Kobe: Bring back Jerry West or trade me - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

EricaLubarsky · 05-28-2007, 06:36 PM

Kobe Bryant isn't happy with the Lakers' direction and wants Jerry West back in Los Angeles to fix things.

Bryant told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher that he wants the Lakers to bring West back to the organization and give him full authority. If the Lakers don't want to do that, Bryant said he wants to be traded.

However, Bryant told The Los Angeles Times that he was just making a suggestion and wasn't demanding a trade if West wasn't brought back.

"I would love for him to be a part of this," Bryant told the newspaper. "But it's not something where I demand he comes here. All I can do is offer my thoughts. I love being a Laker. I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing, or at least help any way I can."

In a story in Sunday's Los Angeles Times, Bryant said he was frustrated that the team has not made any significant moves since it re-signed him.

"I want to see us get to a contending level," he told The Times. "I want to see us become a championship contender. It's been a frustrating process for me and I'm sure it's been a frustrating process for all Laker fans. I'm just hoping we can get to that level. I'm still frustrated. I'm waiting for them to make some changes."

Mitch Kupchak is the current Lakers general manager.

West, who spent five seasons in Memphis, will leave his post as the Grizzlies' director of basketball operations July 1 at the end of his contract. West helped build the Lakers' dynasty in the '80s and engineered their rebirth in the '90s, overseeing seven NBA championship teams -- including back-to-back champions in 1987-1988 and three consecutive crowns from 2000-2002.

"I haven't thought about it at all until Kobe brought it up today. My main priority is to [Grizzlies owner] Mike Heisley and to finish up with the Memphis Grizzlies," West told ESPN's Jim Gray on Sunday night. "I am fiercely loyal to Mike, as I am to Mitch Kupchak. Having said that, I'm a lifelong Laker and we will see what happens."

In Memphis, West never had the advantages he enjoyed in the large market of Los Angeles, where he signed Shaquille O'Neal and traded Vlade Divac for Bryant.

Bryant averaged 31.6 points per game in 2007 as the Lakers qualified for the seventh seed in the Western Conference with a 42-40 record. Los Angeles lost in five games to the Suns, however, and the Lakers haven't won a championship since O'Neal was traded to the Heat.

StackAttack · 05-28-2007, 07:18 PM

Kobe Bryant definitely would like Jerry West back with the Lakers, but the star guard denied an ESPN report that he'd welcome a trade from the team if the Lakers aren't willing to make that happen.

"I'm not demanding anything," Bryant told the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Sunday night. "I'm not making any threats. I didn't say that. Those words didn't come out of my mouth about a trade. I'm just making a suggestion. I think Jerry West is one of the greatest to ever do this thing. It's undeniably so."

Bryant told ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher Sunday that he wants the Lakers to bring West back to the organization and give him full authority. If the Lakers don't want to do that, Bryant said he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause and welcome a trade from the only organization he has played for in the NBA.

Bryant also told The Los Angeles Times that he was just making a suggestion and not a demand that West return to the Lakers.

"I would love for him to be a part of this," Bryant told the newspaper. "But it's not something where I demand he comes here. All I can do is offer my thoughts. I love being a Laker. I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing, or at least help any way I can."

Byrant told The Orange County Register that he wan't trying to slam current Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak or vice president Jim Buss, who is the son of owner Jerry Buss, by calling for West's return.

"It shouldn't say anything at all about them. It should speak to Jerry West's brilliance. I'm not trying to throw Mitch under the bus or Jim under the bus," Bryant told the newspaper.

MavsX · 05-28-2007, 09:47 PM

number 1, kick smush parker to the curb..that kid is garbage...

StackAttack · 05-28-2007, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MavsX

number 1, kick smush parker to the curb..that kid is garbage...

