LOL Obama, Daily 21 March 2010

For those who don't follow basketball, here's a YouTube clip of Shaq's original rap

And, to be fair to Pete Souza, he wasn't completely fixated on the President's ass in his original photo (below). Just shows you the power of cropping (which is mentioned in this Gizmodo post, as well).

I Suppose There Are Worse Reasons For Picking Which College You Attend . . .

from Lakers.com Basketblog's mini-mailbag today:

Q: I was recently accepted to UCI and I enrolled, to be honest, the only reason I applied is because I heard rumors that Kobe works out there in the summer. I was wondering if there is any truth to that rumor or did I throw away four years of my life?
- Andrew, Anaheim, CA

MT: This is easily my favorite question of the year, and perhaps in my young sports career. I’m going to have to think about it before we get to the big Mailbag, Andrew. But thanks, that’s fantastic.

(notice, the question wasn't answered)

And Andrew, embrace your impending Anteater-ness, Kobe or no Kobe.

Zot!

You Really Expect Us to Believe That Line of Crap?

"I don't go out there for the numbers, I just play my game," James said. "You guys seen every phase of my game tonight, the scoring, the rebounding, the assists and defensively just trying to attack the opposing team.

Yeah, sure, Kobe dropping 61 the night game before on this same sorry (defensively) Knicks team had nothing to do with your 50+ point performance the night game following. Nope, nothing to do with it at all. Just going out and playing the game, sure thing BronBron.

And yeah, LeBron James is a lock for MVP this season, his game has been out of this world, and even if Kobe carries the Lakers the rest of the regular season without Bynum and puts up crazy numbers, LeBron is still the MVP.

Sunday's game on ABC between the Lakers and Cleveland ought to be fun.

UPDATE: Edited to reflect the fact that Kobe's performance was from the previous game at MSG, and not the previous night, same difference.

Mark Kiszla, and the Fine Art of Kobe Hateration . . .

(hat tip TrueHoop)

Seriously dude, just let it go, let it go.

Mark Kiszla in a column for the Denver Post lets loose with about a ton of bile directed towards Kobe Bryant.

All Kobe's done in the Olympics is act respectfully towards his opponents, enthusiastically about being a part of the Olympic experience, and consistently played the best on ball defense ever seen in Olympic play (seriously, if he plays this sort of defense for the Lakers, they'll be unstoppable next season).

But that's not enough for Kiszla.

Pucker up and Kiszla my ass, jerk.

He's not even man enough to admit that the article is really about the Colorado based unpleasantness from a few years ago, that doesn't get a single mention, but it's the only subject on his mind when he wrote his piece.

UPDATE:

I just realized that my aside about if Kobe played this sort of defense for the Lakers they'd be unstoppable might sound like I'm accusing him of slacking off defensively for the Lakers, and that's not true. He's playing about 30 minutes a night, and they only play every other day, without any travel between, whereas the NBA is a long slog, and Kobe plays around 40 minutes a night with many a back to back, and lots of travel, so it's understandable that he can't maintain the fierce defensive intensity he has displayed in the Olympics (but it'd be awesome if he could).

Also, if he gambles and let's a guard past him, he still has Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, and the like to pick up the slack. This is a monster team, and they play well as a team, which is something new for one of these 'dream teams'. They've started slow, in all three contests so far, but their defensive intensity never wanes, and the points always come eventually, so I expect that they'll crush Spain on Saturday to send a message, and set themselves up for success in the medal rounds against whichever teams they face. Unless the refs just go insane with lopsided calls and give all Team USA's big men early showers, I don't see any team stopping their quest for gold.

Blog Announcements . . .

First, noticed the new ads? Hate 'em? Like 'em? Indifferent?

2nd cleaning up a few links, Kareem's isn't really blogging anymore, it's just a site to shill his audiobook, so he's gone, deleted my Unhinged Rants link cause I haven't been posting to that site, added Sundries back in since she IS blogging again, and fixed Tim Blair to point directly to his new home. Also, added my 'Zune Card' which links to my Zune profile and shows what I've listened to recently.

Also, after watching the above "Sunday Conversation" with Kobe last night, I've decided that just like Kobe, I'm going to endeavor to, 'Instill my DNA in my readers'.

(and like Kobe, I find it pretty easy to walk the streets of L.A.)

(and you are getting my DNA whether you want it or not, guess I should put a biohazard warning on this blog)

Sure, the Lakers Made it to The NBA Finals, But J.A. Adande Has A REAL Scoop . . .

J.A. Adande has a nice post about the Lakers victory over San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals, but what I really wanted to point you to was this part at the very end,

Bryant, meanwhile, was off to catch a showing of "Sex and the City" at a movie theater that was being held open for him.

