mystical33
Banned
- 47
- 10
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2000
MY BOY KEEPS TELLIN ME THAT KOBE SHOULD JUST BUY OUT HIS CONTRACT AT A REAL LOW PRICE AND JUST GO AND SIGN WITH THE BULLS LOL
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If cats was really fly like they believe themselves to be, They wouldn't be so dependent on "exclusives"...
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Well according to you and last nights Suns/Lakers game, Kobe should be happy with the Lakers...
that would be foolish
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hes with a contendingTEAM DUNDER MIFFLIN: Scranton Branch
I'm always thinking one step ahead. Like a carpenter...who makes stairs.
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Ric Bucher: So the way things are going, I'd be surprised if Kobe's not somewhere else by Thanksgiving. Again, I was the guy that said he would never wear a Lakers' uniform again because it was obvious where this was heading. I thought calmer heads would prevail and they'd never let it get to this. I thought they'd make the deal way before this, so it's difficult for me to put a timeline on it. They've already gone way further down this road than I ever would have been willing to go. Michigan Live
Here's what one general manager had to say yesterday, when I asked him about Luol Deng and the Bulls' rumored refusal to include him in a potential deal with the Lakers for Kobe Bryant: "If I had Deng, I would not trade him, either." Even for Kobe? "Even for Kobe." Yeesh. How's that for pressure? SportingNews
You could go back and drudge up trade rumors past, too. The Bulls didn't want to include Deng in a trade last winter for Pau Gasol. Or Kevin Garnett. Gasol, Garnett, Bryant -- that's 20 All-Star games. Again, it's not fair to heap all that on Deng, but it'll be hard for fans to watch Deng and not think about other players, the trades not made. SportingNews
John Paxson decided enough was enough. The Bulls' general manager announced Thursday that a Kobe Bryant trade is not going to happen and was never close to happening. The Bulls will compete with their current roster until further notice. Arlington Heights Daily Herald
"The reality is, everybody knows we were having talks with the Lakers," Paxson said at the Berto Center. "In this case, if you've got to give up so much to get one player, that's something I'm not going to do. "I want to focus on trying to get our guys back on track and end all the rumors swirling around. Because there's not a deal that ever was on the verge of being done, was ever close to being done or is going to be done right now. So that's that." Arlington Heights Daily Herald
One rumored trade that "fell through" had the Lakers ending up with Ben Wallace and Sacramento's Ron Artest, the two primary combatants in the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl. Did anyone really believe the Lakers would consider taking a 33-year-old center and one of the most heavily punished players in league history? Arlington Heights Daily Herald
Paxson shot down recent talk that the sticking point was the Bulls' refusal to include Luol Deng in any deal. "I've never thought we were at a point where you say anybody's off limits," he said. "A lot of things that were mentioned were not based on any fact whatsoever. That's the unfortunate thing." Arlington Heights Daily Herald
There is no guarantee that Bryant won't be return to the Bulls' sights before the February trade deadline. For that to happen, though, the Lakers' price would have to drop and the Bulls probably would need to be playing poorly. Arlington Heights Daily Herald
Bryant has a no-trade clause in his contract he didn't want to drop. Any team that acquired him would ask him to drop it and give them flexibility so they're not in the position the Lakers are now in with Bryant able to dictate a deal. He also has an opt-out after next season he doesn't want to drop. So you could trade for him and then he could still could leave as a free agent after next season. He wants an extension averaging about $27 million a year, which would make him the second highest paid player in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan. Chicago Tribune
And he doesn't want to drop the 15 percent trade kicker that any acquiring team would also have to pay beyond his current contract, which averages $22.1 million All this before he would have played a game for his new team. Chicago Tribune
Yes, the Lakers are frustrated and angry with Bryant, which is an issue that hangs over other teams. After all, if the Lakers could trade Shaquille O'Neal to accommodate Bryant and give him the best contract in the league only to have him do this to them, what could he do to us if he gets upset? Chicago Tribune
Bryant sent in demands regarding whom he'd play with or not. The Lakers and his representatives tossed around possibilities. Sometimes the Bulls would call the Lakers and ask if it were true. The Lakers would laugh at the suggestions. Chicago Tribune
My guess is Bryant will still be there next summer when Paxson truly knows if this team is good enough. If it's not, and with Bryant then just one year from an opt-out, it might be more possible to make a deal near the February trade deadline. "Who knows?" he said. "The reality is that, right now, it's done." Yahoo
Back at the Lakers' training facility, General Manager Mitch Kupchak concurred, in not so many words. "Well said, John," Kupchak said after hearing Paxson's remarks. Kupchak declined further comment. Bryant had been connected to Chicago in numerous Internet and TV reports suggesting the Lakers and Bulls were imminent trade partners. Paxson's comments left the Lakers . . . where, exactly? LA Times
Phil Jackson: "The idea obviously still stands -- as Dr. [Jerry] Buss reiterated many, many times, we do not want to trade Kobe Bryant, but we will listen to any comments that come our way that give us equal parity for him," Jackson said. "I say a window's closing on those things, and so now it's the business of basketball. Now we have to go about playing the game the right way." LA Times
Bryant had been eyeing the watered-down Eastern Conference, and the ever-improving Bulls, since demanding to be traded in May, but a few things would have stood in his way, namely his contract ($88.6 million over the next four seasons), the trade kicker in it ($9.6 million to be paid over the next two seasons by a team that acquires him) or the fact Bryant could terminate the contract in two years. LA Times
For those keeping score, there are now public shoot-downs from two potential trading partners -- Paxson and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban -- as well as an unlikely trading partner, Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld, who felt it important to debunk a light-hearted newspaper item that proposed a Bryant-for-Gilbert Arenas trade. LA Times
According to someone with a need to know such privileged information, there was a grain of truth" regarding the attempted roundup of a third team in order to satisfy the Lakers' demand to fill the giant cavity Bryant's exodus would create. But the report of the Kings joining the equation was a nonsensical notion proposed by Bryant and agent Rob Pelinka; Phil Jackson never would agree to coach Artest unless Bryant remainedTeam Lakers1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002This season will shape the future of this franchise..
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am I the only Laker fan still hoping that we go on a little win streak and get LO back and just play out the season? forget about all the drama?Team Lakers1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002This season will shape the future of this franchise..