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Can't blame him. Hope dude balls out over there
[::Official Lakers Offseason Thread | Vol. Watch out world...we might sign Othello Hunter::]
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by kvsm23vs24,
- Start date
night marcher01
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$3 Million Dollars for just 40 days?
#FOREVERWORKING
night marcher01
Banned
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$3 Million Dollars for just 40 days?
#FOREVERWORKING
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Kobe Bryant Criticizes Shaqs Worth Ethic Again
It turns out Kobe Bryant won't wax nostalgic about Shaquille O'Neal after hanging up his laces.
It shouldn't be surprising considering they rarely got along during their tumultuous time together with the Lakers. But enough time had passed since then for Shaq to suggest his rifts with Bryant were motivational ploys, Jerry Buss to express appreciation for O'Neal's role in winning three championships and the Lakers to make plans at some point to retire his jersey.
O'Neal and Bryant may have formally buried the hatchet in 2006, but if there's one thing that irks Bryant the most, it's someone who lacks work ethic. That's why Bryant didn't bite his tongue when asked in a radio interview in Italy about his issues with O'Neal.
"I like players who work out," said Bryant, according to a report in Sportando. "I used to do that six, seven hours per day. I cannot stand players who practice for 30 minutes. I need to say something to them."
Bryant shares many Lakers fans' sentiments. As much as Lakers fans expressed frustration for the inability for O'Neal, Bryant, Buss and Phil Jackson to swallow a bit of their egos and find a way to co-exist to maximize championships, it's indisputable that O'Neal's questionable work ethic diminished his standing within the team.
Jackson believed O'Neal would win 10 league MVPS by the time he retired. But despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP and one regular season MVP honors, and 28,596 career points, he woefully underachieved. Buss didn't just take offense to O'Neal's demands to pay him during a regular-season game or when he famously said before the 2002-03 season he delayed toe surgery so he could heal "on company time." Shaq's unpredictable behavior no longer made him a trustworthy investment. And as for Bryant, there's many areas that point to their fractured relationship, but the disparity in work ethic remained one of them.
And no matter how much time has passed, it's clear Bryant won't forgive or forget about it.
Link:
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/09/kobe-criticizes-shaquille-oneal-work-ethic.html
It turns out Kobe Bryant won't wax nostalgic about Shaquille O'Neal after hanging up his laces.
It shouldn't be surprising considering they rarely got along during their tumultuous time together with the Lakers. But enough time had passed since then for Shaq to suggest his rifts with Bryant were motivational ploys, Jerry Buss to express appreciation for O'Neal's role in winning three championships and the Lakers to make plans at some point to retire his jersey.
O'Neal and Bryant may have formally buried the hatchet in 2006, but if there's one thing that irks Bryant the most, it's someone who lacks work ethic. That's why Bryant didn't bite his tongue when asked in a radio interview in Italy about his issues with O'Neal.
"I like players who work out," said Bryant, according to a report in Sportando. "I used to do that six, seven hours per day. I cannot stand players who practice for 30 minutes. I need to say something to them."
Bryant shares many Lakers fans' sentiments. As much as Lakers fans expressed frustration for the inability for O'Neal, Bryant, Buss and Phil Jackson to swallow a bit of their egos and find a way to co-exist to maximize championships, it's indisputable that O'Neal's questionable work ethic diminished his standing within the team.
Jackson believed O'Neal would win 10 league MVPS by the time he retired. But despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP and one regular season MVP honors, and 28,596 career points, he woefully underachieved. Buss didn't just take offense to O'Neal's demands to pay him during a regular-season game or when he famously said before the 2002-03 season he delayed toe surgery so he could heal "on company time." Shaq's unpredictable behavior no longer made him a trustworthy investment. And as for Bryant, there's many areas that point to their fractured relationship, but the disparity in work ethic remained one of them.
And no matter how much time has passed, it's clear Bryant won't forgive or forget about it.
Link:
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/09/kobe-criticizes-shaquille-oneal-work-ethic.html
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Kobe Bryant Criticizes Shaqs Worth Ethic Again
It turns out Kobe Bryant won't wax nostalgic about Shaquille O'Neal after hanging up his laces.