Kobe Bryant, is a major league Sex and the City fanatic. My world has been turned upside down. If you believe this Evening Standard article (via Drudge), Kobe may end up being the ONLY straight male in the UK, USA, and Canada to willingly venture into a showing of the Sex and the City film this weekend. That's real news right there.

Also, in the TNT post game they mentioned that this will be the 29th(!!!) NBA Finals appearance for the franchise in its 60 year history. So if they make the next two finals after this one (not impossible, though with the development of New Orleans, Utah and the talent in Portland, the West is tough), they'll have made the Finals in half of their years in the NBA. That's what you call a successful franchise.

Laker Chat, Part Infinity . . .

It's Laker Chat time, they're in the playoffs, but where they end up being seeded is still in doubt. With just four games left, all at Staples, they would seem to be in great shape, but they have New Orleans visiting Friday and San Antonio visiting Sunday (3:30pm ET on ABC, check your local listings). If they win all four games, they'll need New Orleans to lose one of their other games to get 1st in the Western Conference, if they lose all four games, they could drop behind Phoenix for the Pacific Division title, and lose home court in the first round of the playoffs.



Bynum is said to be ready to play on Sunday, and will also play in the season closing game against Sacramento, then it's five days off, and most likely hosting Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Golden State, or Denver (depending on how seeding shakes out) on Sunday April 20th.



They could beat any of those teams, and they could lose to any of those teams in a seven game series. Nothing will be certain in the Western Conference playoffs, and seeding probably won't be determined until the very last day of the season, with Dallas playing New Orleans that day.



The East is pretty determined already, with only some intrigue as to whether or not Washington can pass Cleveland for 4th (and get home court in the first round). Nobody's going to care much about the East until the Conference Finals, though, not with all the action in the West.



(via TrueHoop)



But you already know all that, did you know that Kobe put on his new Nike shoes and jumped over an Aston Martin at the top of a parking structure near Staples Center?



Sure he did, and here's the video to prove it. Like the way he gave Turiaf a piece of the action by putting him in this video, don't know how it works with 'viral' ads, I doubt this video will ever show up on TV spots, it's strictly going to be an internet phenomenon (until some dumb kid tries to jump his friend's Corolla and gets horribly maimed). Things that you can determine from the ad, yes Kobe probably really jumped high enough to clear the Aston Martin, yes that was really an Aston Martin driving in the same place Kobe occupied, yes Roni Turiaf is always that goofily enthusiastic about stuff, yes Kobe has a playful side, and no, no way in hell that they actually really did this, two possibilities, the car wasn't in line with Kobe, or they edited a jump and car drive by together that didn't happen at the same time. Looking at the frames, I'm going with the edit job, but however this was done, this ad should spread across the internet like crazy.



(and I don't get why there's all that Latin all over Kobe's website, either)

There's a Reason He's My Nemesis™

My Nemesis Bill Simmons™ grabs his bag (of mail) today. In it here's his case for why Kobe shouldn't be MVP (answering a "question" he received from a "LeBron J, Cleveland"):

Q: Why is everyone handing Kobe the MVP and counting me out? I'm carrying a lousy team and averaging nearly a triple-double every night. I play hard every game. I've become a really good rebounder and weak-side shotblocker at crunch time. I lift my offensive game at the end of every game and score with 2-3 guys guarding me. When I drive to the basket, I can go left or right and guys bounce off me like superballs. I always make the right pass. I always make the right play. Every time I'm on national TV, I put on a show. Basically, I became who you wanted me to be ... and if that's not enough, I'm only 23. Do you realize I'm the same age as MJ during the 63-point game at the Garden? That's right, I'M THE EXACT SAME AGE AS MJ DURING THE 63-POINT GAME!!!!!!! And you're all taking me for granted already??? Yeeeesh. No wonder MJ played baseball for two years.
--LeBron J., Cleveland

SG: Let's get one thing straight: MJ played baseball for two years because David Stern secretly suspended him for 18 months for gambling and told him to come back for the '95 playoffs. Get your facts straight. As for your other points, you're right -- you and Chris Paul are the leaders for MVP at the three-fourths mark because you're both having superlative seasons, as is Kobe, with the difference being that neither of you has Phil Jackson or a great bench, and in your case, you don't have even a borderline All-Star on your team. It's you and 11 role players. Switch you and Kobe and you'd be doing just as well, but he'd be gritting his way through every Cavs game on cruise control and leaking fake trade rumors through his agent. I also can't forgive Kobe for what happened during the first 15 games, when he moped around and pushed for a trade. Does someone do that during an MVP season? I say no.

