 points. So you're left with a group that still has no low-post threat and few easy shots.
It's not simply a matter of the Bulls taking a lot of jump shots. Pro players can knock down open jumpers all night long. But the Bulls usually take contested jump shots. And the detailed stats some teams keep show that percentages drop dramatically when the shooter has a hand in his face. The Bulls' 38.3 field goal shooting percentage is the lowest in the league.
Bryant could draw double-teams and create open shots for his teammates. But you don't acquire Kobe Bryant to turn him into a playmaker. You bring him in to be the primary scorer and to address Chicago's other glaring deficiency, the lack of a go-to guy in crunch time. That didn't even come into play Sunday, since the Bulls trailed by15 points at the start of the fourth quarter and by 28 when it ended, and the Lakers only played Bryant for three of the final 12 minutes.
The game's underlying theme and its real intrigue came from the, ahem, convergence of the still-unsatisfied Bryant and the most-discussed trade destination for him, the Bulls. Here was a chance for some one-stop shopping, to gaze down on the court, swap a few uniforms in your mind and imagine a world in which the trade did go down.
In reality, it currently looks as if this is as close as Bryant is going to come to the Bulls. The problem was the Lakers wanted too much initially, while the Bulls offered too little initially, and they never could come close after those disparate starting points.
Publicly, at least, things have cooled off.
"It's over," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "It's dead. Dead story."
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said: "There's nothing to discuss."
Still, until Bryant recants his trade demand and the Lakers officially take him off the market, nothing can be discounted.
That's why Bulls forward Luol Deng doesn't believe the story's over.
"Nah," he said. "I'm pretty sure every team in the league is talking. I feel that every team that's struggling is trying to get better. That's the way it should be."
With a 2-7 record, the Bulls are definitely among the strugglers, and they're sinking to the point that not even the addition of Bryant would transform them into a championship team. True, Deng didn't play Sunday, still bothered by a sore back he first injured at Phoenix Thursday night. But he would probably have to be included in a trade package that the Lakers would accept, so his absence wouldn't change the scenario. You'd probably also have to subtract Ben Gordon, the Bulls' only consistent scoring threat Sunday night, who finished with a game-high 20 points. So you're left with a group that still has no low-post threat and few easy shots.
It's not simply a matter of the Bulls taking a lot of jump shots. Pro players can knock down open jumpers all night long. But the Bulls usually take contested jump shots. And the detailed stats some teams keep show that percentages drop dramatically when the shooter has a hand in his face. The Bulls' 38.3 field goal shooting percentage is the lowest in the league.
Bryant could draw double-teams and create open shots for his teammates. But you don't acquire Kobe Bryant to turn him into a playmaker. You bring him in to be the primary scorer and to address Chicago's other glaring deficiency, the lack of a go-to guy in crunch time. That didn't even come into play Sunday, since the Bulls trailed by15 points at the start of the fourth quarter and by 28 when it ended, and the Lakers only played Bryant for three of the final 12 minutes.
Meanwhile, the Lakers' supposed weakness -- everyone not named Bryant -- is looking stronger every game. In fact, the Lakers' second unit (and Phil Jackson prefers to play them as a separate unit, subbing five guys in at once) is turning into one of the best in the league.
Five Laker reserves scored in double figures Sunday, and the Laker bench produced 73 points. That's on the heels of their strong performance (led by Jordan Farmar) against the Pistons Friday night which helped the Lakers cap off a surprising week that saw them go 2-1 in a stretch against San Antonio, Houston and Detroit.
Yes, Tracy McGrady went out with an injury in the second quarter of the Lakers' victory over the Rockets, and Chauncey Billups didn't play for the Pistons. But the end result is the Lakers are 6-3, in the upper half of the Western Conference. It's hard to imagine a realistic trade that would put Bryant or the Lakers in a better situation.
Here's another indication the Lakers are the best location for Bryant, at least until he can wander as a free agent in 2009: while the trade rumors appeared to weigh on the Bulls, the young Lakers kept their heads. If anything, they've been inspired to play better.
