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You Vote: Trade Kobe Bryant Or Trade The Buss Family?June 16 07 It’s pretty clear changes are coming down the pipe in Laker-land. And Kobe Bryant appears to be on his way out. But should it be this way? Should Kobe Bryant have to leave the purple-and-gold? After all, Kobe Bryant is the Los Angeles Lakers. There’s no other way to slice it. Could you really see Kobe in another NBA uniform? At hoopsVibe, we are presenting another option. What about keeping Bryant in L.A. and trading the entire Buss family, who own the Lakers? That’ right- keep the all-star and trade the owner. Tell the Buss clan, all eleven of them and their random myspace pages, to take a hike. We want you to pick between Kobe and the Buss family? Read the quick case for each side and enter your vote/thoughts in the comment box below. We will tally the votes and get back to you with the results. Candidate #1: Kobe Bryant, superstar guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Quick Resume: -A three time world champion. -Considered the world’s most talented basketball player. -A perennial all-star and member of the All-NBA team. Reason for Trade: Bryant has requested a deal out of Los Angeles because the team hasn’t had any success in the last few seasons. He’s frustrated with the direction of the team. For what it is worth, the Lakers publicly maintain that Bryant will not be traded. Candidate #2: Jerry Buss and his entire family, owners of the Los Angeles Lakers. Quick Resume: -The long-time owner of the Lakers. -You also know him as the guy with the ’stash’ who takes the Larry O’Brien trophy from Commissioner Stern when his team wins the NBA Title. -A rich playboy who gives his children jobs within the organization. Reason for Trade: Laker fans believe they win NBA Titles in spite of the Buss family and not because of them. Many fans feel Buss is running the team into the ground. Okay, we’ve laid out both sides. Who would you trade: Bryant or the Buss family? Get at us with your votes and thoughts in the comment box below. We’ll tally your votes and get at back at you with the results! Read Kobe Bryant And The Lakers Past Point Of No Return. Click here to read and subscribe to Oly Sandor’s NBA blog.
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k, it’s mine, so there.Here’s the plan:Win.Winning cures all illsLuckily, the first piece of this puzzle is here:Phil Jackson.Phil, like Magic Johnson or Bill Sharman before him, WINS. He always wins.Remember how the Lakers fell apart after Phil and Shaq left. Well, Phil came back and if Kobe had stuck to the plan- the Phil-wins-this-way plan- the Lakers would have won more playoff games BUT THEY WERE IN THE PLAYOFFS FOR ONE REASON:PHIL.(Please don’t forget this: PHIL WINS, not Kobe (yes you have to provide Phil with talent- which will be here... but PHIL WINS- this is the basic principle all Lakers need to embrace, becuase you can’t do anything complicated until you can get a fundamental like this ingrained in your being.)Remember Rudy T? Rudy had this team WITH KOBE… with CARON (just like #24 always said he wanted)... in the lottery.Phil turned this team around so that we are again talking about championships- something NOBODY discussed when Rudy T was here. Remember: Phil Jackson won 55 games the year Michael Jordan retired on THE DAY OF TRAINING CAMP!! They replaced Michael with Pete Myers and won 55 games and came thisclose to going to the NBA FINALS… WITH PETE MYERS!!! So Laker fans, take a deep breath, the hardest part- finding the guy who WINS is all ready in place.Ok, so now what’s the plan:1) trade Kobe ASAP. He wants to go only one place, Chicago… let him go if they give us the guys. I have a few options here… in case we can’t make a deal with Chicago.a) Portland. Look, you have to ask. Greg Oden and Zach Randolph… YOU HAVE TO ASK.b) Chicago. Ask Chicago if they are willing to part with Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefolosha and whatever they want to give back to make the salary work. If they wanna dump Ben Wallace, great. If they wanna do sign and trade with Noccioni… even better. Whatever. Ask them.NOW.The Lakers want those three guys: Thabo, Luol and Ben… Phil will win NOW with those guys… and if Chicago wants to tell their fans that getting the best closer in the game isn’t worthy of the kids they have to give up… find out NOW.c) Dallas would be willing to give up some combo with Dirk/ Josh Howard and Stackhouse and something…And let me tell you, Phil Jackson can WIN with that.And Dallas would be thrilled.d) Boston (From Bill Simmons) trades Theo Ratliff (expires in 2008), Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, the No. 5 pick and its rights to Minny’s future No. 1 for Kobe. I say if you put Delonte West in there… this is done.e) Atlanta: Take Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, their #1 pick (fourth overall) this year and their #1 next year too. Marvin Williams scored 20 or more points in five-of-his-final-six games, averaging 19.7 ppg on .565 FG% during that span. And Josh Childress can play. This may seem like a long term win… but one which would make for a good team now and… long term. f) Go find a three way. I’m guessing it won’t be the first time Dr. Buss found himself in the middle of a three way. Ok, cheap shot. Much love to the Doc… once he gets Kobe gone of course. The Knicks want Kobe… David Stern would be thrilled if he were in New York… There is some way to get him there but there is no direct two way as the Lakers need young, healthy, BIG, athletic bodies… and the Knicks don’t have ‘em.And the point here is:2) DON’T BE SCARED.Yes, you are giving up Kobe, the best SALESMAN in the NBA- BUT RECOGNIZE: THIS HAS VALUE (not as much value as WINNING for us, but value to other teams without doubt). The Lakers aren’t giving up the best WINNER (that would be Timmy and Phil)… and as the Lakers are finding out now, people in Los Angeles won’t don’t support Kobe as much as the will support WINNING.Trust me, if you build a winner… the Staples Center will be rocking- Kobe or no Kobe.What no one is anticipating… except anyone who has had to deal with Kobe in a professional capacity is that a load will be lifted immediately inside the team and inside the organization once this is done… and then the franchise can back to the business of professionalism and WINNING. .