Yes, James has been amazing, but Kobe's been Kobe, and he's been more Kobe-tastic this season than any other. His Kobe-ness has been off the chart this year, and he's hurdled that one hurdle that he's accused of not being able to hurdle, he's made the players around him much better this season. Plus, he plays a lot better individual defense than BronBron does (even if BronBron did a good job against Kobe in their two meetings this season). Kobe had this MVP award won back during the FIBA trials in Las Vegas. When all the best players in the league are gathered on one team, and even then he outplays, outhustles and outshines all of them, you know he was ready for a special year. Kobe will win it this year mainly because he hasn't won it previously, and he may not have as good of a chance to win it again. It would seem strange that one of the all time best players this league has ever seen hadn't ever been awarded an MVP award, and that fact will be factored into how people vote.

If it were only on the merit of this one season, then yes, LeBron has a very good case to make, and possibly Chris Paul has an even stronger case. Even before the Gasol trade, Kobe had a team that many were picking to finish somewhere between 7th and 10th in the West near the top of the Conference most of the season. This idea that Kobe was just 'cruising' early in the year while trying to figure out if he had a decent team around him is just bunk, also.

Bill's just bitter that it's looking more and more likely that his Celtics aren't going to make the finals, while the Lakers will.

Lakers Chat, Part XXIV+XXXII (The Prodigal Sun Returns . . .)

Tonight's showdown between the Pacific Division leading Phoenix Suns and the team just one game behind them, the Los Angeles Lakers, is shaping up to be one of the most hyped regular season games in recent memory.

It helps that the Lakers have been playing very well lately. Last night they avenged their last loss (95-98 in Atlanta), by building a 41 point lead (!) in the 2nd quarter versus the new look Hawks. One play exemplifies what the Lakers were about last night, the Lakers were already up 28-66 after two Odom free throws with 57 seconds left in the quarter, but Kobe and Radmanovic trap Acie Law, strip him of the ball, and Radmanovic gets an easy lay-up plus he's fouled with a chance to make it a 69-28 game with 53 seconds to go in the 2nd quarter. How many teams would trap while up 38 points? How many injured superstars would be taking swipes at the ball with his bad hand in a game his team was leading by 38 points? The Lakers weren't just playing Atlanta last night, they were sending a message that not only do they have one of the best offenses in the league (even without Bynum), but that they were ready to bring playoff level defensive intensity to their play the rest of the season. Before last night, Phil Jackson was saying the Lakers need to go 25-5 in their last 30 games if they want to win the Western Conference. They're off to a pretty good start in that direction.

Tonight's game would be important just for the implications within the division, if the Lakers win, they take the season series 3-1 against Phoenix, and that's the first tie-breaker should they finish the season tied, so in essence this one game is worth 2 victories for either team.

But, that's not all that's going on tonight, this game also happens to be Shaq's debut with the Phoenix Suns. ESPN is in full hype mode, with a big roundtable discussion on the game, the state of the Lakers and Suns, and the Western Conference in general. ESPN must be thrilled that this game was already on their schedule tonight. It ought to get a pretty decent rating for an NBA game in February. Normally this isn't a time anyone is paying too close attention to the NBA, but this game could be pretty special. What else are you going to watch tonight, anyway, American Idol? (that show is best watched with a DVR remote in hand, anyway, watch the game live, and watch Idol afterwards)


And I know the whole Prodigal Sun thing really doesn't make sense, since Shaq isn't actually returning to LA as the game is in Phoenix, but couldn't pass up the pun (even if it's weak).

I Concur . . .

John Hollinger at the ESPN Insider's Blog has this suggestion for Kobe . . .

I have some unsolicited advice for Kobe Bryant: Get the surgery.

If you want to win a championship, it's your only option.

Don't be a hero and try to play with your injured right pinkie. While I admire your willingness to play hurt, I saw you try to play with the bad digit in Atlanta last week and you were as ineffective as I've ever seen you: 4-of-16 from the field, 3-of-5 from the line, for just 11 points. If you do that for the next six-to-eight weeks, you might help the Lakers win a few more games than they would have otherwise. But there's no way you're leading a team to the promised land in that condition.

Looking at the schedule, if he was out for six weeks after getting the surgery this weekend, he'd probably miss 22 out of the Lakers last 30 games. The Lakers have a pretty favorable schedule over that stretch, plus towards the end they should get back Bynum and Ariza. If they went 10-12 in those games, and 6-2 in the remaining 8 games with Kobe back, that'd give them a 51-31 record going into the playoffs. In the highly competitive Western Conference, that'd probably end up giving them the 6th or 7th seed, but with all their players healthy, they could overcome not having the homecourt, even against Dallas, New Orleans, Utah, San Antonio or Phoenix. It'd make their trip through the playoffs difficult, but trying to play with a less effective Kobe would be worse than losing one home game each round.

