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Kobe springs for 48 and on Mt. Olympus the old gods smiled.

 Posted by: SPQR on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - 01:33 AM
Lakers Blog 
Back in the day, long long ago, there was different type of entity that walked the planet with us mere mortals. They were the product of active, salacious, interfering gods. When those gods grew bored, when they wanted to meddle and intercede for fun, pleasure or malign purpose, they would descend from Mt. Olympus impregnate human females and sit back and watch the results.

The product of these unions was special. Their names are legend, even today, thousands of years later: Heracles, Achilles, Theseus, Hanuman, Garuda and others whose superhuman nature and feats of glory live on through the generations.

As the centuries passed, the old gods were forgotten, wars and tribulations faded and civilization took hold and the need for demigods, even the belief in them disappeared.

In all areas but one: the sporting arena. It is here that the old gods, sleepy and weakened by a lack of faith and belief still stir to meddle in human affairs, sending us their offspring to perform godlike deeds that like their forbearers will become legends told and retold for posterity.

How else to explain the superhuman, demigod like abilities of a George Mikan, a Wilt Chamberlain, a Bill Russell, a Larry Bird, a Oscar Robertson, a Magic Johnson, a Michael Jordan, a Kobe Bryant.

Is not the touch of divine, the seed of a gods conception the only explanation for what these more than mere mortals show us over their bright, comet like existence? Because what pure human of terrestrial birth can perform such deeds, achieve such god light heights and flights of greatness?

And tonight, watching Kobe Bryant unveil the whole divine package, the jukes and footwork nobody should be able to practice, let alone perfect, the fakes that leave mortals gasping for air and defending the same, the turn around three point jumpers off the wrong shoulder, the drives to the hoop with winged feet, the unlimited stamina that no mortal man possesses, you know you have seen something rare, a sprite, a spirit, something more than flesh and blood, something that only the gods could grant.

I remember the rumors when Kobe came to the Lakers. A player who may indeed have that spark only the gods grant with such jealous paucity. And though young and inexperienced, unformed and inchoate, he showed flashes of rare touch of the immortals. Yes, he had much to learn, much time to go to harness his prodigious talent, but the flashes made you wonder: Is this a mortal player, another very good, very athletic mortal like Eddie Jones, or did a long forgotten deity make the long trip to earth and infuse the womb with the seed of legend?

It happened in Miami, so long ago. Bryant broke through, showing that package and ability that only the blessed can obtain. He did it all that night. I know, I watched it. And as I watched it, I knew, I knew this was no man, but that frightening offspring of the ethereal and flesh. And I knew the Lakers were heading for the type of glory only an Achilles, a Heracles could lead a group of men to achieve.

Miami didn’t mean he had harnessed his abilities yet. There were still many games, many weeks and months of work and sweat and blood to sacrifice before the young demigod would perfect his craft and hone his ability to fine warriors edge. But the die was cast, the truth was out and the gods on old Mt. Olympus smiled.

And so it happened, the skills god given and the work ethic, human driven combined to produce the inevitable result. And the glory followed. For him and the team. The championships came for him, the organization and the fans. Because when you are touched by a god, the road to legend will rise and burn bright, as sure as the desert sun.

Perhaps his most miraculous season was one where his team, bereft of talent, with no chance to win a title, was carried, pushed and pulled inexorably towards the playoffs. For those who watched Kobe that year, seemingly scoring 40 points a night seemingly every night, in the teeth of every teams defensive efforts, you knew you were watching a young demigod in full flower, in full attack mode, so confident in his superiority, so confirmed in his invulnerability, so supreme in his command over the mortals who must have seemed like ants scurrying around, smashed and trampled under basketball shoes that never seemed to touch the ground for 82 games. That was the year, the season, when anyone lucky enough to be witness understood what the old Greeks and Indians felt and observed when their own demigods ruled and crushed the monsters and mortals who dared cross their path.

Time always destroys. Entropy tears up what even gods conceive. Even the gods themselves atrophy, weaken, mellow and are forgotten with the passing of the centuries. Those on Olympus are prisoners of this truth. Dissipated and enervated by your lack of belief, our worship of newer gods and technology, they don’t influence events as they did in the times of yore. But even know, in their more attenuated way, once in awhile, a god will make his way to earth, do the deed in secrete, and let a rare offspring roam, not in field of battle, but on the athletic fields of play, our modern substitute to the old games of blood and gore.

And tonight, watching Kobe Bryant play as in his best days, you remember. You remember how rare he is, how great he has been, how totally inhuman his half side is. And you remember to enjoy what he was, what he still is, what he can still do when the blood of his particular god runs wild in his veins.

Back in the day, many gods descended from that lofty perch to do the deed. And it begs the question, who was it that came down 33 years ago to produce this incandescent, ethereal offspring?

For anyone who has watched Kobe, that is an easy question to answer: From his inscrutable, chiseled bony, almost kinglike face, to his lithe, indestructible, lissom body, to his cat quick reflexes, the ferocious, take no prisoners attitude, no quarter asked, none given, the imperviousness to pain and injury; the entire package screams only one thing: WAR!

I didn’t see it happen. Nobody did. But I know, as sure as I live, when a god came down from Olympus, silent as the night, on misty cats feet, to do the deed that produced Kobe Bryant, it could only be but one- Mars, the god of conquest and war. Only one god, the lover of war could have produced this machine of athletic brilliance and destruction. That is plain as any DNA test could be.

And as the last years of Kobe Bryant unfold, as he slowly disappears in the mists of time and legend, as his siblings did through the eons, remember him for tonight, for the future nights like this, and for the all the past nights he showed his true bloodline. Because like the gods themselves, even Kobe will fade into that good night and someday join his predecessors as a legend to be told to half unbelieving but enthralled children listening with wide open eyes and mouths.

Tonight, Kobe Bryant, the demigod showed us his true bloodline. Showed us the best of what he has, the reach he has that mortals cannot hope to grasp.

