Kobe Bryant Has Demanded A Trade

[Denver]

If I was a Laker fan I'd want this cunt off of my team ASAP.

[Chicago]

kevin said:

If I was a Laker fan I'd want this cunt off of my team ASAP.

as a Lakers fan, i disagree 100%......naw fuck that 1000%

[Washington]

kevin said:

If I was a Laker fan I'd want this cunt off of my team ASAP.

If I was a Laker fan, the only cunt I'd want off my team is JIM BUSS.

It is ALL his fault. He didn't pull the trigger on Kidd, he is probably the worst GM in this game (yes. Worse than Isiah. Up until a few years ago, he didn't even follow basketball, AND NOW HE IS PRESIDENT OF THE FRIGGIN LAKERS). I wouldn't be surprised if he is the insider as well!

It is all his fault. Kobe is a victim. He deserves better.

[Cleveland]

kevin said:

If I was a Laker fan I'd want this cunt off of my team ASAP.

funny how people like you are finding yet another way to hate on kobe. People have been begging KG to do this for years but when kobe does it, it is now a crime.

Im a Diehard Laker fan and still believe kobe will be a laker for life, but i understand 100% where he is coming from.

How can you call kobe a cunt when hes been the one getting fucked over by his own FO, and now after 3 years and still being at ground zero, he is doing something about it.

[Washington]

Word. I applaud Kobe.

[Chicago]

Kobe update

You'll notice if you go to Kobe Bryant's Web site that his farewell message has been reposted to the top of the page with today's date on it. The folks running that site have done that a couple times before, so it's questionable whether it's news that they did it again.

Unless, however, you take it as a direct message from Kobe. If so, it's the latest in a weekend of developments that appear more and more to show the so-called "road ahead" ultimately leads elsewhere. And I'm becoming more and more persuaded that the final destination will be Chicago.

After word came out late last week that Bryant had met in Barcelona with Lakers owner Jerry Buss to reiterate his trade request, Broderick Turner of the Riverside Press-Enterprise pushed the story forward by reporting that Chicago and New York were two of the three teams on Bryant's short list of franchises he would accept a trade to.

ESPN colleague Ric Bucher moved the story further forward by reporting Saturday that the third team was the Phoenix Suns, and I'm hearing rumblings that Dallas could make the list, too. I'm also getting strong signals that the "list" will be a fluid thing from Kobe's end.

I've been saying since this story first broke that Kobe could very well wind up with the Bulls or the Knicks. The latest information I'm getting is that Bryant feels the Bulls are a more desirable destination because he feels they're better equipped than New York to compete for a championship.

I expect the Lakers to take one last hard run at placating Bryant by trying to make a deal to bring a top caliber talent to L.A. to join Kobe. I was hearing at Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland that Los Angeles was making a push to acquire Shawn Marion from the Suns in a sign-and-trade deal that would send Luke Walton, another player and the Lakers' first-round draft pick to Phoenix, provided the Lakers could draft Spain's Rudy Fernandez at No. 19.

In any case, I expect the Lakers to bring a proposed acquisition of some kind to Kobe a few days prior to the draft, and ask if that'll be enough for him to withdraw his trade request.

And if Kobe says no, I expect the wheels to go in motion quickly.

Any trade to Chicago would be a sign-and-trade deal (involving either Andres Nocioni or P.J. Brown) and thus could not be announced until after the free agent signing moratorium ends July 12. But if the parameters of a deal were agreed to before draft night, the Bulls would be picking for the Lakers at No. 9 if that pick were to be included in the package Chicago would be sending to Los Angeles in a Kobe deal.

I wouldn't count Knicks president Isiah Thomas out, and I'd love to hear what has to say about the idea that the Bulls would be better equipped after a Kobe trade to win the East than the Knicks would be after a Kobe trade, but he's in his bunker and is not speaking publicly. If Isiah is somehow going to be working behind the scenes to change Kobe's mind, that probably won't happen until late this week after Bryant returns from Europe.

Stay tuned.

[Toronto]

Mitch Kupchak is the dumb fuck that gave away Caron Butler(An all-star) lol

[Washington]

toronto said:

Mitch Kupchak is the dumb fuck that gave away Caron Butler(An all-star) lol

That was horrible. I've been a long-time Caron hater and I knew it was a bad deal.

[Chicago]

Lakers don't appear ready to trade Bryant
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- While there seems little doubt Kobe Bryant wants out of Los Angeles, the Lakers don't appear ready to make a move.