Already done. If I remember right.

alby · 05-28-2007, 11:36 PM

he was already gone midway through the year

Dtownsfinest · 05-28-2007, 11:41 PM

I thought Smush was a solid role player for the Lakers. He and Phil had the falling out and never was the same again it seemed. At this point if I could get my hands on Oden I would definately consider trading Kobe. Especially if Kobe insists on being traded if Jerry West doesn't return. Lakers are in a very awkward position. Just like the Knicks, they are over the cap and don't have much trade value. Odom is probably their biggest asset but with his contract its going to have to be a trade where the Lakers take back multiple role players rather then bring in a guy who can come right in and share some of the load with Kobe.

92bDad · 05-29-2007, 07:42 AM

For all the trash that reporters put out about the NFL's T.O. I'm surprised they don't rip Kobe apart.

He is the one person responsible for tearing the Lakers apart and destroying the dynasty they were...NOT THAT I MIND, as I hate the Lakers...but let's call it as we see it.

Kobe and the Lakers deserve each other and I hope they go another 10-20 years before sniffing any type of success.

alby · 05-29-2007, 10:55 AM

Which makes you feel sorry for Boston. No one really destroyed that dynasty, just age. And they haven't been the same ever since lol.

Kobe doesn't have that bad of a team when healthy. They were cruising as the 4th seed for a good part of the year until Odom went down, then Walton, then Rad, and those injuries lingered for the rest of the year. The problem here isn't the team that he has but the team that everyone else has. He is playing in the best conference in the history of the NBA and it's going to be that way for a few more years to come. Actually, until Kobe's retirement, Nash's retirement, Duncan's, Dirk's, KG's, etc. So, it'll be another 5-10 years before the Western conference takes a step back. But, even THAT isn't set in stone with Durant and Oden about to join the fray and young players like Amare, Carmelo, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, etc still developing.

Dtownsfinest · 05-29-2007, 11:19 AM

Quote:

He is the one person responsible for tearing the Lakers apart and destroying the dynasty they were...NOT THAT I MIND, as I hate the Lakers...but let's call it as we see it.

He's not solely responsible. Shaq didn't want to play alongside Kobe either.

nashtymavsfan13 · 05-29-2007, 10:05 PM

The Logo's livid with Kobe

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
May 29, 2007

Sooner or later, Kobe Bryant turns on everyone in his life. Professional, personal, it's never mattered to him. He can be calculated and merciless this way. When he wants something, it seems everyone's disposable.

So, it is little surprise to discover that, through a source who has spoken with Jerry West, that the Logo is downright livid with Bryant for demanding West's return to the Los Angeles Lakers at the expense of his protégé, Mitch Kupchak.

Maybe there was a chance that West could've come back with the Lakers, but Bryant's self-absorbed and self-destructive crusade to crush Kupchak over Memorial Day weekend has made it far less likely.

Yes, West and Bryant have always shared the bond of cutthroat competitiveness, DNA that demands greatness of themselves and those surrounding them. For both, it has been a blessing and a curse, but it's an undeniable thread that runs through them.

Yet, here's the difference: West is legendarily loyal.

Once West's contract expires with the Grizzlies after the NBA draft, perhaps there had been a possibility that he could return to the Lakers as a consultant. Nothing has been discussed with owner Jerry Buss, the source said, and West issued a statement on Monday night insisting that he would never, ever do anything that would undermine Kupchak.

"Kobe has to turn on everyone at some point, cut people and ties in almost every relationship in his life," a former Bryant associate said Monday. "He turns on people because he believes he's not getting what he deserves. He has a one-track mind that thinks the world revolves around him and doesn't take a second to consider the costs, or what's the best way to handle something.

"This is the same stuff he did with (Shaquille O'Neal). He would leak the story, instigate it and then not understand why it never worked. Shaq is still more beloved than Kobe, and he will always be in L.A. People have seen this all before with Kobe. This never turns out right for him."

Bryant has stayed true to character in this embarrassing episode, going back and forth on his demands over the weekend. First, he ripped Kupchak, insisting that he had been, more or less, incompetent on the job. Then he told ESPN the Magazine that, unless West was brought back to run the Lakers, he wanted a trade. Once that got out, Bryant must have understood he had far overplayed his hand, done devastating damage to the mythical rehabilitation of his image.