It shouldn't be surprising considering they rarely got along during their tumultuous time together with the Lakers. But enough time had passed since then for Shaq to suggest his rifts with Bryant were motivational ploys, Jerry Buss to express appreciation for O'Neal's role in winning three championships and the Lakers to make plans at some point to retire his jersey.
O'Neal and Bryant may have formally buried the hatchet in 2006, but if there's one thing that irks Bryant the most, it's someone who lacks work ethic. That's why Bryant didn't bite his tongue when asked in a radio interview in Italy about his issues with O'Neal.
"I like players who work out," said Bryant, according to a report in Sportando. "I used to do that six, seven hours per day. I cannot stand players who practice for 30 minutes. I need to say something to them."
Bryant shares many Lakers fans' sentiments. As much as Lakers fans expressed frustration for the inability for O'Neal, Bryant, Buss and Phil Jackson to swallow a bit of their egos and find a way to co-exist to maximize championships, it's indisputable that O'Neal's questionable work ethic diminished his standing within the team.
Jackson believed O'Neal would win 10 league MVPS by the time he retired. But despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP and one regular season MVP honors, and 28,596 career points, he woefully underachieved. Buss didn't just take offense to O'Neal's demands to pay him during a regular-season game or when he famously said before the 2002-03 season he delayed toe surgery so he could heal "on company time." Shaq's unpredictable behavior no longer made him a trustworthy investment. And as for Bryant, there's many areas that point to their fractured relationship, but the disparity in work ethic remained one of them.
And no matter how much time has passed, it's clear Bryant won't forgive or forget about it.
Link:
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/09/kobe-criticizes-shaquille-oneal-work-ethic.html
It turns out Kobe Bryant won't wax nostalgic about Shaquille O'Neal after hanging up his laces.
It shouldn't be surprising considering they rarely got along during their tumultuous time together with the Lakers. But enough time had passed since then for Shaq to suggest his rifts with Bryant were motivational ploys, Jerry Buss to express appreciation for O'Neal's role in winning three championships and the Lakers to make plans at some point to retire his jersey.
O'Neal and Bryant may have formally buried the hatchet in 2006, but if there's one thing that irks Bryant the most, it's someone who lacks work ethic. That's why Bryant didn't bite his tongue when asked in a radio interview in Italy about his issues with O'Neal.
"I like players who work out," said Bryant, according to a report in Sportando. "I used to do that six, seven hours per day. I cannot stand players who practice for 30 minutes. I need to say something to them."
Bryant shares many Lakers fans' sentiments. As much as Lakers fans expressed frustration for the inability for O'Neal, Bryant, Buss and Phil Jackson to swallow a bit of their egos and find a way to co-exist to maximize championships, it's indisputable that O'Neal's questionable work ethic diminished his standing within the team.
Jackson believed O'Neal would win 10 league MVPS by the time he retired. But despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP and one regular season MVP honors, and 28,596 career points, he woefully underachieved. Buss didn't just take offense to O'Neal's demands to pay him during a regular-season game or when he famously said before the 2002-03 season he delayed toe surgery so he could heal "on company time." Shaq's unpredictable behavior no longer made him a trustworthy investment. And as for Bryant, there's many areas that point to their fractured relationship, but the disparity in work ethic remained one of them.
And no matter how much time has passed, it's clear Bryant won't forgive or forget about it.
Link:
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/09/kobe-criticizes-shaquille-oneal-work-ethic.html
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Shaq's Retirement Brings Reflections On His Legacy With The Lakers
One of the first messages Shaquille O'Nealreceived from Phil Jackson consisted of both a compliment and a challenge.
"I told Shaq when I took over as head coach in our first initial meeting as a team that the MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired," Jackson recently told Fox Sports' Mark Kriegel.
The message spoke both to Shaq's nearly unstoppable stature. His 7-foot-1, 325- pound frame provided a physical presence that proved difficult to stop inside. His agility made it hard to slow him down. And on the heels of Shaq officially announcing Wednesday his retirement via Tout, he'll be remembered as one of the most dominant centers in the game.