Tonight Kobe Bryant went for 48. And tonight, up on ancient Mt. Olympus, Zeus, the King of all the old forgotten gods, watching something that begat memories of their halcyon glory days, stirred from his crumbling, dilapidated throne, brushed the dust off his robe and rubbed his long rusted shield and sword into a shine, ordered flagons of strong wine, called his fellow gods to order, patted Mars gently on the shoulder, smiled and said simply, “Well done, so very well done.”

Then they both smiled, toasted and drank deep. And the wine tasted so very good.


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Fortunately for us, tonight, Kobe didn't get his way.

 Posted by: SPQR on Saturday, December 31, 2011 - 06:15 PM
Lakers Blog 
You went away and left me long time ago and
now you're knocking on my door
I hear you knocking but you can't come in
I hear you knocking, go back where you've been - Fats Domino


For me, Kobe Bryant has always given a dichotomy of feelings. Watching this great, once in a life time player do perform like someone playing his own game, seemingly in his own private league, giving me sublime athletic shows, memories and championships, he has generated nothing but warm feelings, excitement and sense of wonder.

Then there is the other Kobe. Whose ego and desire to place himself above anything else, including team and teammates engenders a sense of disappointment and yes, anger. As much as I love the other Kobe, just as much I wish this Kobe didn’t exist.

Last year, after the humiliating loss to Dallas, the bad Kobe emerged again. When Andrew Bynum, the young center who was the best player for us in that losing series stated that he felt ready to expand his game and contribute more to the team, Kobe was asked about that remark by a reporter. His answer was telling about exactly how predominant bad Kobe can be and how insecure he is about his lofty position atop the Lakers hierarchy.

Now If I were a 33 year old aging superstar, after a heartbreaking loss to Dallas, and if I had a young, huge capable center on my team, and he said he wanted to start carrying more of the burden, my thoughts would have been, “Nice. That’s exactly what I need at this stage of my career and exactly what this team needs.”

But not Kobe. He could have and should have said, “Great. I hope the kid can do just that.” Or perhaps, “That will be up to the coach.”

But no. Kobe, Bad Kobe, revealing his insecurity and ego said, “No, Drew will be third in the pecking order next year behind me then Pau.”

And of course, anyone who has followed Kobe, watched Kobe and listened to Kobe knows exactly why those thoughts came to mind and words to mouth. Because of all the players on this team, only one, Drew, has the size and ability to take over from Kobe as the top option on the team, the main man. Kobe knows as everyone does, that Pau can’t do it. And if Drew has an artificial lid put on him, if he is kept at not even second, but a safe third, then Kobe can go on about his business without fear of losing what he has held onto so long. There is no possible other explanation for Kobe’s reasoning and what he said that night.

But unfortunately from Kobe’s perspective, but very fortunately for the THE LAKERS, something has changed. Phil Jackson, Kobe’s martinet is gone to sit on his pillow cushion at home. And the new coach doesn’t see things exactly like Kobe and Phil did. Mike Brown looked at Drew’s performance last year, saw what is so obvious and thought, “This guy needs a bigger role on the team, not less, not the same.”

And so, with the return of Andrew Bynum today, on a night when the outside shots were not falling, when free throws were rattling out, when Kobe did his best down the stretch in the final minutes to give the game away, on a night when all this was a prescription for a loss, the kind of game we have lost so many times in the past, Andrew Bynum, not third in the pecking order, as Kobe would like, not second, but first, rose up and gave us 29 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in 31 minutes of play, and more importantly, carried the team to the win.

So for tonight, Kobe didn’t get his way with the pecking order and that was a good thing, because if he had we would have lost. But he didn’t and Drew did get to carry us to the win.

Tonight Andrew Bynum was not third in the pecking order, not second, he was first. He was not a teenager who should have his “*ss traded for Jason Kidd”; tonight he was man, a dominant man in every respect, and by far the best player in a Lakers uniform. And that is the player that all of us few, who have supported Drew over the years, who saw his size, athletic ability, work ethic and blind, furious determination to keep coming back from injuries and a team; a player our resident superstar and old coach who really didn’t want to see just how good he could be for all their own, private, selfish reasons, thought we may have in this guy.

Yes, this was but one game. But the fact is, we have seen this ability before. Years ago, before injuries robbed him of the ascent he was taking. And last year, in the playoffs, that prompted Dallas’ coach to say, “He was the best player on their team”, and Dirk Nowitskie to say, “He is the best center in the league. So while it is one game, it is not a singular moment by Drew. And this Drew is now 24, healthy, with a year of real experience, conditioning and game work over the summer behind him. Because of that fact, I said coming into this year, we would finally find out what Drew has, what he is. And I felt confident we would see a dominant player.

So now the question remains, what next for us..and our pecking order? Because if this year, at 24, this is real Drew, the best defense against him would be Kobe Bryant’s ego and his pecking order. If this is the real Drew, then we can end up getting one of two teams: one smart, one efficient, one that will get the most of Drew and itself. That team will indeed be a TEAM, the Los Angeles Lakers. A team where Drew will not be consigned to some arbitrary pecking order as determined by Kobe, but team where he will be allowed to settle in where his skills and ability merit. And if that is second, or even first, then that is where he should reside, for the best of this team and our chances to compete again for that title we all want so badly.

The other team will be not so good. I would term it, the Kobe Lakers, not the Los Angeles Lakers. Because if Kobe decides to keep Drew down, for the sake of his own position, we are not really the LA Lakers anymore, but just a group of players doing what is best for one player who sets his own ego and agenda above winning, above having the best team we can be. And let’s not mince words, any Lakers fans on LTB or anywhere else who would accept and agree to that, only because it is what is best for Kobe and not in the best interest of the team and winning, like we all claim we are, are not really Lakers fans at all, but have sacrificed that noble honor on the alter of Kobe Bryant’s personal desires.