He knew he had gone too far. He should've apologized and acknowledged he was out of line talking this way.

Only, he denied saying it, despite the fact that the writer has been a long-time confidant. Typical Kobe, selling out someone else.

"I'm not demanding anything," Bryant told the Riverside Press-Enterprise just after he had spent the weekend demanding everything.

"I'm not trying to throw Mitch under the bus, or (Lakers VP) Jim (Buss) under the bus," he told the Orange County Register just after he just spent the weekend doing just that.

For now, Kupchak loses leverage with his peers while trying to work trades this summer. This isn't the first time Bryant has created this kind of chaos for the franchise. As one NBA executive said Monday: "That made it harder for Mitch to get fair market value for Shaq. Everybody knew that Kobe's conditions to re-sign made it impossible for Shaq to stay, and Mitch had to take the Miami offer, which was the best on the table. Kobe needs to look in the mirror on that one."

Here's something else, too. Kobe thinks everyone in the NBA wants to play with him, and it isn't true. He was complaining that the Lakers could've had his buddy, Carlos Boozer, a year ago, but the Jazz were never going to trade him for Lamar Odom. Yes, there are players who'll take a trade to the Lakers, but make no mistake: It isn’t because they're enamored with the idea of hanging with Kobe.

It isn't just that Kobe doesn't have friends in his own locker room, but elsewhere too. One associate remembers a party for Bryant's daughter several years ago, when he looked around and saw no one but people who worked for Kobe. "No friends, no teammates – just agents, a barber, P.R. people … Everyone there was on the payroll."

Maybe Kupchak hasn't done the best job in the world in these three years post-Shaq (the Caron Butler-Kwame Brown trade crushed the Lakers), but he made sure that private jet flew Kobe back and forth to his rape hearings in Colorado. He made sure the organization supported him unconditionally during that humiliating time for the franchise. His reward? Kobe opted out of his contract, threatened to leave for the Clippers and declared that he wanted a basketball career free of Shaq to indulge his own shooting and scoring desires.

"Now, Kobe would go to the public with his stuff on Shaq, and he would never win," the ex-associate said. "He'd instigate, like he did with Kupchak, and he always comes out looking the same way."

Of course, that's selfish and short-sighted. Bryant wanted to show the world who runs the Lakers again, and that's wonderful and all, except that he's made it harder for the Lakers to get better this summer. Three years ago, he chased out Shaq and Phil Jackson and was granted his wish for a franchise that was all about indulging him.

So sure, West drafted Bryant into the NBA, delivered him O'Neal at center and constructed a three-time champion. What's more, the game's greatest G.M. wisely got out of Los Angeles before Kobe crushed him under his thumb, before West could be a target for Bryant.

He's a smart man to stay away for good because he understands the inevitable here: Sooner or later, Kobe Bryant turns on everyone.

rakesh.s · 05-30-2007, 01:01 AM

All the lakers really need is a point guard, a power forward, a center and a bench...Other than that, they're in fantastic shape.

StackAttack · 05-30-2007, 10:51 AM

From the Fanhouse:

Kobe just went OFF on the Lakers front office on both L.A. Radio stations within the last few hours. Number 24 is upset about numerous things:

1) The Lakers told him they were going to build a contender around him when he re-signed, yet Phil Jackson revealed to Kobe today that the Lakers front office told him (after they fired him in 04) that they were going to build for the future (with a 5-6 year plan). Kobe says he only re-signed because he was assured they would be trying to build for now and not the future.

2) The Lakers staff keeps throwing him under the bus for the Shaq deal. Kobe stated that Lakers owner Jerry Buss told him in February of 2004 that they were trading Shaq no matter what because they didn't want to pay his salary. Basically in the middle of the 04 season, Buss had already decided to trade Shaq. In today's L.A. Times, Mark Heisler quoted a Laker insider as saying that Kobe is the reason Shaq is not playing for the Lakers anymore. Kobe is furious about this saying he thinks the Lakers have been content with him taking the bullet for the Shaq fiasco for years and that he's not going to sit back without speaking up about that anymore.