But Jackson also shared that anecdote as evidence that despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP, one regular season MVP and 28,596 career points, the man with a million nicknames grossly underachieved. “This is a guy who could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons,
One of the first messages Shaquille O'Nealreceived from Phil Jackson consisted of both a compliment and a challenge.
"I told Shaq when I took over as head coach in our first initial meeting as a team that the MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired," Jackson recently told Fox Sports' Mark Kriegel.
The message spoke both to Shaq's nearly unstoppable stature. His 7-foot-1, 325- pound frame provided a physical presence that proved difficult to stop inside. His agility made it hard to slow him down. And on the heels of Shaq officially announcing Wednesday his retirement via Tout, he'll be remembered as one of the most dominant centers in the game.
But Jackson also shared that anecdote as evidence that despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP, one regular season MVP and 28,596 career points, the man with a million nicknames grossly underachieved. “This is a guy who could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons,
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Shaq's Retirement Brings Reflections On His Legacy With The Lakers
One of the first messages Shaquille O'Nealreceived from Phil Jackson consisted of both a compliment and a challenge.
"I told Shaq when I took over as head coach in our first initial meeting as a team that the MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired," Jackson recently told Fox Sports' Mark Kriegel.
The message spoke both to Shaq's nearly unstoppable stature. His 7-foot-1, 325- pound frame provided a physical presence that proved difficult to stop inside. His agility made it hard to slow him down. And on the heels of Shaq officially announcing Wednesday his retirement via Tout, he'll be remembered as one of the most dominant centers in the game.
But Jackson also shared that anecdote as evidence that despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP, one regular season MVP and 28,596 career points, the man with a million nicknames grossly underachieved. “This is a guy who could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons,
One of the first messages Shaquille O'Nealreceived from Phil Jackson consisted of both a compliment and a challenge.
"I told Shaq when I took over as head coach in our first initial meeting as a team that the MVP trophy should be named after him when he retired," Jackson recently told Fox Sports' Mark Kriegel.
The message spoke both to Shaq's nearly unstoppable stature. His 7-foot-1, 325- pound frame provided a physical presence that proved difficult to stop inside. His agility made it hard to slow him down. And on the heels of Shaq officially announcing Wednesday his retirement via Tout, he'll be remembered as one of the most dominant centers in the game.
But Jackson also shared that anecdote as evidence that despite his four rings, three-time Finals MVP, one regular season MVP and 28,596 career points, the man with a million nicknames grossly underachieved. “This is a guy who could and should have been the MVP player for 10 consecutive seasons,
darthska
Staff member
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Man, I'm not even mad at Kobe for saying what he said and still feeling bitter about Shaq's work ethic.
Definitely not mad at Fisher for saying they could have won more, because I've said the same thing, that we could have STEAMROLLED last decade if Shaq put in the work.
John Wooden: "Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
Definitely not mad at Fisher for saying they could have won more, because I've said the same thing, that we could have STEAMROLLED last decade if Shaq put in the work.
John Wooden: "Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
darthska
Staff member
- 44,594
- 28,237
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2004
Man, I'm not even mad at Kobe for saying what he said and still feeling bitter about Shaq's work ethic.
Definitely not mad at Fisher for saying they could have won more, because I've said the same thing, that we could have STEAMROLLED last decade if Shaq put in the work.
John Wooden: "Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
Definitely not mad at Fisher for saying they could have won more, because I've said the same thing, that we could have STEAMROLLED last decade if Shaq put in the work.
John Wooden: "Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."
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Exactly ska...
He, as well as the entire basketball world know that if Shaq put in that extra work, that Laker dynasty would be the most dominant to ever exist.
He, as well as the entire basketball world know that if Shaq put in that extra work, that Laker dynasty would be the most dominant to ever exist.
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Exactly ska...
He, as well as the entire basketball world know that if Shaq put in that extra work, that Laker dynasty would be the most dominant to ever exist.
He, as well as the entire basketball world know that if Shaq put in that extra work, that Laker dynasty would be the most dominant to ever exist.
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Yeah I agree with what ska posted about Shaq's legacy.
I've read so man articles, interviews, and books about the Lakers & talking about Shaq's time in LA.
