oh, so that's what balanced journalism looks like. I'm so glad a non-laker fan with a national audience said this: This week, after fanning Bryant's competitive flame by ranking him 40th among the league's 450 players, ESPN published a scathing takedown of him in which agents anonymously tattled that their clients have left the Lakers due to Bryant and that other high-profile free agents are avoiding him like the plague. Among the examples cited were Howard, whose clownish antics have been on display virtually his entire career; Andrew Bynum, whose physical and emotional frailty have his career on the ropes; and Ramon Sessions, who left as a free agent for more money in Charlotte in 2012. (Sessions has since been traded to Milwaukee and signed by the Kings to a deal worth less than half what the then-Bobcats paid him only two years ago.) In other words: Abbot, you're a clown.
Yeah when I saw this I had to post it here. A balanced piece! Crazy! Not to mention Berger uses HIS sources to come up with some different quotes from executives around the League. Abbot is an absolute moron and I hope his name gets dragged through the mud for the hit piece he wrote.
Oh....but see ......"you guys keep reading the trash ESPN articles and giving them clicks........" That sometimes gets tossed around here. Fair and balanced....well OKAY.....going to now go and have me a good read. Thanks real.
Fair article for sure, although a little overdramatic at points. I don't think the team as currently constructed is anywhere near as bad as he paints it several times. This team looks great compared to Smush, Kwame, Luke, etc. Ed Davis plays D AND can actually pick and roll and pick and pop unlike Kwame who was a great man post defender but horrid on offense. Smush was a freaking joke. Lin is a solid starting PG with an upside that's even better than that. Booz is a legit, hard nosed starting 4 who can put up 15 and grab 8. Hill is a legit mobile center in this current league (though I like him better at 4 generally) who will play hard and grab offensive boards and has a little jump hook and the occasional mid-range. On the bench Swaggy P is a better player than anyone Kobe had on that Smush squad except for Odom. Randle has huge upside even though he's a rook. We actually have some depth on this squad. So no, this squad is not that bad and certainly better IMO than last year by quite a bit. Interesting that nothing was written about Byron and his relationship to Scott and how much better a fit he is than who has been here the last few years and how much they've been on the same page since he was hired. But it didn't really fit the narrative of Kobe vs. the world, against all odds. So you can see why it's ignored. Still as noted, this was a pretty balanced article with a purpose.
Yes it was.... fair.....balanced.....good.....and I agree with lakerjones this team is not a crap team at all. Give us health....once everyone's back. The kind where no one going forward has to miss more than a week or two prior to the playoffs. And I say we are in the playoffs. Also agree Byron, as compared Mike Brown and Mike D'Antoni should have been mentioned, because he counts hugely on this "not crap" team.
Don't know where it came from actually, that wasn't my point. I don't know how as an educated fan of the game and loyal to my team to simply ignore crap articles when they have agenda's to tear down my team such as Abbot, or Dwyer on Jeanie or the clown nobody from Yahoo finance breathlessly agreeing with Broussard's quoting some gutless, anonymous assistant coach in the east. Of course reading them or even posting back in the comments with hundreds of others chiming in one way or another accomplishes nothing either. I get that. Just me, but I imagine a lot of others may feel the same. Good point of reference to know the entirety of what your team is up against.
A good brief look at Bryant during the latter stages of his career. You know Steven A. said it best when talking about that Abbott piece. Basically if you're going to hurl all these accusations of why players don't want to play with Bryant, fine, but explain why. The work that Bryant has put in throughout his career, and the work he has put in just to make it back from his injuries bespeaks the work ethic that and drive that this man has. And if anyone does not want to work for it, Bryant has no time for them. An that's just it. I love the part where he walks into the locker room and everyone basically shuts up. They know when Bryant enters the room, it's time to get serious. There's not time to goof around. That's why he's one of the greatest.
This was a great article, thanks for sharing real deal. You won't find this kind of writing from BSPN
Good article. Even this article though reiterates the same vitriol about Kob's huge contract, which is such a stupid argument. Kobe makes 24 million this year, but weight it against what he contributes to the team. Nash makes 9 million and he's going to contribute nothing. THAT's the real cap killer, NOT Kobe's contract. And Kobe's right about taking that money. Poor nice Timmy and Tony are being suckered by Pop and management into taking less so they can build a championship team. Did they ever ask how much the Spurs organization has been making these past two years? Management made them take less so the Spurs can make a windfall while winning titles. A winning team can afford to pay the luxury tax. A losing team in a small market loses money, no doubt. But a winning team in a small market makes a ton of money, since winning attracts a global market. They fill up seats, they sell merch everywhere, and they get lucrative endorsements. That's one reason I hate Pop, despite the popular opinion. He's tricking his stars into taking less. Cuban falls into that category too.
Great read. Fair, unbiased, not slanted in favor of, or against Kobe, but an objective look at things. Kobe is looked at how he is, and that isn't a perfect guy, or someone always easy to play with. I like how he makes the point many refuse to these days as well, that Jordan was also a "prick", and so what? It's a game and a job, not a popularity contest. I remember in Jordan's days many didn't like him for the same reasons as Kobe, he was a "ball hog" and a jerk. My father used to hate on him because he was "taking the game away from team ball, changing the game, ruining the game". Many people felt that way if I remember right, but thats ignored now, and I never saw it that way anyway, because he was winning, so who cares? I wasn't a fan of Jordan, but I didn't care about how he went about winning, I saw a guy playing hard as he could do to so, seemed to earn it to me. I've felt the same about Kobe (minus the not a fan part), don't care much about the man off the court, on it he gives his all, he plays to win, and he's been entertaining me for years and years. I also liked the stuff about Wes Johnson. Sure he hasn't improved, he may have reached his ceiling, but it's interesting that Kobe has taken him on like he has. You can't say he doesn't work hard at least. Also liked his quote, sounds like every other young guy Kobe has taken under his wing, Kobe just expects hard work, and dedication, demands a lot of teammates, at least Wes isn't afraid of that I guess. Anyway, I think I'm rambling here, but again, good read. He might be right, Kobe might never make the playoffs again, and his body could give out at any time. That's part of the reason I don't get why so many are piling on the guy and not sitting back and enjoying his final years, because the NBA will miss him when he's gone. It's sad to me how an absolute legend of the game is treated so poorly and so underappreciated at the end of his career. I don't expect a Jeter-like farewell tour, but to seemingly want him to fail and to be gone so bad is lame. Berger usually seems to wrire good stuff, maybe not as good as Woj, but not far off I'd say.
Soooo many articles over the last few weeks about Kobe. I'm so done with all the stories etc. ... 2 days until Kobe can prove himself (again, as if he still has to) and the praise will be once again much less than it should be. Kind of off-topic. But it doesn't get more exciting to me than haven Dwight back as the first test so to speak for Kobe !