3) They traded his best friend Caron Butler (without even so much as consulting him) for Kwame Brown. Kobe stated that he and Butler were working out together that entire summer in anticipation of playing together during the next season. I'm of the opinion that the Lakers didn't want to extend Butler to a long term deal (which Washington did after they traded for him).

4) Kobe says he has every unhappy player in the NBA calling him asking him to see if the front office can do something to get them in L.A., yet the Lakers front office always gives him an excuse as to why they don't want to bring any of those players in. He specifically spoke of Baron Davis, Carlos Boozer, and Ron Artest and said that every time he's brought a deal to the Lakers he's been shot down. Kobe said that Boozer BADLY wanted to play with him here in L.A when the Jazz were going to sell him for $.15 on the dollar, but the Lakers told Kobe they didn't think he could guard the four. WTF?

5) He doesn't want to be traded, but wants to know the real deal: Are they building to win now or trying to build for the future (as a Bynum pick is indicitive of)? Because he was told that they were going to win now...

I'm telling you, something big is going to happen with the Lakers after the draft. Either they are going to be wheeling and dealing trying to surround kobe with an upgraded roster or Kobe is getting traded. As well, the thing I got from the interview is that the Lakers have been trying to make as much money as possible without committing to long term deals. Kobe is the best player in the league. He sells a lot of merchandise and puts a lot of butt in seats. I think he feels the Lakers are content just to make money off of him without fielding a winning team. A lot of people here in L.A. have said that Buss is trying to cut costs so that he can hand off the team to his family in good financial standing when he dies.

My prediction: Kobe goes no where, but heads roll. After a blow up like this, someone is getting fired/traded.

alby · 05-30-2007, 11:02 AM

pertaining to your number 2.

shaq responded and said that he believes kobe 100%
he believes what kobe said was the truth
and it was buss who wanted to let shaq go because he didnt want to pay the guy 30 mil a year or 80 mil for 3 years.

StackAttack · 05-30-2007, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

pertaining to your number 2.

shaq responded and said that he believes kobe 100%
he believes what kobe said was the truth
and it was buss who wanted to let shaq go because he didnt want to pay the guy 30 mil a year or 80 mil for 3 years.

Do you have a link? This is getting really big.

MavsX · 05-30-2007, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StackAttack

Already done. If I remember right.

i saw him playing against the suns~!

StackAttack · 05-30-2007, 11:21 AM

Right after the series they announced that he would not return.

MavsX · 05-30-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StackAttack

Right after the series they announced that he would not return.

well then you have one this round!. I'll be back though!

StackAttack · 05-30-2007, 11:25 AM

I'll be ready.

alby · 05-30-2007, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StackAttack

Do you have a link? This is getting really big.

It's huge.
it also can mean that Kobe and Shaq are on each other's good graces again and Shaq just wants to kick Buss to the curb.
It was on Sportscenter this morning fyi.

alby · 05-30-2007, 11:29 AM

can you put up a picture of Rashard and Gerald Wallace as well?

alby · 05-30-2007, 12:05 PM

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927

Nash13 · 05-30-2007, 12:18 PM

I can't believe it, he's demanded a trade.

Dallas HAS to try to get a trade done. I love Josh and Terry, i like Devin, Diop, but i'd give them up for Kobe in a second.

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:27 PM

Absolutely. You risk everything to land him. You just don't let go of Dirk. Not unless as the GM you just don't believe in him anymore. If you swap Dirk for Kobe, I think we could still win the championship because both are superstars, it would just be as hard as it is now. With both on the same team, well, I really don't think it would be all that difficult.

Kobe's efficiency would go way up with this team too.