So many great former players & coaches like Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Bill Bertka, Tex Winter all have said Shaq could have accomplished so much more in his career if he took care of himself and had a work mentality similar to Kobe instead of being the fun loving playful guy that the media loved throughout his career.
I've read so man articles, interviews, and books about the Lakers & talking about Shaq's time in LA.
So many great former players & coaches like Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Bill Bertka, Tex Winter all have said Shaq could have accomplished so much more in his career if he took care of himself and had a work mentality similar to Kobe instead of being the fun loving playful guy that the media loved throughout his career.
- 18,673
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- Joined
- Jan 3, 2011
Yeah I agree with what ska posted about Shaq's legacy.
I've read so man articles, interviews, and books about the Lakers & talking about Shaq's time in LA.
So many great former players & coaches like Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Bill Bertka, Tex Winter all have said Shaq could have accomplished so much more in his career if he took care of himself and had a work mentality similar to Kobe instead of being the fun loving playful guy that the media loved throughout his career.
I've read so man articles, interviews, and books about the Lakers & talking about Shaq's time in LA.
So many great former players & coaches like Jerry West, Phil Jackson, Bill Bertka, Tex Winter all have said Shaq could have accomplished so much more in his career if he took care of himself and had a work mentality similar to Kobe instead of being the fun loving playful guy that the media loved throughout his career.
- 18,673
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- Jan 3, 2011
Kobe's drive is play here, there, anywhere
Kobe Bryant's view is that he was blessed with all this, and once it became his, the only just thing to do was use it.
Properly. Artfully. Honorably.
So when he contemplates spending one of the remaining years of his physical prime taking the kids to the park and scheduling that retirement day when he can go skydiving, it doesn't feel right.
He has played the game since he was 2, he always says. Two years ago, he suggested he might play as long as John Stockton, who chased it until 41.
Tremendously sensible arguments exist for Bryant, 33, not to play basketball somewhere else while the NBA lockout continues.
Wear and tear. Insufficient compensation. Subpar competition. Injury risk.
Except you only need to make or listen to arguments when there is basic uncertainty in you, when you don't trust that little voice inside.
On this point, Bryant always has – and it has manifested itself in that manic drive to perform and excel at his craft. He believes in himself to a crazy level, you already know, and he believes, fundamentally, in working for it.
To be true to himself, Bryant plays his game ... and his way.
So even though some of these public negotiations for his overseas services have been promotional for all involved, Bryant is sincere in that he does want to play. He said Wednesday while on his Nike tour in Italy that it was "very possible" he would play with Virtus Bologna.
That could just be schmoozing the locals, no doubt. One previous tour stop was Turkey, and Bryant left the door open about playing there (when not gushing that Istanbul was much more beautiful than he was told it would be).
It's difficult to imagine Bryant goes to play anywhere as long as close friend and NBA players union president Derek Fisher is offering reason to believe the NBA can again be where games happen. Collective bargaining negotiations would have to be in a very dark place in the very near future for Bryant to meet Virtus Bologna's latest window of joining the club Oct. 9 to Nov. 16 for $2.5 million (and for eight specially scheduled games vs. the top other teams in the biggest arenas, according to Sportando.net).
Then again, it is believed that players-vs.-owners discussions Friday will fork the NBA's road one way or another.
And if the NBA won't play, then expect Bryant will elsewhere in some funny uniform.
It would've been in China, which has the world platform and the mega-money to offer, if that league hadn't barred all players from having lockout-ending options to leave in their contracts.
Italy can't pay such a wage, which is a problem, but it is a fit given Bryant's comfort level in the country where he spent ages 6-13. Few might recall Bryant once owned 50 percent of the Olimpia Milano pro team, buying in 2000 with the plan to run it with father Joe, who once played there, and Kobe talked then of raising his not-yet-born children in Italy someday.
Bologna is known for its passion for Bryant's sport to the point that one of its nicknames is "Basket City." And Virtus is a prestigious club that once had Manu Ginobili (and quite likely will again if Bryant passes on the money and opportunity).
But it just as certainly doesn't have to be Italy. It was just via Italy that Bryant, unlike most Americans and certainly most American pro athletes, learned from the start how wide the world is.