Let me make It clear, I am not advocating Kobe step aside right now in deference to Drew. It is one game. If this was just a mirage, a way Drew can play, sometimes, but not often, we will soon know. But if this Drew is the real Drew, what he appeared tonight, there is no way in any good conscience that he can be less than the first option and the alpha on this team.

And if the second case is true, then it will be up to Kobe to decide, will this team be The Lakers, a team, as good as it can be, playing as best as it can with all its component parts, smartly, efficiently, or will it be The Kobes, just a group people along for the ride that has to sublimate it’s most efficient player to allow him to play out his string as he sees fit in order to feed his own ego.

In the end, if Drew really is what he appeared tonight, whatever decision Kobe makes will decide exactly which of these two teams we see in the year 2011-2012. And if Drew is all that, let’s all hope, despite how much it may grieve Kobe, that in the twilight of his astounding career, he makes the right choice, for the team, for Drew, for us and yes even for himself and his desire to get another championship.

Because if Drew is all that, and Kobe makes the wrong choice, the selfish one, it’s gonna get ugly for him, for the team, the coach and his legacy.

Welcome back Drew, you got here just in time to get us this win. Without you, we would have lost. Great to see that whole game, the rebounds, the blocks, the scoring, the hustle. And great to see you get a chance to be on top of the pecking order for a change.

Here’s to hoping this is just the start of the beautiful basketball we have been waiting for. And yes, If you earn it, a place at the top of the Lakers pecking order.

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Lakers Knicks: Another good game and a bench that may not fade.

 Posted by: SPQR on Friday, December 30, 2011 - 01:23 AM
Lakers Blog 
Another good performance by our Lakers on both sides of the ball as we crushed the life out of supposed superteam Knicks.

This Lakers team is really showing some great signs on both sides of the ball and despite the short time, a real ability to acclimate to and enable Coach Mike Browns system and philosophy.

One thing that really catches your eye is the bench. In the Kobe-Pau era, the truth is we had no reliable bench. Yes Lamar was fantastic. But he was only one guy. Not a bench.

When you looked at the guys who were supposed to help carry that unit, they failed and failed miserably. Sasha was counted on to supply much need outside shooting. And for a while he did. But then his shot left, forever. Why? Who knows.

And Jordan Farmar was counted on to handle the ball, drive, score and dish like a good point. He could do none of them with any consistancy.

In the past, our bench has started out fine. Remember the Killer Bees? So why should we think this bench will stand up over time and the season?

Here is why, this bench brings something different to the team. This benchs production and effectiveness is predicated on defense and rebounding and is much more a post bench than a perimeter one.

Metta, Murphy and McRoberts are down low, providing defense and rebounds in the paint. To do this you have to have both the athletic ability, the strength and the desire. They have all three. It is not like asking a guy to have a certain skill, like hitting threes or passing or running a teams offense with the ball. Yet these guys are just as important in what they bring. Remember Rileys old refrain, no rebounds no rings? And how many teams have you seen win a title without playing that hard defense in the paint? Just ask Nash's old high scoring, soft Suns. They will tell you about that. Or ask tonights Knicks.

And with a rejuvinated Blake who bombed out last year in Phil's triangle and Matt Barnes looking like the old pre injury Barnes, you just have more on top of what we are showing down low. If Kopono, Murphy and Goudelock can hit threes with any consistancy, the bench becomes even stronger yet. And with the return of Drew and moving McRoberts to the second unit, yet stronger still.

I was a bit surprised in the pre season when some media types bemoaned our bench this year compared to the past. What bench did we have in the past? We never had one. That was one of our problems. As we signed all these new players, my thought was, "It looks like we may actually have a freakin bench for once. One that may be there to depend on all year." And so far, so good.

With this bench, given what these guys bring, as long as they keep that desire and effort to rebound and defend, unlike in years past, it is a perscription for true, all season long unit we can depend on.

Of course the one area of concern that we will all watch closely is the point guard spot. Can old man Fish and the recharged Blake give us enough on both sides of the ball, even if Blake continues his current play?

That is a risky proposition and a gamble. Reggie Miller tonight said that the Lakers don't need to trade for Dwight because we have Drew. He said the Lakers need to find a point who can defend, penetrate, score and dish. Not to open that old can of Dwight worms, but you understand his point. Drew is an asset. In making that trade, you are getting rid of one good center for another. Now Dwight may be better, most think he is, some think Drews potential as a scorer may be more needed here, but his point is clear and valid; that trade doesn't rectify our major problem. A trade or move that would rectify it would be far more benificial to the teams chances to win a title.

So we shall see what develops there. Will the Lakers stay with Fish and Blake? Will they try to pull out a rabbit and make a move? Maybe the best solution would be if Morris could claim that spot, but in all reality, that seems very unlikely. Unless he is one of those very, very rare special players, he won't be much help manning probably the most difficult position in basketball for us this year.

A final note on Coach Brown. I really have to say I have been surprised at some of the comments aimed at him over the last few days. Nitpicking at every little decision he has made. How many coaches have you seen that you agreed with every game decision? I can't think of one from my view. Yet after only three games, here where the critics and so many saying, "Oh we should have hired this guy. We should have hired that guy!" Really? And what exactly have these other coaches won? How many rings has their genious wrought on the league? I can't think of any.

After three games? Really. His die is cast, judgments are in and he sucks? With a new system, a new team, hardly any practice or camp?

Man, good thing we don't judge players that way. We would have cut Kobe after three games his rookie year. I guess its a good thing we didn't.

When looking at Brown, or any coach, I take the overall view. How does the team look on both ends of the floor? Do they look downcast, disorganized and lazy, out of it, like in Phil's last year? Or with other coaches? Or do they seem into what is going on? Are they lively, energetic, optimistic, do they move with brio and and purpose. Do they look like they are having fun and are you seeing results? Do they look like they are buying into the program, and not just on offense, but more importantly the defensive program?

I see all those things with Brown's team right now. On both sides of the floor. I love how he is using Metta down low, where despite his age and declining skill, he can still use his strength and size to defend, rebound and post up score. Something that my good friend Gemfow and others were screaming for old Mummy Phil to do with him last year, but didn't.