It is interesting, but I don't want it to happen this way:

Damp/Diop
MLE/Cro
Howard/George
Kobe/Stack
Terry/Harris

Definitely a championship contender. If Kobe could get LA to the playoffs with that crap team he could definitely propel us. I just hope it wouldn't require Dirk and I don't think I would do it if it did. Man it is interesting though! Like I said, this is potentially the future second greatest player in NBA history here we are talking about.

LonghornDub · 05-30-2007, 12:28 PM

Only way Mavs are getting Kobe is to give up Dirk and I'm not giving up Dirk.

StackAttack · 05-30-2007, 12:35 PM

Hoooooolyyyyyy shit.

V2M · 05-30-2007, 12:37 PM

Bryant asks for trade, says Buss masterminded trading O'Neal

ESPN.com news services

Updated: May 30, 2007, 1:20 PM ET

The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said he would welcome a trade.

Kobe: "I would like to be traded."

Kobe Bryant tells Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio 1050 in New York that he wants to be traded from the Lakers -- and that there's nothing the Lakers can do to change his mind. Listen

"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant said on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?"

Bryant, interviewed by Stephen A. Smith, was asked if there was anything the Lakers could do to change his mind?

"No," Bryan said. "I just want them to do the right thing."

Earlier in the day, Bryant said team owner Jerry Buss masterminded the trade of Shaquille O'Neal -- and Shaq later confirming Kobe's account.

The issues between Bryant and the Lakers have reached a boil, beginning with Bryant voicing his displeasure with the club's direction, his suggestion that Jerry West should return to fix things, West's statement that he has no intention of undermining GM/good friend Mitch Kupchak, and, unrelated but bizarre in its timing, Buss' arrest early Tuesday for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Bryant was left "beyond furious" by a report in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times that read, "as a Lakers insider notes, it was Bryant's insistence on getting away from Shaquille O'Neal that got them in this mess."

O'Neal was traded to the Miami Heat after the 2003-04 season, and the long-held belief has been that the deteriorating relationship between O'Neal and Bryant was a factor in O'Neal's departure.

Trade Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant wants to be traded from the Lakers. But why should NBA general managers have all the fun? Work out a deal for your team with our Trade Machine.

In response to the Times' story, Bryant, interviewed by Smith for a Philadelphia Inquirer column, said Buss "called a meeting with me after he spoke with Jim Gray [of ESPN] to talk with him about Shaq's future in the middle of the 2004 season.

"He met with me at the Four Seasons Hotel here [in Los Angeles] across from Fashion Island, which is now the Island Hotel," Bryant told Smith. "I went up to his penthouse suite. [Buss] looks me dead in the face and says: 'Kobe, I am not going to re-sign Shaq. I am not about to pay him $30 million a year or $80 million over three years. No way in hell. I feel like he's getting older. His body is breaking down, and I don't want to pay that money to him when I can get value for him right now rather than wait.

"This is my decision. It's independent of you. My mind is made up. It doesn't matter to me what you do in free agency because I do not want to pay [Shaq], period.' "

"Dr. Buss said that," Bryant told Smith. "And I haven't said anything for years because I've always felt like folks were just looking to create controversy. Now I know. I realize what extent [the Lakers] will go to, to cover themselves."

Reached afterward, O'Neal told Smith that be believed his former teammate beyond reproach.

"I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent.

"I would have respected Dr. Buss more as a man if he would have told me that himself, because I know he said it. But he didn't [tell me]. He never said a damn word to me."

Buss was unavailable for comment Tuesday, as was Kupchak. Buss, 74, was booked early Tuesday for investigation of drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or above.

The Lakers missed the playoffs in the first season after O'Neal was dealt for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant, and a first-round pick, and have been eliminated in the first round the last two seasons. O'Neal and the Heat won the NBA championship last season.

"Sure, Shaq and I had our issues," Bryant told Smith. "So what! We always did and we won three titles. That doesn't change what was told to me. It doesn't change the fact I never, ever, said to get rid of him."

