is kobe done?

[blackceasar]

Re: is kobe done?

Agree with your statement oj. It's ridiculous to expect Kobe average 28-30 points a game anymore. However I really believe that if he is able to modify his game he would still be able to put up 25 a night without a problem. He needs to use his smarts and find effective ways to score. It was going to happen eventually the injury just accelerated the process.

If Stern had not killed the CP3 deal, and we snatched up Howard, injured or not, the Lakers would have still be a top 3 in the west contender. It also would mean that Kobe doesnt have to do it all anymore. I would have taken a Kobe (even at 34)/CP3/Howard team over a Lebron/Wade/Bosh team.

Granted with those three salaries, you would not have been able to grab alot of good free agents, but you wouldn't need it. You would have been able to fill holes through the draft.

Howard, Gasol, Peace, Kobe and CP3 probably would have gotten Kobe at least one more title and by the time Kobe hung them up, with his salary off the books the Lakers could have picked up 2-4 GOOD players with the mid level excpetions.. Lakers would have just rolled on for the next 7-8 years.

but now... I just think the Lakers are done, for the long term.

[24]

Re: is kobe done?

If Stern had not killed the CP3 deal, and we snatched up Howard, injured or not, the Lakers would have still be a top 3 in the west contender. It also would mean that Kobe doesnt have to do it all anymore. I would have taken a Kobe (even at 34)/CP3/Howard team over a Lebron/Wade/Bosh team.

Granted with those three salaries, you would not have been able to grab alot of good free agents, but you wouldn't need it. You would have been able to fill holes through the draft.

Howard, Gasol, Peace, Kobe and CP3 probably would have gotten Kobe at least one more title and by the time Kobe hung them up, with his salary off the books the Lakers could have picked up 2-4 GOOD players with the mid level excpetions.. Lakers would have just rolled on for the next 7-8 years.

but now... I just think the Lakers are done, for the long term.

I doubt the Lakers would have been able to get Dwight Howard considering we would have given up Gasol and Bynum for Chris Paul. Even if they did manage to pull off some miracle trade for Dwight the main problem for the Lakers wouldn't have been addressed even with CP3. The Lakers lack serious depth on their bench. It doesn't matter how beastly your starting 5 is if you have no bench. Every championship contender needs a solid bench and that's what the Lakers lacked this season.

I complain about D'Antoni's horrible coaching all the time but the blame can't completely be thrown on him. Jim Buss is an idiot he did not surround the Lakers with solid enough role players that could give quality minutes. There were plenty of veterans that would have signed for near the minimum if Buss really wanted them. Kenyon Martin was available so were guys like Leandro Barbosa and Chris Andersen. Mcgrady could have also been an option. Yet Buss decided to overlook all of them and stuck with this disaster of a team. Lakers have no one to blame but themselves for this miserable situation.

[d11king]

Re: is kobe done?

I doubt the Lakers would have been able to get Dwight Howard considering we would have given up Gasol and Bynum for Chris Paul. Even if they did manage to pull off some miracle trade for Dwight the main problem for the Lakers wouldn't have been addressed even with CP3. The Lakers lack serious depth on their bench. It doesn't matter how beastly your starting 5 is if you have no bench. Every championship contender needs a solid bench and that's what the Lakers lacked this season.

I complain about D'Antoni's horrible coaching all the time but the blame can't completely be thrown on him. Jim Buss is an idiot he did not surround the Lakers with solid enough role players that could give quality minutes. There were plenty of veterans that would have signed for near the minimum if Buss really wanted them. Kenyon Martin was available so were guys like Leandro Barbosa and Chris Andersen. Mcgrady could have also been an option. Yet Buss decided to overlook all of them and stuck with this disaster of a team. Lakers have no one to blame but themselves for this miserable situation.

The Chris Paul deal actually didn't involve Bynum. It was LO and Pau mainly I believe, leaving the Dwight deal still alive with being able to give Bynum to Orlando straight up.

When Barbosa was out there I didn't know why they didn't give him a shot. I can't remember how much into the season we were in before Barbosa was signed but it baffled me they didn't give him an offer. I always said before the season, the Lakers need some sort of scoring of the bench, but I guess they felt differently. I really wish Jeanie Buss ran this team moreso than Jim, cause in my eyes Jim is running us straight into the ground.

[Hotobu]

Re: is kobe done?