Add to that his desire to play in the Olympics, if he does that, he wouldn't get his surgery till late September, which means he'd end up missing the first 2 weeks or so of next season, and it seems like each game he plays with this injury is another chance to make it worse, and put himself in a position to miss 3-6 months instead of 6 weeks (but, maybe that's not the case, or the doctors would be more insistent that he get surgery immediately).

His fire as a competitor is amazing, his ability to play through pain already legendary in the league, but the Lakers should be able to hold on for a playoff spot in his absence, and if he's 100% from late March on, then the Lakers would once again be one of the favorite teams to win the Western Conference, and he'd be a near lock to be the Olympic MVP of Team USA's gold medal winning team.

He puts all that in jeopardy by playing, he might win this gamble, but he might lose big, too.

Who Cares About Super Duper Califragilistic Tuesday, Pau Gasol Started His First Game for the Lakers . . .

. . . and he was muy bueno. 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Not a bad first day on the job. Helps that it was against New Jersey, but still he looked good out there on offense, a little lost on defense, but that'll develop over time.

More concerning was Kobe, he dislocated his pinkie at the knuckle, hopefully not too seriously, but he shot terribly in the game (3-13) and the Lakers have no time to rest him with another game tomorrow in Atlanta.

And as far as Super Duper Tuesday, after seeing the whiny statement from Romney about the voting in West Virginia, I changed my vote in the primary to Sen. John McCain.

Sometimes it's good to wait till the last second.

And a note to the folks standing near me in line to vote, I wasn't the one who stank to high heaven, or the semi-homeless looking guy behind me, it was the young thin blonde model looking woman who must be on some sort of non-bathing kick (and lots and lots of garlic). Young thin blonde model looking women can really get away with terrible hygiene, life is so unfair.

Enjoy it While it Lasts . . .

A couple of screen caps from ESPN, first the Western Conference standings with the LA Lakers as the number one seed. I think the last time this has happened was either in 2003, or more likely 2002. It's a great accomplishment by a team not expected to do too much this year, plus it's also a testament to how tightly bunched all the good teams are in the Western Conference. If the Lakers go on a 2-8 stretch over their next 10 games, they could find themselves at the bottom of the playoff hunt, rather than on top.



The next screen cap is from the playoff odds projections (going the screencap route cause the links for these pages always go to current standings, they don't do daily archives). With the loss of Bynum, a slide is to be expected, but Kobe Bryant being Kobe Bryant, and given the very real depth and progress made by the young role players at every position, if Kwame Brown can play well in Bynum's absence, the Lakers could still manage a 18-12 record in Bynum's absence, which should at least leave them as a 4 seed, plus you'll have a solid Kwame plus a rested Bynum come playoff time. Celtics-Lakers finals here we come!

Laker Chat: As Long As They're Playing Well, I'll Be Blogging About Them Edition

Yet another edition of Laker Chat. Another great performance, this time dismantling a solid Hornets team in New Orleans. Bynum is playing like an all-star, Kobe is Kobe, Coby got his contract, Ariza continues to play better in the offense, and Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, and Jordan Farmar seem to all make big contributions in nearly every game.

They are at 23-11 after 34 games. Last year they were 23-11 after 34 games. D'oh! This year they should finish much stronger, last year's start was deceptive, with a friendly schedule, this year they've already played a lot of tough teams, and done well.

Also, the reason for more Laker chat is that once again they are going to be on national TV a bunch of times in their next few games. Of the Lakers next 8 games, 5 of them are on TNT, ESPN or ABC, so they'll be getting lots of national exposure over the next two weeks.

They are playing as well as any team in basketball not named the Celtics or Pistons. Hopefully this trend will continue.

In the first edition of Laker Chat back on Dec 13th, I was hoping they'd go 17-7 over their next 24 games and beat a good San Antonio team they'd be playing that evening. They did beat the Spurs on Dec 13th, and right now they are 11-3. Winning at least 6 games over the next 10 shouldn't be a problem (barring injuries), but there are tough road games versus San Antonio, Dallas, and Detroit coming up, so if they do much better than 6-4 over those ten games, then it would be time to hype this team even more.

Win or lose, they are one of the most exciting teams to watch, they play with intensity on both sides of the ball, and they are one of the highest scoring teams in the league at the moment, so if you are at all a fan of the NBA, you should probably try and catch at least their games against Phoenix on the 17th, Denver on the 21st and San Antonio on the 23rd, beats watching reality TV or reruns, anyway.

Relatedly, today's NBA Dish podcast (1/10) at ESPN's Podcenter (direct link to the 3.27mb mp3, here), Chris Broussard chats with Chad Ford about the rise of Bynum, it's short (14min) and a good listen.

Laker Chat . . .

Time to talk Lakers again. They have a modest 3 game win streak at the moment and enter a stretch of 6 games in 9 nights.

