NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

[Air23]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

LOL

[Dynasty4Kobe]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

You can still change your screen name

Nah, I'm still in the whole "Shaq is fat, Kobe > Jordan, NBA revolves around the Lakers" stage. Maybe in a year or two though.

[P2K]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

So does this make Phil a Kobe nut hugger?

[TheMatrix31]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

Yeah, if you wanna change your name, just talk to BraveGuy, Braveheart, etc....he's a master at identity theft around here.

[Kashanova]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

I drop by every now and then, but don't really post as much anymore. Nothing good really happening around the bball forums anymore. I'll be around a lot more when the playoffs roll around though. Really looking forward to the matchups, on both conferences.

That, and ever since Shaq won another ring, I haven't been the same, man . . .

yeah especially after saying shaq cant win with out kobe

:wink:

[Leahmic223]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

I am tired of hearing about this.

Also, I don't think fans have the right to call a player dirty, that is what the players do. They play against him on a daily basis, and know more about Kobe than most if not everyone on these boards. I haven't heard "Kobe is a dirty player." from many of the players mouths, only guy that comes to mind right now is Bell. Iverson just said after the game Kobe wasn't a dirty player, he said Kobe is just unfortunate, and also laughed at the fact that Phil thinks the NBA is coming after Kobe.

It is hard to call someone a dirty player when you have never played against said player.

Also, people act as if Kobe is putting his foot under players when they come down or something. These little elbows shouldn't be that big of an issue imo, but since it is Kobe of course it is put under a microscope and analyzed. Jaric said it wasn't intentional, and I think Korver said the same thing. These guys have played long enough and probably received many elbows and hard fouls...come on guys it shouldn't be this big of a deal.

[Streets]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

I am tired of hearing about this.

Also, I don't think fans have the right to call a player dirty, that is what the players do. They play against him on a daily basis, and know more about Kobe than most if not everyone on these boards. I haven't heard "Kobe is a dirty player." from many of the players mouths, only guy that comes to mind right now is Bell. Iverson just said after the game Kobe wasn't a dirty player, he said Kobe is just unfortunate, and also laughed at the fact that Phil thinks the NBA is coming after Kobe.

It is hard to call someone a dirty player when you have never played against said player.

Also, people act as if Kobe is putting his foot under players when they come down or something. These little elbows shouldn't be that big of an issue imo, but since it is Kobe of course it is put under a microscope and analyzed. Jaric said it wasn't intentional, and I think Korver said the same thing. These guys have played long enough and probably received many elbows and hard fouls...come on guys it shouldn't be this big of a deal.

Here's the thing, wrong or right, intentional or unintentional; the guy was warned. Then proceded to do it again... twice. I feel as if he got off easy. That last time should have been a multiple game suspension (not because of the severity, or b/c it was intentional, but because he was warned about it) and he got off with literally nothing.

How can you get suspended for something, do it two more times, then say "the league is singling me out?". It's rediculous, because he flails his arms unnaturally after a shot and connects with someones head, was warned in the past, and expects the league to do nothing? He needs to quit whining and change his style up.

[luv_mist]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

Guess Who Got FINED??

[jmood88]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

Guess Who Got FINED??

I don't understand why leagues keep fining people just for talking.

[forensicd]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

I don't understand why leagues keep fining people just for talking.

why? becuase its a business, and they are employees. At your job, would it be ok to talk trash about your bosses right in front of everyone that works there, then announce in the local paper and media that your boss doesnt know his head from his you know what? Of course not, at least if you dont want your job anymore. The person that would say this stuff would then either be fired, not get raises or bonuses, and so forth, which are equivalent to an nba fine (money less recieved, potential black ball, etc). Theres freedom of speech, no one is saying he cant say that, but if you do, you will pay the price.

[jmood88]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

why? becuase its a business, and they are employees. At your job, would it be ok to talk trash about your bosses right in front of everyone that works there, then announce in the local paper and media that your boss doesnt know his head from his you know what? Of course not, at least if you dont want your job anymore. The person that would say this stuff would then either be fired, not get raises or bonuses, and so forth, which are equivalent to an nba fine (money less recieved, potential black ball, etc). Theres freedom of speech, no one is saying he cant say that, but if you do, you will pay the price.

Because the fines make no difference. If they actually fined someone a few game checks or something then people would stop talking. When you fine a player or coach who's a multi-millionaire a couple thousand dollars, what does that do?

[forensicd]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

Because the fines make no difference. If they actually fined someone a few game checks or something then people would stop talking. When you fine a player or coach who's a multi-millionaire a couple thousand dollars, what does that do?

They have to do something, and players and coaches obviously care more about money than anything else these days, so hit them where it hurts. If the nba just sat back and let everyone and anyone take potshots at the league, how would that turn out? Im sure you could imagine it would no be pretty. The NBA has to protect its image and do damage control. Stern has taken alot of action lately because the NBA is turning into a 3 ring circus over the past 5 years. I for one dont mind him cracking down on players for dress codes and so forth, becuase this is a business, and just like you and I have to look nice at our jobs, so should a guy who makes 10 million a year playing a game.

