Even with the bromance between Zo and Bron, Zo still better come correct this year, cause there's others that have been eyeing his spot. Can't say I'd be upset if we did end up swapping the 2 tho.
Does that dude EVER say something that doesn't cause you to want to punch him in the face? I mean come the f*** on! Prince? King? Goddamn... I sure hope all the winning I am being promised will dull the increasing nausea for the next 4 freaking years. 4 years of that douchenozzle.
Not indicting you Zen, but what's the problem with that type of dialogue between two black men. Seems that self entitlement is a problem, but when they start calling each other the n-word, it's perfectly acceptable and less noxious. IMO, it's only vomit inducing if he doesn't live up to playing like a King. Now thanking your younger self had me a bit queasy.... ....that and trying to picture an actual douchenozzle. Pardon me as I go visit the loo again.
Yeah, that’s not a trade anyone makes who is in their right mind. Both have a chance to be pretty special, but Zo has no advantages physically, durability wise, and didn’t really shoot better. I take the taller, physically ready, durable player all day everything else being equal. Simmons also showed really well for a rookie in the playoffs.
Were you also upset when he was calling Ingram and Kuzma "princes"? How is this different from every person on our team getting some sort of "Mamba" moniker? Simmons has already started to float rumors of moving West, but it wouldn't happen until he's a FA in 7 or 8 years.
Yes, I see no reason to poison the well. Don't s*** where you eat. Something like that. Other people bragged about Mamba mentality, and wished they had it. No one is asking to be a prince or heir apparent to "the king" Kobe selected that as his own personal mascot to reinforce the mentality that he wanted in being deadly in attacking the game. Bron those King because.... well yeah. Two different worlds those guys lived in. Both effective in their own way, but if you are asking me if I like one mentality over the other? Yes. Not even close. I think Kobe dubbed a bench scrub once as mini mamba, but other Mambas have popped up he didn't create. He wasn't out there trying to make mamba disciples by dubbing people as up and coming mambas. He just led, and they wanted to be like him. Bron is putting that crap on people whether they want it or not, and by doing so, it super apparent he views himself on another level. I'm up here, and you're down here. Maybe someday you'll be on my level isn't offensive right? Mamba is a mentality King is a status of royalty Would you rather hear your young guys referred to as up and coming Mambas or Princes?
I don't understand what well is being poisoned in this analogy. How do you know that? Many of these kids grew up watching LeBron play, not Kobe. LeBron is by far the most well-known, admired, and respected player among his peers. I'm sure all of the kids in the last couple of drafts want to be the heir apparent to the King. Wouldn't you want your kids wanting to be the next guy up among the All-Time greats? The best player in the game right now? Both have made true on the promise of their monikers. They're very similar worlds. Isn't he currently training with young players right now? As well as all the players from the Olympics he affected a decade ago? Kobe has disciples all over the place and some could say LeBron is one of them. Kobe just had something posted with Giannis a couple of days ago with the hashtag "Mamba Mentality". Is that not the same sort of machismo? Putting Kobe's own brand on another player by imprinting them with his "Mamba Mentality"? It's literally the exact same thing. All of the best players have done this type of thing. It's meant as a compliment to the young player that they've got the same mentality Kobe does, but does it not have the exact same inference as LeBron and his "princes"? Actually both are brands. I'd rather my guys be good enough to have their own brand almost from the jump, but we're not there yet. I'd also be fine with our kids being either, but considering we've got LeBron on our team right now and Kobe's best seasons were basically decade ago (when most of these players were in grade or middle school), I'd think these guys are far more likely to want to be "Princes" than "Mambas".
I didn't care for it. Also... I don't think you'll be able to find more than 3 times me using Mamba in a sentence. All of these are cringeworthy, but LeBron's is also condescending of sorts. If I were Ben Simmons, I'd sock him in the face for calling me a prince, while he dubs himself a king. f*** LeBron and his perceived superiority.
If you also find "Mamba" irritating, then I get it. Like I said, it's about protecting these guys' brands. As long as "Mamba" and "King" are relevant, these guys are making money. It's a machine. If I were one of those players, I'd be fine with it, but I'd also be working hard to create my own brand.
We got the best player in the league through free agency and yet so much anger. Lets go back to the days of Wesley Johnson playing PF and Steve Blake playing SF. Great times. Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
Sometimes it just feels like you aren’t having a rational conversation If you don’t feel like LeBron is a douche, good for you. However trying to compare him to Kobe is falling completely on deaf ears. There are no parallels that make any sense to me whatsoever, and I’ll leave it at that. Both are all-time greats, and both are completely different in just about every possible way. ***edit*** To me. Obviously other people have vastly different opinions, and the end of the day they are all opinions, not facts.
Bron vs Kob is Kob by a long shot cause he's contributed to 5 titles for us...coulda been more and that's my only beef with Kobe (bars! Haha). Meanwhile LABron hasn't given us s*** yet, so Kob's Laker legacy is secure unless Bron shows out and gives us 5 straight with his current contract & inevitable extension. So I do understand where the loyalty stands, but I don't understand the angst... especially towards Bron the person. He's at least using his platform, unlike MJ did, who many consider the goat. Obviously the social media bang helped, but Bron is at least doing something with his current spotlight. He's good people even tho he thx himself for doing it haha. Anyways, I got burner accounts telling me that the process in Philly is wack.. so imo Philly is that dumb and will be forced to get something for dude if he flexes his Klutch muscle. As of right now, I'm high on Zo, but this summer has dwindled his stock some. I would take the prince of fresh over the prince of Chino Hills right now...but that's only if that kurse isn't still at play.
I know the point was made already, but I’d have more of an issue with LeBron calling players “princes” if he hadn’t referred to some of our guys as “young kings” already. It’s just a phrase he uses, doesn’t irk me really. It’s also entirely possible that LeBron referred to Simmons as “Prince” because his nickname is actually Fresh Prince, given to himself and then later ok’d by Will Smith. But hey, how ‘bout that Lonzo Ball? Man if he fixes that jumper...
I'm not even comparing who they are as players, just who they are as brands, but if you want to talk about missing a rational part of the conversation I agree with that. I love Kobe as much as the next guy and I'd take him above LeBron all day, but trying to pretend like the two aren't comparable (and non-Laker fans would say Kobe can't compare to LeBron) is... irrational.
So is Lonzo actually going to be ready by end of this month or are we going to have to deal with "Lonzo is 4 weeks away from being evaluated at which point, he'll be out for 6 more weeks until he's re-evaluated again". I'm already effing pissed that he probably rested most of this summer...
