1) GET A HOBBY!!!
Seriously, someone needs to help find Kobe Bryant a hobby. While he's spending his off-season whining on his website and ranting on You Tube about the Lakers front office woes; he should be some place playing golf on some secluded island drinking margaritas and utilizing the short time he has to free his mind from this past season.
I understand that as the face of a basketball franchise, there is an entire city counting on you to get it done. "It", meaning getting the Lakers organization back to the promise land; and do so without the "Big Aristotle", Shaquille O’neal. But with 4 years and almost 100 million dollars left on his contract; he's stuck in LA for at least another season.
It wasn't like the Lakers completely stunk up the NBA this past season. If so, KB would actually have a legitimate argument. But in the 3 years of Shaq's absence; the Lakers have made the playoffs twice. Only to be eliminated by the Phoenix Suns both times. Now granted, the Lakers did take a step backwards this year by getting swept 3-0 in the 1st round of the playoffs by Phoenix after winning the first 2 games against The Suns in the 2006 NBA playoffs.
So I sort of understand Kobe's frustration, or should I say his envy towards LeBron James and his spectacular playoff run. With the exception of his finals performance against the San Antonio Spurs. We all know how that turned out. You think Kobe was thinking to himself and cursing the entire Lakers organization; players and all for not giving him that same support the young King James had this season in Cleveland.
But let’s face it "Kobe B"; No one including you expected LeBron and the Cavaliers to make it all the way to the finals. More or less, get past Detroit.
Quite frankly, Kobe Bryant’s' motivation to get past the suns should have been the same as LeBron's motivation to get past Detroit. A healthy Laker team with a half decent front court could have helped Kobe's championship campaign as well.
In actuality, Kobe's only a mediocre big man or a second fiddle super star away. So what is Lamar Odom then?
Injuries, they can send an organization "boo-hooing" like a kid in a candy store with no money.
But if Kobe wants out of LA, he's going about it the wrong way. He's got to wait this one out for at least another season. You can't wait until you sign a long-term contract with an organization then jump ship half-way into your contract. It almost always fails. I don't know about you, but this sounds awfully T.O.-ish to me.
If he's going to voice his opinion, do it behind closed doors. Not in a blog on your website where the media can get access to it. And for crying out loud, not on a fan's personal camcorder in some department store so they can post it on You Tube or their MySpace profile. Heck, he might as well go live on ESPN. I guess you can't be mad at him for being fan-friendly, but that was stupid.
But like the old saying goes, "You make the bed, you lay in".
The Los Angeles Lakers are getting exactly what they invested in when they acquired a young Shaquille O’neal from Orlando and later drafted Kobe Bryant right out of high school. They were able to ride the Diesel for (3) championships; until at least one of the wheels came off before selling him to Miami. Now the Lakers are finding that the Porsche-made Kobe is quite a unique automobile and truly one of a kind.
It's amazing how the Jordan mystique has to be boiling inside Kobe. First, he got Phil Jackson all to himself. Then, there was the number change from number (8) to (24). Now, there's speculation about him actually trying to get to Chicago - which is where he was actually looking at houses before he signed the new deal with the Lakers.
All in all, whether the damage is done remains to be seen. The NBA season has concluded so he doesn't have to watch LeBron make him look bad anymore. The Los Angeles Lakers have some extra things to evaluate for next season; as well as their future. A blockbuster trade with Bryant could be very fruitful for the Laker Organization. It could be also painful if it's not managed properly.
In the meantime, Kobe has to find a better way to occupy his time in the off-season. There will be a better time and place to voice his Laker franchise frustrations.
I understand that there are only so many golf balls you can hit. So much deep sea fishing you can do. There are even so many charity events you can attend during the off season before preseason rolls around.
Kobe is approaching his 30s - which are the "Golden Years" in professional sports. With (3) NBA titles already under his belt, there's no guarantee he'll make it back. Besides, his body will appreciate all the rest it can get as he gets older.
But I guess you can't totally blame the man for calling out the Lakers front office, in particular General Manager Mitch Kupchak. The Laker Organization is partly responsible for not getting the best player on the planet enough quality support in order for them to be more competitive in the Western Conference.
In the meantime, let's hope that Kobe can spend some extra time this summer in Tijuana and less time in the Laker front office.
Here are a few suggestions for Kobe's 2007 off-season
To do list:
1) Play Golf with MJ
Since Kobe wants to be like “His Airness” (Jordan) so bad; perhaps Mike can help him with his golf game.
2) Restructure that hideous shoe deal with NIKE
LeBron James is NIKE's #1 guy in basketball. But Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA, right? So why is it that you can easily find LeBron (KING) James shoes & apparel next to Jordan's; and Kobe Bryant's shoes are on the back rack of the NIKE Outlet stores?
Can someone get Reebok on the phone?
3) Host Saturday Night Live
There's no question that Kobe's lost half his fan base over the last (6) years. From sex scandal to feuds with Shaquille O’neal that some would say eventually broke up a Laker Dynasty. How could the best player in the world be one of the most hated players in the NBA.
What a better way to bring some sense of humor to all this negativity than to host "Saturday Night Live".
Hey it worked for Al Gore.
4 comments:
kobe needs to go get a freakin degree! how can he teach the basic values of life to his children and exclude higher education? he has a daughter no doubt, and women (especially minorities) had to fight for the opportunity to even attend universities. an important aspect of life Kobe and his misc bopper wife both know nothing about.
I agree. Kobe does need to get a life. He can't blame the Laker's for all of his problems. He is the best player in the game today. He needs to suck it up and make his teammates better. He could learn a thing or two from Lebron in that department.
ok...Kobe is a great player hands down...but on the cool...he's a HATER!!!! His backbone is see-through, and his loyalty is faulty like a 30 year old wood rocking chair sittin' next to a termite farm...on the court he's as grown as the 4 founders of our country, but off tha court he's running after the ice cream truck down the street with the rest of the kids...KOBE!!!....be a man..play basketball, love your wife, teach and educate your children, and put GOD at the end of the carrot stick....(sigh) niggas and flies...Ant....DOPE SPORTS BLOG!!!
Kobe is a great player, I admire him a lot, he has a lot of talent, somewhere I heard he uses generic viagra pills before each game.
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