The games they have remaining this month coupled with their January games will be critical to whether or not they finish barely making the playoffs or rise to a 4 or 5 seed (chances are they can't overtake Phoenix and win their division, barring a season ending injury to Steve Nash).

Even Kobe likes the Lakers right now, that's good news

"I'm happy to be here," Bryant said. "My guys and I -- we have such a tight bond. Business and basketball sometimes can cloud things, but when you get here in your element and you're around your teammates and just having a good time with them and thinking about them and not about the business of the game, that's when it becomes fun."

Including tonight's game on TNT versus San Antonio, the Lakers have 10 games left this month, and out of those 10 games, 7 of them are being aired nationally, so even if you don't live in SoCal you can watch this exciting and occasionally frustrating team. If they can go 7-3 in that stretch and 10-4 in January they'll be in great shape, but they have many tough games on their schedule, so that won't be easy.

The Lakers aren't just Kobe at the moment, which is one of the reasons why he is less cranky than during the off season. Andrew Bynum looks like he's fulfilling his huge potential and playing very well right now. At times he looks like the 3rd or 4th best center in the league, at other times, he still looks like a 20 year old kid who probably could have used 2 years of college ball. Kareem Abdul Jabbar has been dong a fantastic job coaching him, and it appears that Bynum is doing a better job of listening. Kareem states in every interview that he wants to see Bynum break out the "sky hook" (he does them in practice, but doesn't in games), and if he can shoot that at a high percentage, teams would be forced to double team him, which would free up Odom and Kobe on the wings and would allow the Lakers to become one of the more effecient teams in the league on offense.

Another key to whether or not the Lakers do well over their next 24 games is the recently acquired Trevor Ariza. He's an excellent defender who's going to take some time to work his way into the offense, but in the meantime, he gives the Lakers another great defender at the off guard spot, Kobe is the best defender at his position when he wants to be, and so far this season he has shown the desire to play smothering defense at the end of games, he doesn't play insane defense all game (like he did in the FIBA tourney), but usually he doesn't need to.

The Lakers are long in every position, very young (only Atlanta has a younger team), and can play big or small depending what their opponent throws at them.

They still lack consistency, and even though they have some impressive wins amongst their 12 victories, they also have some inexplicable losses scattered through their defeats. If they find themselves with a 29-15 record by February 1, then they'll be a serious threat to do some damage in the playoffs. There's still a big gap between the top 3 teams in the Western Conference and everyone else (including the Lakers). San Antonio, Denver and Phoenix are still much better than the rest of the West (including Dallas, Houston, Utah, Golden State and New Orleans), but the Lakers killed Phoenix when they faced them earlier, and they match up well with Denver. San Antonio is a big problem for them, one they'll have trouble solving if they meet in the playoffs, but if Bynum continues his growth as a player, Odom stays healthy, and Kobe stays gruntled, the Lakers ought to be able to get out of the first round of the playoffs, and if they have some positive momentum going, they might even be able to beat the Spurs when it matters. If the Lakers can manage to move up their seeding and avoid their annual first round thumping by Phoenix they have a shot at being pretty special when the games really matter.

What I'm really saying is expect another Lakers-Celtics finals come June, that'd be freakin' awesome.

It's Been Awhile, But Time For What's Up with Kobe Bryant . . .

Kobe showed up to the Laker's training camp, no hold out, no more talk of trade demands. Inside the Lakers compiled all his statements in one easy to read blog post.

While not sounding entirely gruntled, Kobe no longer sounds disgruntled, that's progress. I think a deal is in the works, or a hold out would have happened. It was nice knowing you Andrew Bynum, your time as a Laker was a short one. Enjoy yourself with whichever team takes you.

Phoenix and Utah have some very talented unhappy players, if the Lakers could some how add Marion or Kirilenko without losing Lamar Odom, that'd be a tremendous boost to this team. Probably won't happen, but it would be nice to see. To get Marion, Odom would probably have to be in the mix, and that really wouldn't be a huge upgrade, despite Marion's great talent. Getting Marion while keeping Odom would give the Lakers a lot more depth and roster flexibility, however, but Steve Kerr isn't stupid, and I doubt he'd make that move.

Kobe looked healthy, lean, mean, and focused during the FIBA tournament. He was easily the best player on the court, even amongst a team full of all stars, and all the other all stars readily admitted this fact. What really stood out was his commitment to defense. He hounded the other team's best player in most of the contests, and against the solid guards of Puerto Rico, made them look like high school players, not the NBA level talent that they were.