Bryant's childhood served as a springboard for him in establishing his current off-the-charts popularity around the globe. It's why he and Phil Jackson, even when they were still chilly with each other in 2006, found themselves separately reading Thomas Friedman's best-selling globalization book "The World is Flat" and forged a connective spark over how much Bryant was thinking externally instead of just internally. Bryant has diligently gone overseas in offseasons and hasn't just signed autographs, he has provided fans with dunk shows that he won't even do stateside.
He's over in Italy now on such a junket. It's bonding time for him and members of his inner circle: business manager Jerry Sawyer, Nike director Nico Harrison, security chief Robert Lara and trainer Tim Grover. Foremost, however, it's time for business dealings that make people on the other side of the earth from Orange County feel like his neighbors, too.
Should Bryant wind up playing basketball over there, it will be indeed be good for his business.
It'll also be about much more than that.
Just know that if the NBA door closes this season, Bryant has always been the type to seek another door that opens.
One of his personal logos has long featured the motto "Carpe Diem." That's Latin, not Italian, but unlike all of us who know it from watching Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" at the mall movie theater, Bryant learned it from the actual poem by Horace while studying in Europe.
And to "seize the day" is what it will boil down to.
For Bryant, it's a matter of personal integrity, which he has always accepted might be a little different in his case. As wrong as some might say it is for him to try out his improved right knee in inconsequential overseas action, Bryant would say it's more wrong not to try at all.
That's what he has always believed in, from preps-to-pros to air balls in Utah to championships with Shaq and without: days being seized and daring to try what others can't or won't.
Daring to try has gotten him this far. It'll take him skydiving someday.
Where it takes him this season, we shall see.
Link:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bryant-319555-play-italy.html
Nice read.
I've for about the past 4 years now have read Kevin Ding's articles in the OC Register and he's a hell of a lot better than any of the beat writer on the LA Times.
Kobe Bryant's view is that he was blessed with all this, and once it became his, the only just thing to do was use it.
Properly. Artfully. Honorably.
So when he contemplates spending one of the remaining years of his physical prime taking the kids to the park and scheduling that retirement day when he can go skydiving, it doesn't feel right.
He has played the game since he was 2, he always says. Two years ago, he suggested he might play as long as John Stockton, who chased it until 41.
Tremendously sensible arguments exist for Bryant, 33, not to play basketball somewhere else while the NBA lockout continues.
Wear and tear. Insufficient compensation. Subpar competition. Injury risk.
Except you only need to make or listen to arguments when there is basic uncertainty in you, when you don't trust that little voice inside.
On this point, Bryant always has – and it has manifested itself in that manic drive to perform and excel at his craft. He believes in himself to a crazy level, you already know, and he believes, fundamentally, in working for it.
To be true to himself, Bryant plays his game ... and his way.
So even though some of these public negotiations for his overseas services have been promotional for all involved, Bryant is sincere in that he does want to play. He said Wednesday while on his Nike tour in Italy that it was "very possible" he would play with Virtus Bologna.
That could just be schmoozing the locals, no doubt. One previous tour stop was Turkey, and Bryant left the door open about playing there (when not gushing that Istanbul was much more beautiful than he was told it would be).
It's difficult to imagine Bryant goes to play anywhere as long as close friend and NBA players union president Derek Fisher is offering reason to believe the NBA can again be where games happen. Collective bargaining negotiations would have to be in a very dark place in the very near future for Bryant to meet Virtus Bologna's latest window of joining the club Oct. 9 to Nov. 16 for $2.5 million (and for eight specially scheduled games vs. the top other teams in the biggest arenas, according to Sportando.net).
Then again, it is believed that players-vs.-owners discussions Friday will fork the NBA's road one way or another.
And if the NBA won't play, then expect Bryant will elsewhere in some funny uniform.
It would've been in China, which has the world platform and the mega-money to offer, if that league hadn't barred all players from having lockout-ending options to leave in their contracts.
Italy can't pay such a wage, which is a problem, but it is a fit given Bryant's comfort level in the country where he spent ages 6-13. Few might recall Bryant once owned 50 percent of the Olimpia Milano pro team, buying in 2000 with the plan to run it with father Joe, who once played there, and Kobe talked then of raising his not-yet-born children in Italy someday.
