This may be in the game day thread soon. Thought this was a good place for it, though . . .
ESPN broadcasters just said Stack would vote for Kobe as MVP. I am not really into these awards, but I think this statement means something. He said Kobe does the most for his team because the Lakers, basically, would be lost without him. Maybe I'm being judgmental, but I heard that and thought he was thinking: "but Dirk has me." I think Stack really believes that he could carry a team. He shoots enough after weak-ass moves to indicate this, and the aforementioned article seems to indicate this mind-set as well.
While I don't think he's bad, I think losing Stack in the offseason would, like Finley, be addition by subtraction. He has too much confidence coupled with too little game to not be readily replaceable. A young guy with real hops or someone with a consistent jumper or someone who can really lock down an opposing swing player would all be better (and likely cheaper with more upside) than Stack, who chooses one of these traits to exhibit in most games--while doing a pretty bad job of the other traits.
And this doesn't even address the issue that you don't go on the record discounting your own teammate's worthiness of the MVP. Even if you yourself are in the running, you don't do that. And you especially don't mention someone on another team as your clear-cut favorite over your own teammate. Sort of pissed me off, I guess. Am I alone in this?
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