If the Lakers can add one more talented player without giving up Odom, and Kobe's new found love of defense continues, they have a real shot at being a force this season. Derek Fisher returning to the Lakers is a lot bigger deal than people realize, bad point guard play was holding them back the last two seasons, and with a PG who is careful with the ball, along with a commitment to playing defense, the Lakers have potential to be pretty damn good. When you have the world's best player, you should be one of the top teams, that the Lakers haven't been lately has been perplexing.

Tell Me Something I Don't Already Know . . .

Mark Heisler begrudgingly admits that yes, indeed, Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the Universe (that's right, even those aliens doing their fly-bys near Haiti ain't got nothing on Kobe).

Kobe in his prime v Jordan in his prime matched with about equal teammates would be a sight to see. Can only happen in computer simulation land though.

Kobe has taken his game to a new level over the past six months or so, it was hard to tell when he was with the Lakers (especially when they got swept in the playoffs), but playing with the best of the best that the USA has to offer, he still is clearly better than anyone else and is the only person you want defending the other team's best player or taking the last shot when the game is on the line.

He was outstanding in both 'blue on white' games they played getting ready for the FIBA Americas Championship that starts today. He's been a demon in practice, and he has the awe and respect of all the other all stars gathered.

He better stay a Laker, and the Lakers better do whatever it takes to assemble a team that he can win with.

The big knock on him is that he doesn't do enough to make those around him better, but you try making everyone better when Smush Parker is your point guard (good luck Miami Heat, you'll need it). Getting Derek Fisher back should help a lot more than people expect, plus a healthy Walton, Mihm and Odom could help make the Lakers a lot better than anyone expects them to be.

Hi! Kevin McHale and Mitch Kupchak, Thanks for Reading . . .

. . . I think I was the only person suggesting last week a Garnett to the Lakers trade for Bynum, Odom and toss ins, but apparently there's serious discussions going on to make this happen.

This trade works for both teams. The Wolves get young talent and cap space to go after Gilbert Arenas or any of the other big free agents out there in 2008 (which might be the best Free Agent class in awhile). If the Lakers can make other trades to secure a higher draft pick to sweeten the deal, they'll get another solid young body that could make the 'Wolves one of the teams to beat just as the Suns, Spurs, and Mavs start getting too old. Trying to get better next year isn't going to happen in Minnesota, and they'll get nothing for Garnett after another losing season, but being solid in 2009 and beyond when everyone else begins falling apart seems like a sensible goal. Minnesota needs to trade Garnett now while they can get value, and the Lakers need a legit All-Star (who doesn't overlap his skill set the way Odom does) to pair with Kobe to keep him happy.

As for the Lakers, they have an immediate problem, and Garnett fixes that problem, even if they have to give up some good young talent to get him. Kobe and Garnett would have a much more complimentary game together than Kobe had with Bynum and Odom. Find teams that want expiring contracts to dump Cook, Radmanivic, Brown and McKie and keep Walton, Farmar, Turiaf, Mihm and Evans, and pull in a few solid but cheap veterans in a Brian Shaw, Eric Snow like capacity, and you've got yourself a team.

Kobe, Walton, Farmar, Garnett, and Mihm would make an outstanding starting five (assuming Mihm gets back to 100% after a one year layoff). With a veteran or two off the bench (somehow they might convince Horry to comeback to LA instead of going to Houston as expected) and high energy young players like Turiaf still around, the Lakers could instantly keep Kobe happy, maybe even challenge for the title, even in the stacked Western Conference.

At the very least Garnett and Kobe would get to see the 2nd round of the playoffs for the next three or four years together, something neither has done since 2004 (when the Lakers beat the 'Wolves in the Western Conference Finals).

They better get this done before the draft on Thursday, though, somehow getting a top 12 pick (or two top 20) to Minnesota is the only way this is going to work.

Cutting Kupchak (and Kobe) Some Slack

The Summer of Kobe continues. Now a video has popped up, and it purports to show Kobe speaking ill of Bynum and Kupchak.

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times, a Kobe hater even when they were winning championships, has a big article chock-full-a-Kobe-hateration.

As far as selecting Bynum in the 2005 draft, Bynum was clearly the player with the most potential available at that pick. Look at the 2005 draft and find a name drafted below him that you'd want to add to your roster instead of Bynum. You can't, there isn't anybody on that list who has done much in the NBA (with the exception of Antoine Wright of the Nets, but the Lakers didn't need another 2 guard). Kupchak made the right call drafting Bynum, and all their draft picks since 2003 have been pretty solid (passing up Leandro Barbosa for Brian Cook might seem like a mistake now, but Barbosa wouldn't have fit in LA just as he didn't fit in with the Spurs), and they've gotten good players late in each draft (Walton, Turiaf, Vujacic, Farmar), they were unlucky that their best pick came in the worst draft year of the past five (2005 was a very weak draft). This year's draft is deep, but they need a veteran, so any package for current players should include this year's picks as they'd get good value in return.