Love how he is getting Kobe screens to get free and do what he does best. I love how I hear he is practicing defense sixty percent of the time in training. How much do I love that? Well, think about playing Oklahoma, Miami, Dallas, Memphis or some other teams in the playoffs. Do you want to engage them in a pure shoot out or would you rather have a pit bull defensive team to go head to head? I know how I want to play it, just as Coach Brown wants to as well. Thats the path for us to try win this thing. We tried the soft offensive side last year. Remember what it got us? If you don't take a look at idiot Cuban's goofy smiling face. That is a reminder.

If the bench keeps up, if the team continues to exact Browns price on defense, if Kobe stays healthy, if Drew continues to improve from last year, this transition year of new players could end up being a transition to another team that may compete for a championship. And that is one hell of thing to do in any transition year.

Now if only Morris can.....or only Mitch can.....

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Elitist Lakers fans may have to deal with reality…and wait.

 Posted by: SPQR on Friday, December 23, 2011 - 02:46 PM
Lakers Blog 
I have heard stories that fans from other teams, on their websites are chuckling over the Lakers inability to land Chris Paul or Dwight Howard.

And as a Lakers fan, reading so many posts here about how we should have gotten Paul, how we should get Dwight, I can understand their ribaldry over us not getting what WE want.

Over the last few weeks, I have been struck by so many Lakers fans feeling of entitlement. You know, we are the Lakers, and we should get what we want to keep the good times rolling forever. You know, Stern should have let the first Paul trade go through, because well, we made the offer and we wanted Paul. Forget that he could cast around, be patient, look for a better deal..from us or someone else. Or, Dwight Howard certainly wants to come to us, play in LA with Kobe, instead of perhaps having other ideas about where he wants to take his career. It’s a feeling of entitlement that plays well here, but looks so very elitist to other fans.

But reality has a way of intruding into life. Stern did not see fit to give us Paul on our first offer and Dwight Howard told Orlando that he would like to play with Deron Williams in their new Brooklyn digs over coming here, if given his druthers. His first choice is not LA but another.

It is notable to observe that the outrage Lakers fans felt at not getting Paul on that first offer was not extended to the cross town Clippers when their first offer was rejected. I also have serious doubts had Dallas, Miami or Boston had a first offer rejected by Stern if the Lakers fans would have expressed outrage for those teams. But it wasn’t Dallas or Boston or Miami, it was us, and well, we deserved to get Paul. Because we are the Lakers and we are entitled to get the best players all the time, we are entitled to get who we want and need, when we want and need them, and for the winning to go on forever.

Sometimes, success can spoil a fan. From the day we got Shaq through the current Kobe era, we have had the best player in basketball for over twelve years. And we have seven NBA finals and five NBA championships to show for it. Think about that. Since the day Shaq got here through Kobe, we have had the best player in basketball and been in seven championships, winning five. How did the other teams do over that time? Yet in our entitlement, we expect to get Paul or expect Dwight to demand to come here as his first choice, as though Stern, Dwight and everyone else should give us what we want so that our success and spot at the top of the heap can go on indefinitely, forever. The truth is, there is no Lakers entitlement and nothing lasts forever. Not even this current run we have all so enjoyed for so long.

Is it any wonder that fans of other teams look at us and shake their heads, laugh when our sense of entitlement is not reciprocated by others?

And since that entitlement was not granted, where are we now? Well, there is no doubt we are a team in transitions. Perhaps so much so, any realistic desire to win a championship may not be within reach. Our star player, Kobe Bryant, is 33. On the downside of his career. Once again, the injury bug, which has been plaguing him in recent years, has reared up. Not a surprise, considering his age and the all out way he has played the game all these many years. With Fisher shot and Artest aging fast, with Lamar and Phil gone, this team is now becoming something different than we are used to.

I think this year, we will rise and fall with the play of our younger athletes. I think the long term success of the team will depend on what Drew, Morris, Ebanks, Goudelock can bring to the table. I think if during the long year, these guys can step up and contribute in a strong, positive way, we will have a very exciting, fun year. I will also say that right now, I am not thinking about an NBA championship. I am thinking about seeing the outline being built of a future Lakers team that will eventually be able to complete for a title down the road. Not to say we won’t compete this year, but right now, that is not the measuring stick I am searching for.

I am also thinking down the road a few years. If Drew and his younger compadres show the right stuff, then a core is being put in place. A core for future success and contention. You look down the road and see a day when Kobe will retire. At that time you will have the money to bring in another top tier star, if you are lucky. Then you will have Luke’s contract ending too. More money to bring in another very good player, a player who will actually earn the money Luke is being given for no return. In those intervening years, between now and then, if we are not a top tier team, if we do not compete for a title, it will mean we will get higher draft picks than usual. More good players, if Mitch does his job, to add to the mix.

So in looking down that road of the future, if things go well, we would conceivably be a team that can compete for a title within the next five years. And anyway you slice it, that aint too bad for a team coming off the glory of the Shaq-Kobe run. And that’s a future most teams would gladly trade for.

So I would tell Lakers fans, don’t let a sense of entitlement warp and destroy your enjoyment of the game or our team, not the present version, nor its future. Take this season for what it is, an incubator to nurture and grow the team from its present iteration to a better one we will see down the line. And if we are lucky enough to compete this year for a title, then look at is as icing on a very surprising, tasty cake.

If the worst happens, if the Shaq-Kobe run is finished as far as winning titles is concerned, yet in five years we once again are poised to compete for the big prize, how many fans of other teams wouldn’t sell their souls to have been in our shoes in the past or have our future?

No matter how much we want, no matter how much the Shaq-Kobe run spoiled us, there is no way we can always have the best player or players in the league on our team, no way we can always be a top threat to win a title. Sometimes you are going to drop for a while. And if our wait is just four or five years, then I will gladly take it. That is really not a long time in sports years.

