Kobe the most criticized...
 

player in the NBA.

Well yes he probably is. But he cant get along with Shaq when the Lakers could have had a dominant team for a good long while. He lies about his little sex foray and then buys off his wife with a big ring (nothing to do with b-ball).
Look he wanted to be the man, like Jordan, so get off the excuses and make the other players on your team better. Constant hustle on D would help so that he would be forced to take rests (teammates notice this). His teammates without him on the floor occasionally. Its clear Kobe saves his reserve energy for offense, although he frequently covers the best offensive guard/small forward on the opposing team. He asked for his team, he got his team.

So heck yes he is going to be criticized. If you want to be the man, lead your team to the promise land by making others around you better. Lamar Odom was lauded as a great move by Kobe. Flippn Kwame is a giant baby, get rid of him, or make him work. Take Nash, take Kobe, who is most likely to make the TEAM better? Nash can make a 20 point scorer out of any 10pt per game man. Quit the whining for Kobe and expect him to make his TEAM better.

More than one NBA coach has said that D'Antoni and Popovich have the easiest jobs of any NBA coaches... I wonder why...
Superstars who are all about TEAM.

Kobe is a fantastic scorer,but just like tonites' game percentage wise not good....of course everything is on his shoulders....Odom is solid,Walton is gettin better....but Parker needs to go...and others! And the Coach is not controlling the team..he's lost them and interest. Buss needs to get players but he'll not pay a cent of luxury tax....that's Bank!

Steve Nash is a very good player in a perfect situation. Funny thing about him is that he and I have something in common besides being white. We both have zero titles in the NBA. For all the hype that surrounds Nash, the Mavs have improved without him. Comparing players attitudes and all that other stuff that fans think is important is a bunch of bs. The Lakers have very little legit talent on the team. Odom is a guy that needs the ball alot to take advantages of his attributes but that is not gonna happen. Kwame is simply not a good player regardless of how hard he works. Walton is a good 6th man type on a team with multiple scoring options. Smush is a second rater. Bynum may yet be a good player but he is not ready to take a big role yet. Forget the rest. Does that sound like a playoff team? The media loves the Kobe drama and Kobe constantly puts his foot in his mouth but the truth is that he is a great player that will make players on his team better if they have the talent and style of play that fits with his game. Right now they dont. Dont blame Kobe, blame the guys that put this team together.

First, he doesnt pass to his teammates and he says he needs help. Kobe ran off Shaq and then Shaq won a championship with DWade. He's just as much to blame as management. He put himself in this spot.

If the Lakers get Jermaine O'Neal and Jason Kidd it is lights out for the competition.

His teamates stink. It does not matter what you do if they cant help. This is not high school. Kobe may have run off Shaq but it was Laker management that traded Caron Butler, an allstar this year by the way, for Kwame Brown. You dont have to like Kobe but to blame him for the Lakers for being a crap team is wrong on many levels.

If Kidd and Kobe are on the same team the women of LA are in more trouble than the competition

LOL that is funny!!

Yes trading Butler was a bad trade, but I completely disagree. You have to agree they wouldve won another championship had they not traded Shaq. It wouldve been a walkover. He didnt pull the trigger per se in trading players but he got the ball rolling by getting rid of Shaq, which led to management making poor decision on trades and draft picks, so yes, he is partially to blame.

........ yeah all the lakers offered to " poor shaq " is a 3 year 75 mil. extension....... shaq is as much to blame as kobe, i wonder if nash could get the lakers to the playoffs without kobe...... doubt it.

Exactly...Shaq has never been the easiest guy to deal with...Laker management made the choice to keep Kobe and move Shaq, frankly I think that was the right choice BUT once they did that they owed their fans...management has dropped the ball, they haven't given Kobe any help! Same thing Kevin Garnett goes through in Minnesota...frankly, I'd like to see KG come to LA! The Lakers have no cap room so trades will be necessary but the time is now (actually it should have been a couple years ago) to bring in some talent...calling some 19 year old kid "untouchable" when he's clearly a project and a huge gamble is insane! Odom is a nice player but he has to go as well...time to step up, Laker Management!