While Bryant re-signed for $136 million for seven years the day after O'Neal was traded, he has pushed for trades -- he wanted Carlos Boozer, then Jason Kidd, then Ron Artest -- that the Lakers were unable to pull off. Meanwhile, Odom has undergone shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready for training camp in October, Kwame Brown has undergone reconstructive surgery on his left ankle and might not be ready for the start of camp.

And now Bryant, who reportedly has made it clear to the Lakers that he may see fit to terminate his contract in two years, told Smith he wouldn't continue to wait for Buss to build the roster around him.

"Promises made to make this team better have not been kept," Bryant told Smith. "So where does that leave me?"

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:41 PM

I wouldn't want to either, but some of the drivel in the other TRADE DIRK FOR KOBE page is just silly. To say that we would win less than 50 games with Kobe and LA would win more than 50 with Dirk is just insane. If you brought Kobe in here and signed a solid PF with the MLE we would be VERY good just like we are now. We wouldn't be guaranteed anything, but this team would not be worse - just likely about the same. Dirk is DAMN good and DAMN efficient and I love the guy, but Kobe is definitely the more talented guy.

I don't think I trade Dirk here, but the Kobe hate in the other thread is just ridiculous.

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:43 PM

I couldn't see LA doing this with Odom though, unless they see him moving to the SF spot or want to trade him for a SG.

alby · 05-30-2007, 12:44 PM

All LA got for Shaq was Lamar/Caron

is that equal to Howard/Terry?

if it is................................

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:48 PM

Kobe now is much more valuable in my opinion than the breaking down Shaq was then.

RingTheBell · 05-30-2007, 12:49 PM

This is the best player in the NBA. They will without a doubt get better offers than Howard/Terry from the weak east alone. Not to mention the stacked west teams.

alby · 05-30-2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Male26Dan

Kobe now is much more valuable in my opinion than the breaking down Shaq was then.

even after the off the court issues? and locker room issues? and this issue???

alby · 05-30-2007, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RingTheBell

This is the best player in the NBA. They will without a doubt get better offers than Howard/Terry from the weak east alone. Not to mention the stacked west teams.

Howard/Terry/Damp ???

we have picks to use
we have young players to use

V2M · 05-30-2007, 12:54 PM

If there's anyway we can keep Dirk and get Kobe, I'd be all for that! But before we get all too excited... let's keep in mind, that:

1. Just like they did with Shaq, Lakers may NOT trade him to a WC team...

2. Lakers would probably want top draft picks from this year...

3. Lakers may want significant salary relief i.e. expiring contracts!

Put those 3 together... chances of him coming to Dallas are somewhere between zero to slim!

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:56 PM

I would strongly consider Howard/Harris/1st if I were the Laker GM. It gives you a PG which you need, a SF which you need, and the MLE can address the SG spot.

Bynum
Odom
Howard
MLE/Trade (Maybe 2 1st picks and player for R. Lewis and move Josh to 2)
Harris

That is a pretty young team with some potential. You likely can get more than that though, including an actual star. KG comes to mind.

Bynum
Garnett
Odom
MLE/Vujacic
Farmar/MLE

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alby

even after the off the court issues? and locker room issues? and this issue???

Absolutely, IMO.

alby · 05-30-2007, 01:01 PM

I think you are underrating how GM's feel about character nowadays.

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 01:07 PM

And I think you are underrating how GMs would love to have the best NBA player on their team.

alby · 05-30-2007, 01:09 PM

I still think houston got a steal for Tmac
and Denver for AI

you never know man..

especially since the NBA knows the lakers are pretty desperate now if Kobe's demands do have substance to them, everyone will lowball Buss like the tool that he is.

Male30Dan · 05-30-2007, 01:11 PM

Tmac and AI are not even in the same class as Kobe. Not even CLOSE. Kobe is light years ahead of Tmac defensively and AI is old and fragile.

I agree with you on the desperate thing, but in the end, you just don't trade him if you can't get the right deal. He will play.