[Air23]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

But, like he said, what difference does it make to fine multi-millionaires only thousands of dollars?

That's like fining you or me $5.

[forensicd]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

But, like he said, what difference does it make to fine multi-millionaires only thousands of dollars?

That's like fining you or me $5.

Because im sure the players union would be up in arms if they fine him 200,000 or so. 50,000 is a large chunk of change, and would comprise about 2-3% of his salary after taxes. I know i would be pisseed if i was docked 2-3% of my salary. But the point is they have to do something within reasonable account. Now, if phil not only bitched about the nba, but also punched out the interviewer, then we would see a huge fine. They have to do something, or else you arent running your business wisely, and the league would be run by the players and coaches, and all anarchy would pursue with no accountability for your actions.

[DJSebol]

Re: NBA has a vendetta against Kobe? Phil Jackson seems to think so...

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16914742.htm

Philadelphia Inquirer: There's a frightening element to the flagrant fouls and resulting suspensions involving Kobe Bryant, and it has nothing to do with the "witch hunt" Lakers coach Phil Jackson swears is taking place.

It has to do with the National Basketball Association's increasing paranoia.

It is real. It borders on insanity in the eyes of many, and it is sullying the league.

The NBA is doing a better job of keeping us focused on its image issues than its players these days, and many wonder why.

Take Wednesday night. The league's schedule ended with a beauty as the Phoenix Suns edged the Dallas Mavericks in a double-overtime thriller. But instead of salivating over the greatness of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, the basketball world was fixated on the $50,000 fines handed to both Jackson and the Lakers organization over comments Jackson made in defense of his star player.

"Man, I'm not even going to touch it," Bryant told me yesterday afternoon, hours before going against Allen Iverson and the Nuggets in Denver. "Anything I really want to say would be highly inflammatory, so I'm better off not saying much of anything.

"But it would be real nice to be able to sit down with commissioner David Stern or [NBA senior vice president] Stu Jackson to watch video or have a discussion where I'd get a chance to explain my side. But hey, what can you do?"

The league's act is getting tired.

First, game officials were authorized to heighten their sensitivities, which reduced them to dishing out technical fouls over looks and body language.

The ball issue was next, where the league shifted from leather to pleather without consulting the players, only to change things back on Jan. 1.

And now in the aftermath of receiving two one-game suspensions (for elbows to the nose of both Manu Ginobili and Marko Jiric), Bryant was assessed a Flagrant 1 penalty on Tuesday for elbowing the air near 76ers forward Kyle Korver's nose. (Bryant never connected.)

This is the NBA these days, folks, with its game getting as soft as Cottonelle tissue and its hierarchy more sensitive than Judge Judy.

Years after Ron Artest ran into the stands at the Palace in Auburn Hills, Basketball Nation has quietly put that fiasco behind it.

Not the NBA, though. No one does a better job of keeping the incident fresh in our minds than those in the league office.

When Phil Jackson, talking of the Flagrant 1 assessed to Bryant, spoke out and said: "That's crazy! That's a vendetta. [The league] has a witch hunt going on. It's nuts," he was obviously saying it to protect Bryant. But he should have been saying it to protect the rest of the league.

What he should have done is publicly remind the league of what most everyone knows:

The NBA by and large is a microcosm of society. Yes, there was that ugly brawl between the Knicks and Nuggets and an out-of-control Carmelo Anthony. But aside from that fight night at Madison Square Garden, most of the league's 400-plus players have shown this season that they know how to act as if they have some sense.

So it would have been nice to hear Jackson tell Stern and his boys, "Look, I know there are a few knuckleheads in this league, but you know there are not many. Kobe, who lives and breathes basketball, certainly is not one of them. So let's not blow these issues out of proportion and act like some crime has been committed and it's the NBA's job to play cop and come to the rescue."

That was necessary years ago. It isn't now.

Stern's take?

"At the end of the day we will do what we always do. We'll address matters on a case-by-case basis, see how things go, see if and where we made mistakes about anything and correct them," the commissioner told me weeks ago. "Nothing's a perfect science. You learn as you go along.

"I know we have a great league, filled with great players doing great things. That matters more than anything, and I will never waver in my quest to make sure people know that about our players."

Good for Stern.

Now the thing he needs to remember is when to be stern, and when to pull back a little bit so the league can shine again.

To go overboard with the Bryant issue, just hours after Ron Artest is allowed to play basketball days after getting arrested over a domestic dispute with his wife, doesn't send the right message. It perpetuates the very stigma Stern and the NBA are trying to escape.

Bryant was called a "thug" this week for throwing an elbow in a game. Artest and others with far more serious infractions have been called "thugs" for years.

Whether or not this correlation - being made by just a few of the constituents Stern is trying to appease - bothers the NBA significantly is something I do not know.

I just know it bothers me.