“If they’re going to do something, I wish they would just (expletive) do it.” – Black Mamba
Just like everyone else, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant has heard the trade rumors surrounding his dance partner Pau Gasol and to put it mildly, he’s fed up. During the tense press conference after the loss to the Phoenix Suns, Kobe came to the defense of “Robin” to his “Batman”,
“He’s been the consummate professional,” Bryant said after the Lakers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns. “He’s going out and he’s trying to do what he can. But let’s be real. If you didn’t know you were going to be here tomorrow, if your head’s on the chopping block and you feel like you’re just waiting, it’s tough to put all of yourself in the game.”
“I talked to him a little bit about it,” Bryant said. “It’s just tough for a player to give his all when you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomorrow. So I’d rather them not trade him at all. If they were going to do something, I wish they would just (expletive) do it. If they’re not going to do it, come out and say you’re not going to do it. This way he can be comfortable, he can go out and perform and he can play and he can invest all of himself in the game.”
“It’s hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and stuff,” Bryant said, bringing up the subject without being prompted by reporters. “It’s hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he’s hearing trade talk every other day. I wish management would either come out and either trade him or not trade him.”
Bryant has never wavered on his claim that the Lakers have the foundation to contend for another NBA title with Gasol in the lineup,
“It obviously starts with myself and Pau and the emergency of Andrew (Bynum),” Bryant said, “but you can’t have one of our pillars not knowing if he’s going to be here or not. Do something. One way or another, do something. If they trade him, at least you have some type of closure.”
There are a lot of factors going on here and depending on who you talk to, these elements can be a good or bad thing. The Lakers have been pretty average offensively and that defensive mindset that coach Mike Brown was supposed to bring?…well its not as stingy as you would have thought (sitting 10th in defensive efficiency) and given how bad offenses are in this post-lockout season…that ranking is not a true picture of what’s going on.
So what’s the point here? Do the Lakers roll the dice and stick with a dominant Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum front line? Do they move Gasol to bring in a serviceable point guard (Kyle Lowry perhaps?) Do they move Bynum and pieces for Dwight Howard? According to Kobe the answers don’t matter, just make the (expletive) decision already…
Six games on the road and the Spurs don’t show any signs of slowing down. Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs continue to be perfect on the annual Rodeo Road Trip beating the Los Angeles Clippers 103-100 in overtime Saturday afternoon.
Despite losing the past 5 games in disgusting and frustrating fashion, Danny Granger and the Pacers beat up on the Brooklyn…New Jersey Nets Thursday night 93-88. Nobody was probably watching other than League Pass denizens and Pacers fans though…Shout out to Joe Crawford for that phantom traveling call against Roy Hibbert though. Good to see you still got sir.
The four contestants have been announced for this year’s Slam Dunk Contest and….meh. In case you were wondering, superstar Blake Griffin will NOT be defending his crown this year. So on to the list…
Full disclosure: I’m a citizen of Tar Heel Nation.
Despite leading by 10 points with 2 minutes to go, the Tar Heels of North Carolina “choked” letting the Duke Blue Devils come in and grab a victory 85-84 in the Dean Smith Center. I”m guessing Dean would like his name removed from the scene of the crime.
In a night where Kobe Bryant passed Shaq on the all-time scoring list, the Lakers were unable to beat the Philadelphia Sixers losing 95-90 Monday night.
“The Seattle Times is reporting officials in Seattle have been working behind the scenes on a deal to build a new arena and are holding discussions with a Bay Area hedge-fund manager about possibly moving a team to Seattle.” Does this mean what we hope it does?! Will the NBA be back in Seattle?! Read on my eager readers…
While folks were getting ready for the Super Bowl, Lebron James and the Miami Heat were quietly dispatching the Toronto Raptors 95-89 Sunday afternoon.
The NBA has dropped the fine hammer once again and this time it hit Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle who was fined $35,000 for kicking a ball into the stands during the Mavericks/Thunder game on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for Mr. Carlisle that ball happen to hit a fan in the face.
What brought on this kick you say? Well Carlisle was a little frustrated and to vent said frustration he decided to kick the ball. Little did he know that it was a well placed kick that sent the ball directly into the stands. Perhaps Carlisle was trying to bend it like Beckham. Zing!
Carlisle was given a technical (his second for the night), but he did check on the fan that got hit with the ball before he hit the locker room early in the 4th quarter.