So they've got good talent scouts and made the picks they had to make at the time. What's been wrong, and where Kupchak deserves criticism is the decisions they've made after the picks were done. They could have packaged the draft pick and got a veteran player to fill an immediate need. For the past two years GMs around the league have been salivating over Bynum, seeing that he's not a great fit for the Lakers and Lamar Odom has also not found a way to mesh with Kobe. Making a trade using those two players as bait seems like a natural call. Plus Kupchak deserves lots of criticism for letting Caron Butler go in favor of trying to do something with Kwame Brown, and there was the massive contract given to Vlad "Space Cadet" Radmanivic, two costly mistakes that have leveraged a chunk of the Lakers present as well as future for very little in return so far.

Now the Lakers are backed in a corner, partly because Kobe can't shut up, and partly cause the organization didn't make the tough decisions when they should have been made.

Bynum still shows a ton of potential, and might end up being one of the top three centers in the league for the next decade, but keeping him on your roster for the 2-3 years that it will take for him to fully reach that potential is costly, difficult, and not conducive to winning now.

Maybe Kobe is acting like a spoiled brat, but he's also right, the Lakers have an opportunity to be one of the better teams in the league if they have one all-star to compliment Kobe and the right role players to fill in the rest of the roster. The last two seasons that isn't the roster they've had. They are the 2nd youngest team in the league, and when compared to their peers on the teams made up of mostly under 25 year old players, they are the class of those teams. Unfortunately, they play against all the teams, and having the right mix of veterans and youngsters is crucial to having a legitimate shot at a good playoff run.

Kobe's also right to see that pretty much every team in the East is one Kobe away from being in the Finals, the Lakers role players are as talented as the cast LeBron has around him in Cleveland. Put them in the West and instead of putting up the 2nd best record in their Conference, that team would have struggled to win 45 games. Kobe+Deng and a few other good players left over from a trade in Chicago would easily win 55 games and challenge for the Conference Title. That seems to be the only possible scenario acceptable to Kobe and everyone else, probably still won't happen, but you can tell he'd love to attack the Jordan mystique right there in Chicago.

But if Kobe is destined to stay with the Lakers, there's still some chance to create a team that could beat the Rockets, Spurs, Mavericks or Suns. Package Bynum, Odom and Vujacic for an all-star big forward/center and a solid veteran point guard who can work within the triangle, and work on signing one or two veteran bench players who can contribute a steadying force during a playoff run.

I think a Kevin Garnett deal could still be worked without gutting the team, for the PG, Derek Fisher might be attainable and knows how to operate under Phil's system, and for that veteran off the bench, sounds like the Spurs aren't going to renew Horry's contract, so he might be available, too.

A starting five of Kobe, Farmar, Garnett, Walton (a free agent, but seems to want to stay with the Lakers, and the Lakers want him to stay) and Brown (Kwame might put together a good season if he stays injury free) with significant minutes off the bench for Mihm (due to his injury, he might have trouble signing with a different team, though a free agent) Turiaf, Fisher, Evans along with Horry in his usual season long slumber until the playoffs start, could do some damage in the NBA Playoffs, even in the stacked West. That team could play big or small, and as long as they have enough healthy bodies, could be a tenacious team on defense (they'd have trouble scoring when both Kobe and Garnett weren't on the floor, though, so Phil will just have to manage their minutes so that one or the other is always there to fill up the basket).

Maybe blowing up the Lakers and starting over without Kobe will be the best thing for the Lakers and Kobe, but I think all it will take is one legit all-star at his side along with one or two players older than himself to get Kobe to trust the front office again. Kevin McHale would be very reluctant to make a trade that helps the Lakers, but Garnett wants out, and the promise of Bynum and the solid play of Odom might be enough to take away the sting of losing Garnett to the Lakers.

It won't be easy, but it doesn't seem impossible, either.

Having Kobe on one of the local NBA franchises is a gift, he is the most exciting player of his generation, and the stuff he does on court on a nightly basis defies description. To suggest, as Plaschke does (and comparing Kobe to Paris Hilton is just plain low), that LA fans would be better off without him is crazy talk.

"It's Kobe, He Changed His Mind Again"

Said by Charles Barkley during the halftime of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

(he did so after checking his phone in the middle of their analyst roundtable, all time NBA great, one of the best personalities on TV, and prop comic, the man can do everything)

Guess it's about time I mentioned the Kobe thing 'aka' the full employment act for LA based Sports Talk Radio hosts.

He's been busy. He's upset at the folks upstairs with the Lakers. He wants out, he wants in, he wants Jerry West.