Bologna is known for its passion for Bryant's sport to the point that one of its nicknames is "Basket City." And Virtus is a prestigious club that once had Manu Ginobili (and quite likely will again if Bryant passes on the money and opportunity).
But it just as certainly doesn't have to be Italy. It was just via Italy that Bryant, unlike most Americans and certainly most American pro athletes, learned from the start how wide the world is.
Bryant's childhood served as a springboard for him in establishing his current off-the-charts popularity around the globe. It's why he and Phil Jackson, even when they were still chilly with each other in 2006, found themselves separately reading Thomas Friedman's best-selling globalization book "The World is Flat" and forged a connective spark over how much Bryant was thinking externally instead of just internally. Bryant has diligently gone overseas in offseasons and hasn't just signed autographs, he has provided fans with dunk shows that he won't even do stateside.
He's over in Italy now on such a junket. It's bonding time for him and members of his inner circle: business manager Jerry Sawyer, Nike director Nico Harrison, security chief Robert Lara and trainer Tim Grover. Foremost, however, it's time for business dealings that make people on the other side of the earth from Orange County feel like his neighbors, too.
Should Bryant wind up playing basketball over there, it will be indeed be good for his business.
It'll also be about much more than that.
Just know that if the NBA door closes this season, Bryant has always been the type to seek another door that opens.
One of his personal logos has long featured the motto "Carpe Diem." That's Latin, not Italian, but unlike all of us who know it from watching Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" at the mall movie theater, Bryant learned it from the actual poem by Horace while studying in Europe.
And to "seize the day" is what it will boil down to.
For Bryant, it's a matter of personal integrity, which he has always accepted might be a little different in his case. As wrong as some might say it is for him to try out his improved right knee in inconsequential overseas action, Bryant would say it's more wrong not to try at all.
That's what he has always believed in, from preps-to-pros to air balls in Utah to championships with Shaq and without: days being seized and daring to try what others can't or won't.
Daring to try has gotten him this far. It'll take him skydiving someday.
Where it takes him this season, we shall see.
Link:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bryant-319555-play-italy.html
Nice read.
I've for about the past 4 years now have read Kevin Ding's articles in the OC Register and he's a hell of a lot better than any of the beat writer on the LA Times.
- 18,673
- 10,071
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2011
Kobe's drive is play here, there, anywhere
Kobe Bryant's view is that he was blessed with all this, and once it became his, the only just thing to do was use it.
Properly. Artfully. Honorably.
So when he contemplates spending one of the remaining years of his physical prime taking the kids to the park and scheduling that retirement day when he can go skydiving, it doesn't feel right.
He has played the game since he was 2, he always says. Two years ago, he suggested he might play as long as John Stockton, who chased it until 41.
Tremendously sensible arguments exist for Bryant, 33, not to play basketball somewhere else while the NBA lockout continues.
Wear and tear. Insufficient compensation. Subpar competition. Injury risk.
Except you only need to make or listen to arguments when there is basic uncertainty in you, when you don't trust that little voice inside.
On this point, Bryant always has – and it has manifested itself in that manic drive to perform and excel at his craft. He believes in himself to a crazy level, you already know, and he believes, fundamentally, in working for it.
To be true to himself, Bryant plays his game ... and his way.
So even though some of these public negotiations for his overseas services have been promotional for all involved, Bryant is sincere in that he does want to play. He said Wednesday while on his Nike tour in Italy that it was "very possible" he would play with Virtus Bologna.
That could just be schmoozing the locals, no doubt. One previous tour stop was Turkey, and Bryant left the door open about playing there (when not gushing that Istanbul was much more beautiful than he was told it would be).
It's difficult to imagine Bryant goes to play anywhere as long as close friend and NBA players union president Derek Fisher is offering reason to believe the NBA can again be where games happen. Collective bargaining negotiations would have to be in a very dark place in the very near future for Bryant to meet Virtus Bologna's latest window of joining the club Oct. 9 to Nov. 16 for $2.5 million (and for eight specially scheduled games vs. the top other teams in the biggest arenas, according to Sportando.net).
Then again, it is believed that players-vs.-owners discussions Friday will fork the NBA's road one way or another.