Skiles, quite candidly, said the Kobe talk was discussed within the Bulls' locker room as much as anywhere else. "It was talked about incessantly for two and three weeks," Skiles said. "Even with the team. We would talk about it all of the time. And we haven't talked about it for several days now …
"It's one of those unfortunate things about our business where stories get out there. Generally there's some grain of truth in them. Sometimes there isn't. We care about all of our guys on one hand. On the other hand, you've got to toughen up and be able to play through it."
That's what the Lakers did.
"The coach has done a great job, and everybody seems to have worked through the distractions and now they're playing well as a team," Kupchak said.
Since the only Laker who was discussed in trades was the guy who requested it, the issue Phil Jackson saw among his players was "not of the trade, so much as the lack of affection or lack of interest that Kobe had for a period of time. They went through a little lull: 'Is he with us or is he not?'"
There he was in the Lakers' locker room Sunday, saying he was "impressed" with the Lakers' results so far, even if he isn't ready to proclaim them championship contenders. He singled out Andrew Bynum, who had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
He even joked about a Chicago newspaper report that he was buying Michael Jordan's house in the northern suburbs.
"I actually thought about purchasing it, decided not to," Bryant said. "I like Oprah's penthouse instead."
He doesn't make enough money to live in Oprah's house. And as talented and skilled as he is, he is not good enough to make any team's situation better just by showing up. Unlike, say, Beyonce, who joined Sugarland for a countrified version of "Irreplaceable" during the American Music Awards and turned it out.
Now that's convergence.
Five Laker reserves scored in double figures Sunday, and the Laker bench produced 73 points. That's on the heels of their strong performance (led by Jordan Farmar) against the Pistons Friday night which helped the Lakers cap off a surprising week that saw them go 2-1 in a stretch against San Antonio, Houston and Detroit.
Yes, Tracy McGrady went out with an injury in the second quarter of the Lakers' victory over the Rockets, and Chauncey Billups didn't play for the Pistons. But the end result is the Lakers are 6-3, in the upper half of the Western Conference. It's hard to imagine a realistic trade that would put Bryant or the Lakers in a better situation.
Here's another indication the Lakers are the best location for Bryant, at least until he can wander as a free agent in 2009: while the trade rumors appeared to weigh on the Bulls, the young Lakers kept their heads. If anything, they've been inspired to play better.
Skiles, quite candidly, said the Kobe talk was discussed within the Bulls' locker room as much as anywhere else. "It was talked about incessantly for two and three weeks," Skiles said. "Even with the team. We would talk about it all of the time. And we haven't talked about it for several days now …
"It's one of those unfortunate things about our business where stories get out there. Generally there's some grain of truth in them. Sometimes there isn't. We care about all of our guys on one hand. On the other hand, you've got to toughen up and be able to play through it."
That's what the Lakers did.
"The coach has done a great job, and everybody seems to have worked through the distractions and now they're playing well as a team," Kupchak said.
Since the only Laker who was discussed in trades was the guy who requested it, the issue Phil Jackson saw among his players was "not of the trade, so much as the lack of affection or lack of interest that Kobe had for a period of time. They went through a little lull: 'Is he with us or is he not?'"
There he was in the Lakers' locker room Sunday, saying he was "impressed" with the Lakers' results so far, even if he isn't ready to proclaim them championship contenders. He singled out Andrew Bynum, who had his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
He even joked about a Chicago newspaper report that he was buying Michael Jordan's house in the northern suburbs.
"I actually thought about purchasing it, decided not to," Bryant said. "I like Oprah's penthouse instead."
He doesn't make enough money to live in Oprah's house. And as talented and skilled as he is, he is not good enough to make any team's situation better just by showing up. Unlike, say, Beyonce, who joined Sugarland for a countrified version of "Irreplaceable" during the American Music Awards and turned it out.
Now that's convergence.
by J.A. Adande
ESPN.COM
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