I must have been napping. What did he say in Dallas that was inappropriate? As far as finished as a rotation player, that’s entirely a health issue for him, or are you implying that his attitude alone disqualifies him?
So what was he wrong about exactly? I didn't say any of those qualities were bad about Kobe, they're all accurate. Whether we like it or not, Kobe was a jerk and arrogant and should have appreciated what he had in Shaq (and vice versa). All of that can be true as well as what you said, in fact you admit they're all true. So the only reason anyone is bristling at these comments is because we know they don't come from a place of appreciation, but so what? If Kobe can admit to all those faults, why should we deny them? Those faults helped create who he was, we should embrace them like he did. Kobe is one of my favorite athletes of all time, that doesn't mean I'm going to remember him as anything less than a stubborn, ***hole on the court who drove his teammates with steel will instead of collaboration. That's not a bad thing, it worked for him, but we shouldn't mis-remember him like people mis-remember Jordan. Let his legacy, all sides of it, be remembered for who he was. We can be honest about who Kobe was and still appreciate what he was.
Even the sun shines on a dogs a** some days. They needed Kobe's knee on bone to bone and Gasol's girlfriend humping Shannon Brown to get past the Lakers and Lebron with one of the all time choke jobs to win it all. Meh.
I like the move, he has a lot of experience, familiar with Luke, has a championship and he can defend the middle, something we needed.
My issue with what he said is IMO 1. Kobe shouldn't be more appreciative of Shaq than vice versa - they were equally important and 2. He was not about himself being the centre of the universe, he was about winning. I do accept and appreciate the jerk in Kobe, it's not this part of the quote that's bugging me.
yeah, it's quite clear to me. hot takes are for talk radio, not for discussing your fellow players (who are way better than you). shaq also had to have everything about him, but he was named as someone you'd WANT to play with. bogut strikes me as a guy who thinks he's smarter than he is. thus, he says things without thinking enough about them. if things don't go well in la, he'll chirp obliquely to the media about this not being his fault and how things would be better if he were elsewhere. people asked what he said in dallas, and i can't remember, but it was generally a string of comments that were negative about the team (but honest!) without really taking much ownership in the problem (they were really bad when he, in particular, was on the floor, iirc). his honesty didn't seem to extend to himself.
Bogut after being traded from Golden State talked about how some organizations are two faced along those lines. I do vaguely recall something like that.
Well I disagree completely. Kobe played with one of (probably the) most dominant players the league has ever seen. If Kobe and Shaq could have swallowed their pride, they would have been able to go to the Finals for a decade. Instead, they squabbled about control like idiots. Both Kobe and Shaq admitted as much before Kobe even retired. I agree with their take. And your second point is a biased opinion. Kobe was all about winning, but he still wanted to be the guy who won. He was obsessed like nobody I've ever seen, but even in his twilight years, Kobe was difficult to deal with. Agree to disagree, but I don't see any real problem with Bogut's statement. Besides, as others pointed out wasn't this years ago when Bogut was just coming into the league? Do we still beat up Larry Nance Jr. for calling Kobe a rapist when he was a kid?
I don't know, he might be a great center and all but I tend to judge a player on things they said a dozen years ago as a rookie. I'm just waiting for Lonzo to say something stupid and he's dead to me.
Damn, Real spittin that hot fire, for real! Btw, I've noticed that Kobe continuously gravitates towards those that really challenge him. Shaq, Artest, Raja Bell all come to mind... But dude even wanted Phil back even after Phil wanted to trade the Bean. Kobe is just built differently and in order to be the best, you got to think you're the best. He's as arrogant as they come and I rather have a player have Bo-guts than to be gutless. Kob has never shied away from being an a******. You don't last 20 years in the league without being cold blooded and thick skinned... Mamba indeed! Lastly, I love both Shaq and Kobe, but I love the Lakers more! And seriously they're both a******* for putting a ceiling on the rings they could've won for our Lakers franchise! The fact that the C bags still hold that distinction frankly pisses me off even more about those 2! Still appreciate what they both did for us tho.
So my opinion is biased, but yours isn't? How about Bogut's opinion you keep defending? To be honest I am not sure anymore what we are arguing about here, because half of what you're saying is basically what I've said earlier. BOTH Kobe and Shaq messed up - that's my whole point. Kobe played with the most dominant player the league has ever seen? Well, Shaq played with the best offensive weapon the league hes ever seen, and a great defender at that point of his career as well. Why should Kobe have to be more thankful than Shaq? You keep pointing up how both were idiots yet you still defend Bogut who clearly put 100% of the blame on Kobe. If you believe Bogut was right to suggest Kobe should just STFU, be thankful for having Shaq, swallow his pride and buy him groceries, then we will have to agree to disagree indeed. As to your last point - Larry Nance apologized, Bogut didn't . BTW - I am not beating up Andrew, I was just answering your question if what he said was wrong.