And if the NBA won't play, then expect Bryant will elsewhere in some funny uniform.
It would've been in China, which has the world platform and the mega-money to offer, if that league hadn't barred all players from having lockout-ending options to leave in their contracts.
Italy can't pay such a wage, which is a problem, but it is a fit given Bryant's comfort level in the country where he spent ages 6-13. Few might recall Bryant once owned 50 percent of the Olimpia Milano pro team, buying in 2000 with the plan to run it with father Joe, who once played there, and Kobe talked then of raising his not-yet-born children in Italy someday.
Bologna is known for its passion for Bryant's sport to the point that one of its nicknames is "Basket City." And Virtus is a prestigious club that once had Manu Ginobili (and quite likely will again if Bryant passes on the money and opportunity).
But it just as certainly doesn't have to be Italy. It was just via Italy that Bryant, unlike most Americans and certainly most American pro athletes, learned from the start how wide the world is.
Bryant's childhood served as a springboard for him in establishing his current off-the-charts popularity around the globe. It's why he and Phil Jackson, even when they were still chilly with each other in 2006, found themselves separately reading Thomas Friedman's best-selling globalization book "The World is Flat" and forged a connective spark over how much Bryant was thinking externally instead of just internally. Bryant has diligently gone overseas in offseasons and hasn't just signed autographs, he has provided fans with dunk shows that he won't even do stateside.
He's over in Italy now on such a junket. It's bonding time for him and members of his inner circle: business manager Jerry Sawyer, Nike director Nico Harrison, security chief Robert Lara and trainer Tim Grover. Foremost, however, it's time for business dealings that make people on the other side of the earth from Orange County feel like his neighbors, too.
Should Bryant wind up playing basketball over there, it will be indeed be good for his business.
It'll also be about much more than that.
Just know that if the NBA door closes this season, Bryant has always been the type to seek another door that opens.
One of his personal logos has long featured the motto "Carpe Diem." That's Latin, not Italian, but unlike all of us who know it from watching Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" at the mall movie theater, Bryant learned it from the actual poem by Horace while studying in Europe.
And to "seize the day" is what it will boil down to.
For Bryant, it's a matter of personal integrity, which he has always accepted might be a little different in his case. As wrong as some might say it is for him to try out his improved right knee in inconsequential overseas action, Bryant would say it's more wrong not to try at all.
That's what he has always believed in, from preps-to-pros to air balls in Utah to championships with Shaq and without: days being seized and daring to try what others can't or won't.
Daring to try has gotten him this far. It'll take him skydiving someday.
Where it takes him this season, we shall see.
Link:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bryant-319555-play-italy.html
Nice read.
I've for about the past 4 years now have read Kevin Ding's articles in the OC Register and he's a hell of a lot better than any of the beat writer on the LA Times.
Kobe Bryant's view is that he was blessed with all this, and once it became his, the only just thing to do was use it.
Properly. Artfully. Honorably.
So when he contemplates spending one of the remaining years of his physical prime taking the kids to the park and scheduling that retirement day when he can go skydiving, it doesn't feel right.
He has played the game since he was 2, he always says. Two years ago, he suggested he might play as long as John Stockton, who chased it until 41.
Tremendously sensible arguments exist for Bryant, 33, not to play basketball somewhere else while the NBA lockout continues.
Wear and tear. Insufficient compensation. Subpar competition. Injury risk.
Except you only need to make or listen to arguments when there is basic uncertainty in you, when you don't trust that little voice inside.
On this point, Bryant always has – and it has manifested itself in that manic drive to perform and excel at his craft. He believes in himself to a crazy level, you already know, and he believes, fundamentally, in working for it.
To be true to himself, Bryant plays his game ... and his way.
So even though some of these public negotiations for his overseas services have been promotional for all involved, Bryant is sincere in that he does want to play. He said Wednesday while on his Nike tour in Italy that it was "very possible" he would play with Virtus Bologna.
That could just be schmoozing the locals, no doubt. One previous tour stop was Turkey, and Bryant left the door open about playing there (when not gushing that Istanbul was much more beautiful than he was told it would be).