It's too hard to feed the egos in todays game...Kobe is a great individual player, but I think it will be hard to find 4 above ave. players to complement his talent when he needs to take 40 shots a night, just not gonna happen because they need to see the ball too.

The Lakers may or may not have won another championship if they stayed together but Shaq is pretty close to being done and Kobe has 4 or 5 more really good years left. Kobe has a huge ego, no doubt but so did Jordan and he seemed to do ok. Of course his teams went nowhere until they got him some players.

Correct, except there's one major difference between Koba and Jordan-he actually passed the ball. He may have berated them in practice, but he knew how to push their buttons. Jordan had a good supporting cast and he made them a lot better than they were, especially Pippen, who somehow was voted a top 50 lifetime player, but struggled to maintain his own when Jordan was gone. I'd like to see the Lakers get Kobe a good supporting cast, not the likes of Kevin Garnett and other superstars, and see if he can produce a champoinship on his own b/c I dont think he can.

Who did Jordan have for a center? Bill Cartwright, Luke Longley, Will Perdue... they were pitiful. Name a modern team that has won an NBA championship with Bigmen worse than these. Yes he had Pippen and Grant, but Im sorry that was not a super talented team. Jordan took advantage of Paxon and Kerr's abilities. He was able to use Rodman when he was already off the deep end. (No Chuck Daley to control Rodman). Those Chicago teams were Jordan with a dash of Pippen and they played TEAM ball.
Kobe will never be ever to develop the individual talents of mediocre players like Jordan did, unless he starts to understand what a leader really is. He has not a clue at this point. And there are many ways to lead. Duncan leads by letting Popovich chew him out in front of his teammates so the team as a whole buys into what they must do to win because the Spurs are just not that talented. There are many ways to make your team better as the best player.

When the Lakers get a real point guard (and Kobe lets the PG run things if he can contain himself; Jordan let BJ Armstrong, not close to a superstar) then we will know for sure. Until then, we will look at an extraordinarily talented player go nowhere. The real telling thing is Kobe and Shaq were both dissatisfied when things went wrong. How does that happen? It would not have happened with a guy like Jordan talking to Shaq.

Yeah the Spurs don't have veterans and they sure as hell don't have any talent outside of Duncan. WTF? Just cut the homer sh.it and say you don't like Kobe. Your points are ridiculous.

Jordan had a very good supporting cast. Pippen is a hall of famer, Paxton and Kerr were great spot up shooters as was craig hodges. Cartwright, Rodman and Longley all filled the roles as rebounders and post defenders. Bj Armstrong was an effective point guard. Ron Harper was a great complimentary player even when he lost a step. Horace Grant was a very good post defender, garbage man and rebounder.
Pippen only "struggled" because he tried to fill MJ's shoes instead of being the players that he was.
No one player produces an NBA championship on his own. No one ever.

........ remember Pgdn, kobe came in he was 19 and looked up to shaq......the colorado fiasco killed that relationship. plus shaq is very sensitive and childish.....he was always from day 1 busting kobes balls. whatever, its a done deal. kobe is on a glorified c.b.a roster, far worse that jordon took to the playoffs.

Centers are not important in the triangle offense except as rebounders and post defenders which all of the aforementioned centers were. Kwame Brown would not have played one minute for those teams. He does nothing well. Terrible player.
B.J. Armstrong was a much better point man than Smush. Why I am I even debating this? It is absurd. The Lakers have a barely functioning team and if you replaced Kobe with an average NBA player at his position they would win maybe 20 games.
By the way the Lakers would not be much better off with Shaq because he is finished as a dominant player.
Kobe is a self absorbed ego maniac. That is a given. But the problems that the Lakers are having are the cause of management getting trapped with bad contracts and weak players. They are the west coast version of the Knicks except they have a true star.