I have never felt a sense of entitlement as a Lakers fan. I understand that we have more good happen here than any sports fan deserves. For me, this year will be one where I want to see good things happen with your young players and our new coach. Anything else- including championship contention- will be gravy. For me, this season will not be just about now, but for the future that all of us face as fans of this remarkable franchise. If the new coach and young players come through, it won’t be all that long before we are in championship mix again. And then, it will be the Lakers fans who as usual, will have the last laugh at those fans of other teams who so often have to spend their years looking up at us on our march into the history books.

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On verge of the season, with no Paul, I feel…excitment.

 Posted by: SPQR on Sunday, December 18, 2011 - 02:24 PM
Lakers Blog 
With the short preseason upon us, and regular season just a week away, with all the disappoint expressed on LTB about Phil retiring, not getting Paul, not getting Dwight, losing Lamar what is my main feeling about what is rapidly approaching? Nothing less than excitement and hope.

The big topic of conversation here in the last week has been the Chris Paul debacle. And nobody here wanted Paul any more than I did. For many reasons. And when we didn’t get him, I felt a keen disappointment, a malaise. I suddenly felt a loss of anticipation for the coming campaign. I thought that was an emotion that would last for weeks, perhaps longer; but surprisingly now has been completely purged.

How and when did it happen?

In the last couple of days, my attention left Paul and moved onto players who are actually on our team. I read an article about how well Andrew Bynum is looking. Soon after, I read another about the stellar play of second year pro Devin Ebanks. Soon after, another, about the nice passing and defense of our rookie point guard Darius Morris has exhibited in camp. And as I read these articles, I realized that information was making me excited. And afterwards, I realized I was getting excited over players not named Chris Paul. And I realized, I hadn’t been thinking about Paul for quite a while. And this made me realize it was stupid to get upset about a player who had never even been a Laker in the first place, when we have players on this team, some of them young and coming up, like Drew, like Ebanks, like Morris, who will be fun and exciting to watch, who have their own abilities and gifts to contribute both as individuals and as parts of the team as a whole. I realized, I want to see Drew play, I want to see Ebanks, I want to see Morris.

In not obtaining Paul or Dwight, it’s not like we lost a player who had been in purple and gold. Not like when Magic retired because of HIV. Not as though Kobe announced today that he has to retire because his knees are shot. Dwight and Paul never played a second for us. They never came through in the clutch for us, never led us, never won a ring for us. Yet on this current team, we have players who have won two rings and plenty of glory for all of us. And in Kobe, a once in a life time player who has brought five more championships to LA than Dwight and Paul have to their teams, combined!

And I am to feel down and out because Dwight or Paul are not in Lakers uniforms? I realized, that was nothing but self flagellation for the most banal of reasons. It made no sense at all. Like the Lakers, I am resilient. We don’t always get our way, but we always bounce back. The tradition goes on. The great teams and championships accrue. Nothing stops that.

Should I be upset and downcast because we traded Lamar? I loved Lamar’s game. But I hate his childish attitude about being a chit in the deal to try get Paul. If he doesn’t understand the profession he is in, the one that pays him millions, even after he has been traded multiple times before, and wants to leave the Lakers, then the hell with Lamar Odom. And I think, this guy isn’t 26, or 28, he is 32 years old. His best days are behind him, like all 32 year old athletes. Will we miss him this year and perhaps the next, probably. But if Mitch does his job, that first round pick we got for him will evolve into a good player. And in three or four years, a better player than a 35 year old Lamar Odom. So screw Lamar, I’m excited he’s gone, I look forward to who and how we replace him, and what player we get in with that pick in that draft.

Kobe Bryant had a procedure done on knee in the offseason. This gives hope, that this year’s Kobe will be more effective than even last year’s Kobe will be. And for me, that’s an exciting thought, because last year’s Kobe, even given his injuries, was pretty damn good.

We have lost our great coach, Phil Jackson. And for me, that’s exciting. Yes, a strange thing to say and feel, but true nonetheless. As time goes on, well change, physically and mentally. And in the last couple years, you could see a change in Phil. A certain remove from activism, a detachment from activity, an inability to make adjustments. He looked old, he looked tired, he looked sick, all of which he is.

Two years ago, against Oklahoma, in the playoffs, Phil opted for a certain defensive alignment that was killing us. The media could see what was happening. We could see what was happening; the players could see what was happening. Phil could not. It took Kobe Bryant to go to Phil and suggest a change for the coach to finally do what he should had done, should have known, should have seen so easily. If Kobe had not stepped forward, who knows how long it would have went on, or what it would have cost us?

Last year, it became apparent that team has tuned out Phil’s system and message. The old magic wasn’t there, and Phil really couldn’t do anything to right the ship. Filet mignon is so very good. The top of the line, the best, like Phil once was. So good, that you can eat two for dinner. But after two, when you try a third or fourth, no matter how good, it loses its appeal. And with Phil, both the team and myself, had moved onto the fourth serving. It was time for a change. A different meal.

I was tired of the triangle on offense and the lack of any defense. And it seemed the players were too. And as I read articles about Coach Brown, I find myself excited. Excited about his energy, his attention to detail, about his hard training camp, about his demands that the players execute, about how he says his system, both offense and defense, will take only two weeks for the players to learn. As opposed to Phil’s system that seemed to take veterans five years to learn and rookies 25 years. I am excited that this coach, may actually teach and play youngsters, rookies, instead of bench them and forget them, like Phil.

So I think, Morris doesn’t have to be Paul. He just has to be a better passer and defender than Derek. He just has to be a budding talent, and we improve. And that’s exciting.

I think, Drew doesn’t have to be Dwight. He just has to stay healthy and add to what he showed last year. And that’s exciting.

And I think, Ebanks will get a chance to really show his skills, not in practice, but in actual games, where we can all see and enjoy it. And that’s exciting.