It's difficult to imagine Bryant goes to play anywhere as long as close friend and NBA players union president Derek Fisher is offering reason to believe the NBA can again be where games happen. Collective bargaining negotiations would have to be in a very dark place in the very near future for Bryant to meet Virtus Bologna's latest window of joining the club Oct. 9 to Nov. 16 for $2.5 million (and for eight specially scheduled games vs. the top other teams in the biggest arenas, according to Sportando.net).
Then again, it is believed that players-vs.-owners discussions Friday will fork the NBA's road one way or another.
And if the NBA won't play, then expect Bryant will elsewhere in some funny uniform.
It would've been in China, which has the world platform and the mega-money to offer, if that league hadn't barred all players from having lockout-ending options to leave in their contracts.
Italy can't pay such a wage, which is a problem, but it is a fit given Bryant's comfort level in the country where he spent ages 6-13. Few might recall Bryant once owned 50 percent of the Olimpia Milano pro team, buying in 2000 with the plan to run it with father Joe, who once played there, and Kobe talked then of raising his not-yet-born children in Italy someday.
Bologna is known for its passion for Bryant's sport to the point that one of its nicknames is "Basket City." And Virtus is a prestigious club that once had Manu Ginobili (and quite likely will again if Bryant passes on the money and opportunity).
But it just as certainly doesn't have to be Italy. It was just via Italy that Bryant, unlike most Americans and certainly most American pro athletes, learned from the start how wide the world is.
Bryant's childhood served as a springboard for him in establishing his current off-the-charts popularity around the globe. It's why he and Phil Jackson, even when they were still chilly with each other in 2006, found themselves separately reading Thomas Friedman's best-selling globalization book "The World is Flat" and forged a connective spark over how much Bryant was thinking externally instead of just internally. Bryant has diligently gone overseas in offseasons and hasn't just signed autographs, he has provided fans with dunk shows that he won't even do stateside.
He's over in Italy now on such a junket. It's bonding time for him and members of his inner circle: business manager Jerry Sawyer, Nike director Nico Harrison, security chief Robert Lara and trainer Tim Grover. Foremost, however, it's time for business dealings that make people on the other side of the earth from Orange County feel like his neighbors, too.
Should Bryant wind up playing basketball over there, it will be indeed be good for his business.
It'll also be about much more than that.
Just know that if the NBA door closes this season, Bryant has always been the type to seek another door that opens.
One of his personal logos has long featured the motto "Carpe Diem." That's Latin, not Italian, but unlike all of us who know it from watching Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society" at the mall movie theater, Bryant learned it from the actual poem by Horace while studying in Europe.
And to "seize the day" is what it will boil down to.
For Bryant, it's a matter of personal integrity, which he has always accepted might be a little different in his case. As wrong as some might say it is for him to try out his improved right knee in inconsequential overseas action, Bryant would say it's more wrong not to try at all.
That's what he has always believed in, from preps-to-pros to air balls in Utah to championships with Shaq and without: days being seized and daring to try what others can't or won't.
Daring to try has gotten him this far. It'll take him skydiving someday.
Where it takes him this season, we shall see.
Link:
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/bryant-319555-play-italy.html
Nice read.
I've for about the past 4 years now have read Kevin Ding's articles in the OC Register and he's a hell of a lot better than any of the beat writer on the LA Times.
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i love shaq for what he did for us. he resurrected our franchise back to championship contenders immediately as soon as he signed with us. 3 championships and numerous memorable moments. probably top 5 favorite players of all time. although, i'm disappointed at him today that it took a trade to miami for him to lose weight and work hard in the offseason. imagine if he had the work ethic as a magic, michael or kobe. he wouldve been the GOAT and we wouldve had more than 16.
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i love shaq for what he did for us. he resurrected our franchise back to championship contenders immediately as soon as he signed with us. 3 championships and numerous memorable moments. probably top 5 favorite players of all time. although, i'm disappointed at him today that it took a trade to miami for him to lose weight and work hard in the offseason. imagine if he had the work ethic as a magic, michael or kobe. he wouldve been the GOAT and we wouldve had more than 16.
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I want Laker Basketball!
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I want Laker Basketball!
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wow i forgot about this thread
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wow i forgot about this thread
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