"I think we've made our position clear on that publicly and we have nothing further to say on the matter at this time," team spokesman John Black said Monday.

Black referred to a statement issued by team owner Jerry Buss on May 30, which said in part: "We will continue to pursue every avenue possible to improve our team with [Bryant] as the cornerstone."

Buss issued the statement after speaking with Bryant. The day before, Bryant first said he wanted to be traded during a radio interview, but seemed to backtrack on another interview after speaking with Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

Buss and Bryant met face-to-face last Friday in Barcelona, and while the Los Angeles Times and Riverside Press-Enterprise quoted sources as saying Bryant still wanted out, Black declined comment other than to say: "Our position is what was said at that meeting between the two of them will remain between the two of them."

Buss, owner of the Lakers since 1979, recently sent a letter to season ticket-holders regarding the team's desire to be successful.

"We received about 1,000 e-mails expressing concerns, opinions and frustrations," Black said. "Dr. Buss wanted to address the matter himself."

Buss said, among other things, that the Lakers had made the playoffs in 26 of his 28 years as owner, but added: "We all want more."

"Our goal has been, and remains to be, to build the Lakers into a team that can regularly compete for championships," he said. "I believe that we have always shown a willingness to do what needs to be done and spend what needs to be spent to deliver you championship caliber basketball. We remain committed to that philosophy."

Bryant's name was not mentioned in the letter.

Meanwhile, the entry Bryant reposted Sunday on his Web site from late last month regarding his desire to be traded had been taken down by Monday. The only current item on the site, kb24.com, was a series of comments from Bryant's fans.

Several messages left for Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, weren't returned, and Chris Raih, the managing director of Zambezi Ink, the ad agency that created and maintains kb24.com, declined comment.

Bryant, who turns 29 in August, is owed $88.6 million for the four years he has left on the seven-year, $136.4 million contract he signed July 15, 2004. A nine-time All-Star, he enters next season as the two-time defending NBA scoring champion.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2908561

[Portland]

matt24 said:

kevin said:

If I was a Laker fan I'd want this cunt off of my team ASAP.

funny how people like you are finding yet another way to hate on kobe. People have been begging KG to do this for years but when kobe does it, it is now a crime.

the difference to me is that kg has always been classy about his comments concerning the twolves and management even though he's been in arguably a worse situation than kobe. kobe comes across as a whiny, spoiled little brat who didn't get exactly what he wanted out of last year. i mean, at least he made the playoffs. kg has been surrounded by crappy players through most of his career and i have never heard anything about him freaking out about his teammates on some kids phone, or calling a radio show and simply complaining about how horrible things are. true that buss seems to have screwed up on a couple of accounts, but kobe being the celebrity that he is should learn some class

[Washington]

KG is loyal, but Kobe cares more about winning.

I'd much rather have Kobe on my team.

[Cleveland]

1st off
Kobe>>>>>KG so he that right
2nd off
The only reason kobe said he picked LA over Chicago or the Clipps is because Buss guaranteeed that he would not rebuild and would immediatly put a contender around him.

Kobe was lied to then was badmouthed by the owners son who also has some say in the FO.

95% of this Kobe Drama is build up by the Media. Kobe has not made a statement before saturday in over 3 weeks.

So kobe feels betrayed by management because he was lied to, badmouthed and are rebuilding when they said they would build a contender. That gives him the right to request a trade like has done.

Should he keep his mouth shut and let the FO do nothing untill he retires with no team around him to even contend? Or should he do something about it and try to force a trade to a team that wants to win NOW.

So he can end up like KG on a average to below average team or he can make sure that isnt going to happen to him.

Mitch is horrible, he hasnt done a damn thing, and im glad kobe has sent a wake up call to the FO. and if they still dont do shit i kind of woulr rather his continue his legacy on a francise with another team

[Chicago]

matt24 said:

1st off
Kobe>>>>>KG so he that right
2nd off
The only reason kobe said he picked LA over Chicago or the Clipps is because Buss guaranteeed that he would not rebuild and would immediatly put a contender around him.

Kobe was lied to then was badmouthed by the owners son who also has some say in the FO.

95% of this Kobe Drama is build up by the Media. Kobe has not made a statement before saturday in over 3 weeks.

So kobe feels betrayed by management because he was lied to, badmouthed and are rebuilding when they said they would build a contender. That gives him the right to request a trade like has done.