Kobe isn't done. He'll be back, but all-star Kobe is done. One of my biggest gripes with Kobe throughout his career is his off-ball game, and just how much he had to have the ball in his hands. I don't want to turn this into a vs. Jordan thread, but after going back and looking at full Jordan games on Youtube he had the ball in his hands a lot less than I realized. Him playing well off the ball and not having it in his hands so much is what made him effective late into his career (of course some of that credit goes to the triangle offense too). I think Kobe's too old and set in his ways to be able to learn new tricks. Another example is Ray Allen. Ray Allen in Boston was a completely different player than Milwaukee and Sonic Ray, but he was always good without the ball. Reggie Miller is another guy who played a lot of years because of how great he was without the ball.

Kobe will come back if for no other reason than to pass up Jordan for #3 on the all time scoring list... which will only last for a few years because Lebron and Durant will probably pass them both.

Oh and as for the Kobe Facebook post, did anyone actually catch this?

Today is NOT that day.
“If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”.

Oh what a difference a letter makes.

[Caveman24]

Re: is kobe done?

I doubt the Lakers would have been able to get Dwight Howard considering we would have given up Gasol and Bynum for Chris Paul. Even if they did manage to pull off some miracle trade for Dwight the main problem for the Lakers wouldn't have been addressed even with CP3. The Lakers lack serious depth on their bench. It doesn't matter how beastly your starting 5 is if you have no bench. Every championship contender needs a solid bench and that's what the Lakers lacked this season.

I complain about D'Antoni's horrible coaching all the time but the blame can't completely be thrown on him. Jim Buss is an idiot he did not surround the Lakers with solid enough role players that could give quality minutes. There were plenty of veterans that would have signed for near the minimum if Buss really wanted them. Kenyon Martin was available so were guys like Leandro Barbosa and Chris Andersen. Mcgrady could have also been an option. Yet Buss decided to overlook all of them and stuck with this disaster of a team. Lakers have no one to blame but themselves for this miserable situation.

The Dwight deal was actually already done set in stone.Just a matter of working the kinks out extra picks this that and the 3rd.The CP3 trade that nixed kilt any chance of that D12 deal getting.Since Kobe told Dwight during the all-star break he would be third option.There was also reports that we got a Beasley trade done as well.Everything would've been fine but the CP3 trade that wasn't kilt everything

[23]

Re: is kobe done?

Alright, this thread is in danger of being locked

Im going to say it only once more... if you want to talk lakers, then go to the team forum

If this is not about the OP then im locking it, so which is it?

[blackceasar]

Re: is kobe done?

Alright, this thread is in danger of being locked

Im going to say it only once more... if you want to talk lakers, then go to the team forum

If this is not about the OP then im locking it, so which is it?

Ok back on Kobe...

He's not done, and I think when he makes a full recovery he will probably still be in the top 5 or 6 in scoring at least two more years after he comes back. He's going to feel the need to prove something, and again he will feel the need (rightfully so) to put the team on his shoulders and thats why he will still be an all star and a top 5 scorer... but I think after his recovery the way he's going to punish himself on the court trying to prove something is going to shave a couple years off of when he think he's really going to retire.

[ClutchCity]

Re: is kobe done?

This is actually my point. He naturally wouldnt have ever changed that mindset, and i think if anything were to force him to do so, itd be an injury like this. Itd be much easier mentally to transition into a role where he scores 15 a game after some huge injury as opposed to a natural erosion of ability.



Hes never going to be great again. If he can be a good player thatll be a victory. The Battier comparison was to show that with diminished athleticism a smart player will continue to be able to contribute. Kobe would not be the first formerly great player to become a role player in the twilight of his career, thats just how it works if these guys wants to continue playing.

If he comes back and tries to play how hes been playing hes going to submarine his teams chances of even making the playoffs. Hes simply too smart to not know that. The "great player adapts his game after a possibly career ending injury and is still a major contributor to a contender" angle is much better than "great player suffers a should be career ending injury and stubbornly comes back and shoots team out of the playoffs" story. Kobe understands all of this, or will understand it.

Kobe is never going to be great again LOL. Ok he's going to submarine his team chances of getting into the playoffs, but hes always lead his team to the playoffs the past 7 years or 8 years or so including this year. This dude was still top 5 scorers in the leauge this year and he's done. It sounds more to me like you want him to be done, than making your assumptions about how Kobe's careers going to end up after the injury. Your telling me Kobe's done when playing with a jacked up knee and finger and still playing at a high level offensively, will alter his game and become a role player ? Well I hope you respond to my post and have a great explanation because I just don't understand how you really think Kobe is done.

[GoldSquad]

Re: is kobe done?

By the time he's back, he'll be around 36 years old, anyways, so I think there's little chance he'll be the player he was, regardless of the injury.

Got to put more emphasis on the "little chance".