And I think, this year, we will have a coach, with a totally different system, with energy, verve, enthusiasm, ambition, a young, healthy coach, who wants to win his first championship as bad as Kobe wants to win his sixth. A coach who may see young players with fresh legs as an asset, not a detriment. And I think back on the Phil Jackson I saw last year, and I get excited.

No Paul, no Dwight? I don’t care. How many games have they won for us? How much did they contribute to our last two championships?

No Lamar. Big deal. He is 32, he acted like a child to the trade, he if he doesn’t want to stay here, then I don’t want him here. It’s not like you can’t win a championship without Lamar Odom. Other teams have.

No Phil? I’m excited. I am glad Phil is gone, no matter what kind of coach Brown ends up being. If Brown isn't the answer, we will look until we find it. But I am excited to see what he does.

So here we are, on the cusp of a new year. With all the promise that brings. Will we win a championship? I don’t know. But I know we have a strong squad. I know we will be among the better teams in basketball. I know we have a new coach and some young players I can’t wait to see. How much more does a fan really need to get the party started?

No Phil, no Dwight, no Paul, no Lamar? Well we have Kobe, Pau, Drew, Artest, Ebanks, Morris and more, young players and new players we signed this year.. We have a new coach and new system. And when I think about those things, I realize, I feel very excited.

The season starts in a week. And I realize, I’m not thinking about Chris Paul anymore. I realize, I don’t care about him anymore. Nor Phil, nor Dwight or Lamar, or anyone who is not part of this current Lakers team. Who is not representing our history, our dynasty, our tradition, or way of life that stands alone in NBA history. They aren’t part of this team, not part of our goals or future. It’s they who are missing out, not us, not me, not you. We are the Lakers and they are not. It's their loss, not ours. Screw all of them.

We are the Lakers, not them. In the end, it’s always our gain and their loss. That’s what being a Laker and Laker fan means. That’s why the rings are on the fingers and the banners float in the rafters. And those rings and banners are what we are.

The season starts in a week. I realize, I am excited. I realize, I can’t f*cking wait.

Go get em’ Lakers!

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Sportscaster Predicts Kobe To Ask For Trade This Season

Posted by: JamFan on Thursday, December 15, 2011 - 11:05 AM
Lakers Blog 

According to a prediction that Stephen A Smith made on national TV in front of an ESPN audience, Kobe Bryant will ask for a trade before the season is done.

Lets see if there is enough evidence to support Stephen's claim. First, Jim Buss refused to try and trade Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony. Then, the Lakers get swept in the playoffs by Dallas. Then, the Lakers are unable to get Chris Paul.
Then, Jim Buss trades Lamar Odom for chump change to Dallas, a rival who just swept them. Then, Orlando backs off talks on a trade bringing Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Then, the Clippers get Chris Paul, and are now annointed the new hip team in LA, the hot ticket.


In so many words, Stephen said that Kobe is putting up a brave face in front of the cameras, but he is seething when off camera. Smith says that Jim Buss makes decisions on emotion. The implication is that it is not serving him well. He says that he knows Kobe very well and he thinks Kobe will ask for a trade before the season is done.

Many fans feel that Jim Buss should give all player decisions to the GM Mitch Kupchak and go back to just having beers with the boys. All of the speculation about Kobe asking for a trade is avoidable. But the Lakers need to pull off a blockbuster deal. It is being questioned that Jim Buss is up to the task. If the Lakers don't make a deal, and the team flounders during the the season, will Stephen A Smiths prediction come true?

Jamfan
aka Don Allen


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In the end, as usual, Stern was correct.

 Posted by: SPQR on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - 06:32 PM
Lakers Blog 
I know for a fact, nobody on this thread wanted CP3 anymore than I did. I was dying to get this guy.

When we made the offer to get him, I was excited as I have ever been as a Lakers fan. When the deal was rejected and the team moved on to try get Dwight, I felt as low as I have ever have as a Lakers fan.

I will always remember Dan Gilbert and Mark Cuban putting their big mouths where they didn't belong when we made our first offer. Gilbert because he is so bitter about Lebron and sees us a west coast version of Miami, call it basketball penis envy, and Cuban because he will do anything to hurt and cripple the Lakers.

I will always root against Dallas and Cleveland as long a Gilbert and Cuban rule those teams.

But looking back on this, one person I can't critisize and hate is David Stern.

As the de facto owner of the Hornets, it was his charge to get the best deal possible from a very bad situation: the departure of super star Chris Paul. And as a disappointed, yet realistic Lakers fan, I have to understand he was not our "owner" not trying to help us get the best deal, but he had to get New Orleans the best deal.

Most of us are disappointed. But just imagine if you were a New Orleans fan, how happy you would be tonight, that Stern held out for the best possible deal for you and your team. If I were a New Orleans fan tonight, I would want to kiss Stern for rejecting the Lakers offer and waiting. Wouldn't you feel the same way?

And if the Lakers had been in New Orleans position, wouldn't we all be on here right now, sceaming with joy that Stern had held out? Of course we would.

So as a Lakers fan, although I am disappointed, I have to actually give Stern credit for doing his job, doing it well, and doing it under very hard circumstances when he was getting pilloried by fans and the press.

And if the fans and press have any integrity, with what has happened now, to the benifit of New Orleans, then they will saying and writing columns tomorrow about how wrong they were. How Stern was right all along, being patient, waiting, for the best interests of the team he was in charge of, not LA, not any other team, but New Orleans.

Somehow, fans and the press lost sight of that. Including this fan. Maybe thats why fans are where they are, reporters are where they are, and Stern is where he is, and why New Orleans fans are happy tonight.

Stern has come a long way in life. He has done so for a reason: he is a very smart and capable man. And once again, he showed that very same mettle, even when others were way too fast to jump the gun and hang him from a tree.

As a disappointed Lakers fan, I would tell Stern, "Good job, you did exactly what that particular team needed and expected of you to do. You did your job well."
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Would you welcome a gutless traitors CP3 or Dwight to LA?