Here's my take. This is an internal Buss family matter with Dr. Jerry Buss and son Jim Buss on one side with Jeanie Buss and s/o Phil Jackson on the other. By most accounts, Mitch Kupchak is Jim's guy, and in accord with Jerry's decision to hold down the salaries and try and compete on the cheap. Phil came back to the Lakers expecting them to give him an opportunity to pass Red Auerbach and collect his 10th championship as coach. He's upset, and he's super close to Kobe the second time around. I think Jeanie is involved cause she might feel a bit slighted that Jim is back with the family business even though he turned his back on it for some time, only to come back and be thrust into a more important position than she has, despite Jeanie having been with the Lakers for her whole adult life.

Dr. Jerry Buss (sure his doctorate is in chemistry, not medicine, but whenever it's official Laker business they always call him "Dr. Jerry Buss", so I'll do the same) is the poorest team owner in American major sport, he's the only owner whose primary source of income is his team. He's at a huge disadvantage when it comes to competing with the billionaires and consortiums that now make up the majority of team owners. But the Lakers are one of the most valuable franchises in all of sports and he has under contract one of the most marketable stars across all sports, so he should bite the bullet, pay the luxury tax, pursue a quality free agent and put a team around Kobe that has a chance to win now. Kobe may play at a top level for another decade, or he may only have 3-4 years left. Whichever team he's on must have a sense of urgency and he needs to be surrounded by players that match his intensity, or else he'll eat them alive. The Bulls during their hey day reflected Jordan, and most all the players filled their roles well. So far Odom has not been Kobe's Pippen, but that's still a possibility. Odom's very talented, and when you see him play well you wonder why he's not a perennial all star, but then he has stretches where he's invisible, and he's never seemed comfortable deferring to Kobe. Kwame Brown has shown flashes of being a great gamble, but those are two far and between. Andrew Bynum is a project, and even though his potential made the choice to pick him seem sound, his inability to contribute now makes him a greater asset as trade bait then a possible piece in a future dynasty.

If everyone had stayed healthy, the Lakers might have made the Western Conference finals and none of this blow up would have happened. The Lakers didn't do any worse in the playoffs then the Heat, Mavericks, Nuggets, or Rockets. A lot of teams that seemed like they could contend for a championship this year, are watching the playoffs just like Kobe and the Lakers.

The soap opera known as "The Lakers" this off season may end up being more entertaining than the team was this past post-season.

I'd hate to see Kobe go, being able to see all his games is a real treat. His frustration is the sign of a competitor, and I'm surprised to see that most of the press he's received has been semi-supportive. Sure he's been a bit whiny this week, but he's been whiny for cause, and if this spat with the front office causes them to shake up the roster in a good way, it will end up being better for all involved.

UPDATE:

If you want to make your own Kobe trade, ESPN has the "Trade Machine", I came up with a four team trade that involved Boston, Atlanta, Knicks and Lakers with Kobe ending up with the Knicks and the Lakers getting Joe Johnson from Atlanta (among others), and Paul Pierce getting screwed (aka getting sent to Atlanta).

Also, Bill Simmons at ESPN comes up with a few possible trades of his own, with his favorite being a swap with Phoenix that would improve both teams and would in his words match, "The most selfish player in the league (Kobe) playing with the most unselfish player in the league (Nash). What a fascinating sociological experiment. If Nash can turn Kobe into a team player, I'm voting him for our 2008 president even though he's Canadian."

Kobe, 65, Ho Hum

65 points in an OT victory over the Portland Blazers. 24 out of 30 Laker points total in the 4th quarter.

FGM-A 23-39
3PM-A 8-12
FTM-A 11-12

in 50 minutes of fighting through picks on defense, running around the court to get free on offense and making turn around jumpers from behind the 3pt arc. Sick! Sick!! Sick!!!

His game tying shot in regulation, and his game sealing shot in OT were insane three pointers that no human being has a right to even think about attempting let alone making.

The stat line is mind blowing, yet watching it is even more impressive.

And I was ready to stick a fork in the Lakers and declare their season over if they lost this game.

They came very close, it took a superhuman effort from an insanely talented player to pull off a victory at home against a lousy team.

That's not good.

Before this game, they had lost 7 in a row, and that was after a few other long skids. They've been in a tailspin since just before the All Star Break. But, the have enough games left to fix what's broken, and the games they have left are mostly against teams with worse records than the Lakers, so they should be able to win most of them.

Still, I thought the Lakers had evolved past being Kobe and everyone else, but sometimes if Kobe being insane is what it takes, then that's what's going to happen.

The Lakers will need consistent effort from all their players if they're to maintain their playoff seeding and have any chance of beating any of the 3 Western Conference titans (Mavs, Suns, Spurs) that they'll face in the first round.

Still, if they manage to defeat any of those teams in the first round, then the sky's the limit.