So they had a team with players who had roles. These players on their own were just not that talented. This is my point. There is no way I could be convinced Kobe could take this same team and let people settle into a role. It would have to be set up for him. All of these players on other teams were just not the same (Rodman was already crazy after he left Detroit so Detroit got the benefit of a bit of sanity). They were a team with a clear leader (even though Pippen does not admit it) and played like a team. Kobe asked for that, and so far, it has been a failure because he is not a leader. This is my major point. He wants to so badly be viewed as a better player than Jordan and he has no concept of what it is like to be the leader of a real team. Time will tell. Give him a PG as I said, and we will see. I think this is the main thing the Lakers are lacking. Their talent is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Lamar Odom is extremely talented but there has yet to be any sort of connection between them. When Mim returns, and Bynum is given a chance to develop, they will have every bit as talented players as the old Bull "Centers". Smush Parker is a two guard and he has no room to flower. He is clearly talented but does not have a clue what his role is besides get out of Kobe's way. Luke Walton is a very bright player who could fit perfectly in the right role but he is stymied as well, he has a role one game, and its gone the next. Kobe is still a young Jordan that can score at will. He works hard on his game, very hard. But he clearly wanted to be the man and he is running out of time now.

Pillow likes me.

Parker is super fast. Ginobili is super funky. Outside of that we got a bunch of retreads that know how to the game since you already mentioned Duncan. The Spurs of 1999 would blow the current team out of the water. We are officially older and slower.

At least I am a realistic homer.

1986 Boston Celtics...that was the definition of a TEAM.

Man this is a good debate going on here....Kobe Bryant is as much to blame for the collapse of the Lakers as anything.....Now I believe Jerry Buss decided to make him the franchise player and asked him did he want to keep Shaq and he said no. Even LA wan't big enough for both of them. But, say what you want about the big fella, but all he did was go to Miami and win a title. Name the last time an NBA team won a title without a legit "man in the middle," as the Bulls pa announcer used to say. Even the Bulls although they weren't superstars, had legit centers that filled that role...they weren't 25 or 30 feet away from the bucket looking to drain a 3 pointer. Cartwright, Longley, Wennington, Perdue....on their own, they were mediocre at best, but they understood their role....take up space, get a couple of rebounds a game, use all your fouls up, and let Dennis Rodman do all the work under the basket....before Rodman it was Grant. So where does that leave the Lakers? They need a big man....and as talented as I think he is, I don't think KG is the answer. Kobe's ego won't allow another player to float along the perimeter. They need a guy that can give them 20 and 10 night in and night out and do it from 5 to 8 feet away....

Oh WOW...my man Sam bringing the name Bill Wennington into the picture...

talk about doing a "what ever happened to"

lmao....here's what happened to him...

he played 5 min a night, committed 6 fouls, got 2 maybe 3 rebounds on a good night, averaged 1 point a game and collected 3 rings....all he had to do was listen to what MJ told Phil to tell him...

Who was that guy that played for the Bulls that never ever got into the game...white guy (go figure) dark hair, he was put on the team to keep Rodman in check...damn I can't remember his name....yeah well, he got rings too.....

Jack Haley.

that's it!! Wonder if he's on Rodman's payroll still....:D

Luc Longley? Aala Abdeldnaby?

Chris Dudley!!

So basically you are saying Mihm and Bynum cant fill the roll of a Will Perdue and Luke Longley type player? Who is kidding whom here. Farmar... thats a joke. All he does is run around and try to get out of Kobe's way. Yeps, he will run that team... for sure. Jason Kidd would be one of the only PG I think Kobe could play with. Imagine what would happen if D. Wade and Kobe were on the same team. Kobe could not handle that. A player that will be his equal.

That would be therapist and fellow party animal, Jack Haley.