 Posted by: SPQR on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 - 01:00 PM
Lakers Blog 
I am sure everyone here remembers the reaction last year when Lebron abandoned Cleveland for greener pastures in Miami with Dwayne Wade, another superstar.

It was hot and heavy and full of righteous condemnation. “Lebron is scared to try win a title on his own.” “Lebron is too gutless to stay in Cleveland and lead his team.” “Lebron is a no good traitor.” And on and on.

Back then I posted my thoughts on the Lebron move. I felt that if any person, athlete or not, had the fortunate chance to move to a city they wish to live and work in, for a company they wanted to work with, they would be a fool not to. I mean life throws enough stop signs and roadblocks at you all the time. If you are in a position to go through one and be happier, what idiot wouldn’t?

If any of you were lucky enough to get to move to a city you liked better than the one you are in, and work for a company you would prefer over your current one, wouldn’t you jump at it?

And if you did, and say some acquaintance of yours said, “Oh you are a gutless traitor for making that move, I think you should stay where you are,” well I think we all know what you would say back, right? I know what I would.

It is beyond ridiculous, in my eyes, that any fan thinks he can tell a player what he should do with his career and life; that he knows what is best for a complete stranger, to the point where he can judge where those players should be and the reasons why he can’t leave. And even worse, that some fans arrogate the role of god and pass judgment on a player-gutless, p*ssy, traitor- just because the player does what he feels is right for him, his career and life, as though some fan knows better.

I did have a problem with how Lebron did what he did. That ESPN show was a testament to how big Lebron’s ego had blown and how out of touch Lebron World was with planet earth. I felt bad for long suffering Cleveland fans for losing their home town hero, but not for a moment did I feel arrogant enough to think, that I had the right to tell Lebron where he should play ball, the course his life should take, or pass judgment on him for making a decision that he had all the right in the world to make.

Which brings us to CP3 and Dwight. If the Lakers do get one, I would ask this of those who eviscerated Lebron when he left Cleveland: will you welcome either man with the epitaphs’ “Traitor, gutless, coward, loser”?

Will you say, “CP3, Dwight, you didn’t have the guts to lead your team. You have to come play with Kobe. I don’t think we want some gutless, traitor coward on this team.”? In fact, why is it that I am not reading any posts right now saying, “Don’t bring those gutless, coward traitors to LA. We don’t need that kind of star. We want players who are men and act like men.”? Funny, when the star who couldn’t lead his team to a title may come to LA instead of Miami, the ensuing silence on the issue is….deafening. I wonder why?

Nor do I see any of those Lebron posters on LTB attacking CP3 or Dwight for wanting to leave their teams. Not one word in any post, on any thread. Do any of you wonder why that is, when it was Lebron, all you saw was words, thousands, on every post on every thread?

Or will you be saying how great it is to have a player of that ability on our team?

Nor do I hear Charles Barkley, or any of the other media critics of Lebron’s move uttering a word about this year’s two superstars who seem to want to hook up with other superstars in order to finally win.

Does the difference between being labeled a traitor, coward, gutless as opposed to being a terrific player who wants to win simply boil down to whether you want to go to Miami and Wade, or LA and Kobe?


Or is the difference really just whether you are fan who is happy for your own reasons that a star is leaving his team, or unhappy for your own reasons that a star is leaving his team? Faux moral outrage, disguised as such, simply because a fan just doesn’t like a particular player?

In all the silence, all the quiet, if you listen hard enough you can hear a faint sound.

It's the sound of hypocrisy.

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Should the Lakers revisit Paul II again?

 Posted by: SPQR on Tuesday, December 13, 2011 - 03:22 PM
Lakers Blog 
In light of the new reality of Dwight perhaps not leaving Orlando, let alone coming to LA, and also Kobe’s remarks that he does not like the roster on this team, I wonder, can the Lakers revisit the second Paul deal?

Right when we and three other teams were on the cusp of submitting a revamped Paul II deal, the Lakers found out Dwight had asked for a trade and pulled out of Paul II in an effort to get Dwight.
I think it was at that point, the front office acted in a very dangerous, precipitous manner, leading to mess we are currently in. The Lakers should have gone ahead with submitting Paul II to the league. What harm would it have done? It did not lock the Lakers into going through with it. It simply would have given them Stern’s green light to do it if they wished.

I also loved that Paul deal for so many reasons. It would have replaced our biggest problem, Derek at the point, with only a better player, but one of the best points in basketball. Perhaps one of the best points in NBA history. This would allowed us to get the ball to all our players in a way we have not seen. It would have opened up whole new vistas for Andrew Bynum down low. It would have taken the burden of handling the ball off a 33 year old Kobe and allowed him to roam free, post up, go where he wanted, when he wanted, with the knowledge that he would have gotten the ball at the right place, at the right time to make his final move. And this holds true for Drew and every other player on the court with Paul.

Instead, we decided to go for Dwight. A move that would not have addressed our point problem and also would result in replacing one of our better players, Bynum, with another center, even given the argument that Dwight is better. I mean in the laundry list of Lakers problems; Drew is not at the top. In fact he is an asset, not a liability. For these reasons, I find it incredible that the Lakers decided adding Dwight to play with Kobe was paramount, a better move, over adding Paul to play with Kobe and Drew.

Because the Lakers made what I consider a horrendous mistake, now we have traded Lamar to Dallas, who’s owner was the driving force for us not getting Paul in the first deal and now Kobe is unhappy with the talent that surrounds him. You can see where all this can lead. Not a good place.

But is there a way out? That almost impossible chance to actually go back in time and redress the mistakes that got us here? Perhaps there is, even without a time machine or wormhole to bend time and space.

ESPN has reported that the Clippers and Lakers are still the front runners to get Paul. So that begs the question, shouldn’t LA try to revisit Paul? I think they would have a good shot at getting that second Paul deal through. Yes it is true we no longer have Lamar as chip. But perhaps that is a good thing. Didn’t Stern say he wanted more draft picks for New Orleans, not so many old players? And don’t we now have the Dallas number one pick? Couldn’t we add our own? Would I give them up, both of which will be almost second round picks, to get Paul? In a minute I would.

