Kobe wants to be traded

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by somerfrost

Frankly, I tend to believe Kobe here...it's pretty obvious that the Lakers have done nothing to help the guy, I don't blame him! If it was Kobe who demanded Shaq be traded then why didn't the Lakers acquire talent to replace him...certainly lots of players would love to play in LA. And, if my memory serves me correctly, Kobe wasn't convicted of any crime and the woman's story was well...! What happened to the Duke Lacross players should serve to remind folks that justice should never be based on speed, and first appearances. Kobe and the Duke boys were guilty of bad judgement, in Kobe's case, he cheated on his wife...a private matter which they appear to have resolved, certainly none of our business!

Kobe demanded the Shaq trade in other ways beyond coming right out and saying it. By making it clear that he wouldn't resign as long as Shaq was here, that's basically the same thing. The question about why didn't they just acquire more talent to replace him is not simple. First, when the Lakers got Grant and Odom, their contracts, along with Kobe's, left them well over the salary cap. Then when they traded Butler for Brown, that didn't help things either. And the notion that lots of players would love to play in LA is WRONG. It's a perception that was true when Magic Johnson was here. Magic was loved throughout the league and was an unselfish player. It was furthered when Shaq was here. Again, a well loved player. When Karl Malone and Gary Payton and Rick Fox left money on the table to play with the Lakers, it was because of Shaq. They all said so. They all wanted to play with Shaq and have a chance to win a title. Especially in the cases of Malone and Payton, it was established guys that had won all the individual awards and made plenty of money already and wanted to play for a title. But once Shaq was gone, that lure was gone too. Why would any young players that are trying to make their mark in the league want to take less money to come and play for the Lakers and have to deal with a selfish and arrogant guy like Kobe? Especially after seeing how he had thrown Shaq under the bus in Colorado? The lure of LA in the past had as much to do with Magic and Shaq, even more actually, than the city itself.