They play the same position. Everyone is apparantly forgetting that Kobe HAS rings and that Shaq is not the only player that left. The Lakers would not be much better off with Shaq because heis always hurt and cant dominate anymore. Kobe is a great player. Watch the olympics. Then we will see how well he fits in with other great players.

Actually you are correct. The both play the 1 and the 2. And both convert to the 1 at the end of games.
Kobe has rings. And now for his "own" rings. His "own" team. The rings with Shaq really dont count for him.

1. I have no idea what this means
2. Then Kobe is stupid.

How the heck is Farmar going to be allowed to be a PG when he is always running away from Kobe trying to get out of his way? I seriously dont think Kobe can let any PG develop. This is one of my main points. Thats why I personally believe you have to bring in someone he trusts. Who would he trust to get the ball to him... Oh maybe Nash and Kidd. Thats about it. If a guy like Chris Paul had come on the Lakers, he would have experienced misery. A guy like Williams on Utah, he would not be on the floor enough or have the ball enough to gain confidence. I would never put a young promising PG with Kobe, ever.

True story from yesterday. My friend and I are roaming around and run into Kwame Brown and Jordan Farmer, at different times. Here are parts of both conversations. Hope the language doesn't get edited here.

W/Kwame Brown
My friend: Kwame, what happened this season with u guys?

Kwame: It was just crazy. Nobody really got along all year.

Me: So all the rumors are true and there is no chemistry on this team?

Kwame: Well, there is some but mostly with the scrubs like Rony, Sasha and those guys. They get along great but not the main players.

Me: What about Kobe? He's always talking all that "my guys" **** but then we always hear about him going off on people.

Kwame: Man **** Kobe. I want to kick his ass. Like one time, we were in the huddle at halftime in the hallway right outside the locker room. Everyone is in the huddle getting amped up for the second half. Kobe's punk ass wouldn't join in. Then somebody said "come get in Kobe". Kobe said "I'm not getting in there with ya'll punk bitches." Then Lamar was like "man, come on". Kobe said it again "I told ya'll I'm not getting in there with ya'll punk bitches." So we were just like "**** it, he's bitchin up again" and we kept on going. Then at the end we were like "1-2-3 defense" then when we broke and started running on the court, Kobe jumped right in the middle like he was right with us.

My friend: Are u serious?

Kwame: Yeah man. I wanted to beat the **** out of him but I know if I do that, my career is over.

So we talk about a bunch of other things then we have to leave. About 30 minutes later, we run into Jordan Farmar. Now I've talked with Jordan a few times cause he's my friend's godson. So I know I can joke with him a little.

Me: Damn, I thought Kenny Smith said ya'll were gone fishing.

Jordan: **** u.

Me: Nah. If I'm gonna **** a dude, it's not gonna be one that was in the D-League a month ago.

Jordan: In the D and still pulling more women than u.

Me: Is the whole team gonna be up here today?

Jordan: What u mean?

My friend: We just saw your boy Kwame a while ago.

Jordan: Man, that's not my boy. That's a weak ass bitch.

My friend: Damn, why u call him that?

Jordan: Dude is always hurt. He can't even make it through practices without complaining about something. Always. Stomach aches, toothaches, ankle, foot, shoulder. Always something. During games, we sit on the bench and take bets on when he's gonna get hurt. I always take the second quarter.

Me: I guess that's why Phil was saying that at some point Kwame has to suck it up and decide how much he really wants to play.

Jordan: Kwame doesn't want to play at all. He just wants to get money and get women.

Me: So u don't like him?

Jordan: I mean, dude is alright. I don't hate him but damn, get some heart.

My friend: He said that ya'll can't stand Kobe.

Jordan: U know what? Kwame is a weak ass bitch but he's telling the truth about Kobe. Don't nobody like that dude.

I doubt Kwame could whip Kobe's ass, but that's just a guess on my part :D