And there is another, I think even bigger ace card the Lakers now hold. With the Clippers deal falling through, Stern is facing the very mortifying prospect of Paul playing the whole year out, then walking and leaving New Orleans with nothing to show for it. How bad would that make Stern look? How happy would that make New Orleans fans and their future owner? There is now considerable pressure, both internal and external on Stern to find some trade that will get New Orleans decent value for their departing star.


If I were the Lakers, with the new Dwight reality at hand and with Kobe’s displeasure being aired, I would once again revisit Paul II and try to erase the mistake that first got them in this mess.

I would be on the phone right now.
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That sound you hear is Mark Cuban laughing his *ss off.

 Posted by: SPQR on Sunday, December 11, 2011 - 04:57 PM
Lakers Blog 
If for some reason, at home, in a moment of silence, you hear a strange noise. Like some insane, frothing at the mouth crazy would make, invading your house, don’t be alarmed. You are just hearing the noise of Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban laughing his *ss off at the way he stuck it to the Lakers and how the Lakers management is now walking the path Cuban set up for them.

Cuban has never hid his antipathy for the Lakers and his desire to supplant them as the elite team in the west. For years, he has thrown out barbs and tried to foment trouble with the team he could never beat. Even back in the Kobe-Shaq days he would talk about the troubles between the two stars, how it could implode the team, how Dallas would jump into the breach and become the dominant team in the west. He often repeated such sentiments during the Kobe-Pau era as well. He often reminded me of that kid on the playground, who sucked at everything, and spat out bitter invective because he could never win. Like the bellicose, manic, half crazy nerd he looks like, he has always tried every trick he has to get on top of LA and push them from the top. This is a man who is used to getting his way, and his way in the NBA, paramount above all else, is the destruction of the Lakers, the team he hates.

When Demps came up with deal to move Paul to LA, I can’t help feel that he sent an outline of the deal to his de facto boss, David Stern. I know from my own business experience, when you are finalizing a deal of that kind of magnitude, you at least run an outline to your superior…just to make sure. So if he did, and Stern said, "fine, go ahead" what changed after is it was official? Cuban's and Gilberts carping and screaming about "what is best for New Orleans."? But even if Demps didn't give Stern the trade outline before hand, I have to wonder, had not Cuban and pathetic, Dan Gilbert, who is now eternally bitter with successful teams because he was too incompetent to build a team to keep Lebron James, not raised a storm, would the deal had passed? Had Demps said, “This is the best deal I can get,” and nobody had said a word, would not have Stern said, “Fine, then get it done.”?

Cuban said, with all the self righteous hypocrisy he could muster that he was concerned about New Orleans getting the best deal it could. What a joke. I am surprised he could keep a straight face uttering that load of mendacity. The day Mark Cuban is concerned about the New Orleans Hornets is the day we all start worrying about the Boston Celtics getting fair deals in trades with other teams.

The only thing Cuban was worried about was us getting Chris Paul and getting to level where we could dethrone his newly minted champion Mavericks. With Cuban, it’s always been about the Lakers, and it always will be. The thought of Kobe being aligned with a great point guard, and Drew or Dwight was more than he could bear. And he acted in his own self interests. And he succeeded.

And to make matters worse, the Lakers have now walked right down the path Cuban hoped they would...like a dog on a leash. They have given up on Paul and traded Lamar to Dallas in an effort to get Dwight Howard. Trading Lamar to Dallas was like England selling some fighter planes to N*zi Germany while the Germans were bombing the sh*t out of them. Since when do you deal with such an implacable enemy? When do you start making trades with a man who wants to make that trade and whose sole desire in life is to destroy your organization and team?

According to reports, the Lakers made that trade so they can marshall their full assets in an attempt to obtain Dwight. Well in war, when you marshall your full assets, that means you hold nothing back. You use them all. So here we have the Lakers, now stuck in a duel with the billionaire Jersey owner willing to use their full assets to get Dwight. And if we use our full assets, what will we have left, who will play with Kobe and Dwight? A bunch of half washed up veterans? Will we have any of our young players left as fresh legs and for the future years? And this doesn’t even mean we will win the Jersey duel. And incredibly, Dallas is now able to try getting Paul, the player they didn’t want us to get, themselves! Could Cuban be any happier? Could he possibly be laughing harder right now?

In all my years of watching hoops, I have only rooted against two people for life, out of pure hate. That was Karl Malone and Jerry Coangelo’s Suns. Because when Magic tried to come back the first time from HIV, and the league allowed it because they knew there was no real threat, Malone and Coangelo started screaming about it. Like Cuban, they masked their real reasons by saying they had concerns about playing against Magic. It was no coincidences that like Cuban, both Malone’s and Coangelo’s teams had suffered playoff defeats to Magic and his Lakers for years. With Magic gone their chances for a ring increased exponentially, with him back in LA, things looked bleak again.

And so, history repeats itself. All the altruistic garbage about helping New Orleans from Cuban and his other owner supporters just a smoke screen to couch the real goal: don’t let LA get Paul and compete for a title again.

Just like with Malone and Coangelo’s Suns, for the rest of my life, I will forever root against the Mavs and the Cavaliers (not that loser Gilbert will ever threaten to win anything so not much energy wasted rooting there).

So if you hear some wild, strange insane sound in a moment of silence at your home, don’t be alarmed, its not a break in, it’s just the sound of Mark Cuban laughing his *ss off, he just can’t help it.

I can honestly say, when I heard we were getting Paul, that was as excited as I have ever felt as a Lakers fan. Now, after what Cuban engineered, and how the Lakers have traveled the primrose path he set up for them, I have never felt so deflated. I am devoid of all excitement or enthusiasm right now. Thats just how I feel.

Mitch, Buss and the Lakers may have now pursued a policy of appeasement with their tormentor, but that doesn’t mean I have to.
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