Should he keep his mouth shut and let the FO do nothing untill he retires with no team around him to even contend? Or should he do something about it and try to force a trade to a team that wants to win NOW.

So he can end up like KG on a average to below average team or he can make sure that isnt going to happen to him.

Mitch is horrible, he hasnt done a damn thing, and im glad kobe has sent a wake up call to the FO. and if they still dont do shit i kind of woulr rather his continue his legacy on a francise with another team

ummm Kobe hasnt made a statement or post on his Blog since May 30th....

that Blog Espn, AP and others ran with yesterday was posted on the 30th.... only the date on top keeps changes every few days

and today it was removed all together from da site

[Chicago]

Jackson still thinks Bryant staying
With only one year left on on his own contract, coach has 'unshakeable feeling' All-Star will be at fall camp.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
8:30 PM PDT, June 18, 2007


While recovering from hip surgery at home, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson weighed in Monday on the latest movement in the Kobe Bryant ordeal, sounding a positive note for Bryant's future with the team.

Jackson, who had hip-replacement surgery last Tuesday, has spoken with Bryant numerous times since the nine-time All-Star demanded a trade May 30, an action Bryant reiterated last Friday in a meeting with team owner Jerry Buss.

"He's made a decision that he feels justified to hold — one that I've questioned — that he has reasons to leave the Lakers," Jackson wrote Monday in a brief e-mail to The Times. "However, it's my unshakeable feeling that Kobe will be a Laker next October ... when training camp opens."

Bryant credited Jackson as being a voice of reason during Bryant's now-infamous day of seemingly contradictory talk-radio and newspaper interviews on May 30. Bryant said he wanted to be traded on a talk-radio show early that day but appeared to leave wiggle room for remaining with the Lakers on subsequent radio shows. Then, later in the day, he told The Times that he indeed wanted to be traded.

Also that day, Bryant said Jackson offered some soothing early-afternoon words as they discussed a passage in a recent article by The Times that referred to a Lakers "insider" who blamed Bryant for the departure of Shaquille O'Neal in 2004.

Jackson, 61, is expected to recover within a few weeks from his second hip-replacement surgery and will attend Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in September in Springfield, Mass.

Jackson had his right hip replaced last October.

Jackson has one year left on a three-year, $30-million contract and on Monday referred a question on a possible contract extension to an interview he granted in April.

"Whatever I said then stands today," Jackson wrote.

In the April interview, Jackson said there were "a bunch of things that go into it — how we move forward as a team."

"Personally, as an owner, does [Buss] really want to spend the kind of money he's spending on me to have a .500 team? We want to do better than that, by far. How do we go about readjusting to make sure that something that happened this year doesn't happen again in the future?"

Jackson said at the time that his health was not a concern, although he indicated Monday that he wanted to be able to "coach up to my standards."

The Lakers finished 42-40 last season and lost to Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers19jun19,1,6893940.story?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=4&cset=true

[Cleveland]

bennice22 said:

matt24 said:

1st off
Kobe>>>>>KG so he that right
2nd off
The only reason kobe said he picked LA over Chicago or the Clipps is because Buss guaranteeed that he would not rebuild and would immediatly put a contender around him.

Kobe was lied to then was badmouthed by the owners son who also has some say in the FO.

95% of this Kobe Drama is build up by the Media. Kobe has not made a statement before saturday in over 3 weeks.

So kobe feels betrayed by management because he was lied to, badmouthed and are rebuilding when they said they would build a contender. That gives him the right to request a trade like has done.

Should he keep his mouth shut and let the FO do nothing untill he retires with no team around him to even contend? Or should he do something about it and try to force a trade to a team that wants to win NOW.

So he can end up like KG on a average to below average team or he can make sure that isnt going to happen to him.

Mitch is horrible, he hasnt done a damn thing, and im glad kobe has sent a wake up call to the FO. and if they still dont do shit i kind of woulr rather his continue his legacy on a francise with another team

ummm Kobe hasnt made a statement or post on his Blog since May 30th....

that Blog Espn, AP and others ran with yesterday was posted on the 30th.... only the date on top keeps changes every few days

and today it was removed all together from da site

where is the UMMM coming from? you just agreed with i just said.

Kobe hasnt mad a statement other then telling buss again that he wants to be traded. Which is why i said the media is blowing up this kobe/lakers soap opera. Seems like the some fans are turning on kobe because of the medias comments over the last few weeks