AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > May > 30
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Kobe a Hawk? Don’t think about it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Don’t even think about it.
If Kobe Bryant isn’t the best player in the NBA, it’s a very short argument. But better to look at others in the argument.
If Kobe Bryant played 41 home games in Philips Arena, the Atlanta Hawks could proudly give honest turnstile counts, instead of trebled ones. But better to find other ways to sell tickets.
If Kobe Bryant were a Hawk, there would be an immediate sense of, “We’re a contender!” Better to get a grip on reality.
Not going to happen. Shouldn’t happen.
Please. Don’t happen.
In the culmination of a three-year franchise meltdown since Shaquille O’Neal was drop-kicked to Miami, the Los Angeles Lakers heard Bryant demand a trade on a radio talkshow.
On. A radio. Talkshow.
Now that’s class.
What, he didn’t have a blog? Well, actually yes. He has his own website (www.KB24.com). If you missed any of Bryant’s recent radio interviews, they’re all linked there.
How convenient.
And you wonder why this guy is perceived as one of the most selfish, petulant and self-absorbed athletes in professional sports.
Bryant recently told ESPN, which I’m starting to think has office space in a spare bedroom, that he’s fed up with the way the Lakers have played and may just want out, unless the team brings back Jerry West as general manager. Then he backtracked and said he wasn’t REALLY demanding a trade. But, yes, he is frustrated and would like Jerry West back as general manager. Or else.
Then Bryant blew up about a Los Angeles Times story Tuesday that referenced a team “insider,” who rehashed that the Lakers are only in this predicament because Bryant wanted O’Neal gone. So he threw another rant on another ESPN radio show and vented on his website.
Then came Wednesday, when he told a third ESPN show, “I would like to be traded, yeah.”
In case you missed it, he did a fourth ESPN show later in the day, during which he backtracked (duh).
I think he just broke Terrell Owens’ record.
This isn’t about what kind of athlete Bryant is or what he could bring to a basketball team. It’s about what he has become. After three championships with the Lakers, he wanted to be The Show. Now he’s Sideshow Kobe.
OK, players don’t trade players. Kobe didn’t trade Shaq. There is little question, as Bryant maintains, that owner Jerry Buss balked at giving the overweight O’Neal $80 million in 2004, precipitating the trade.
But there is also little question that the Bryant-O’Neal feud significantly played into the situation. Their relationship drove a wedge into a team that could’ve won more championships. It drove Phil Jackson to grab a candle and a harp and run for the hills. Bryant’s actions set the stage for O’Neal’s departure.
If you still don’t believe that, consider Jackson’s book, “The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul.” He referred to his relationship with Bryant as “psychological war.”
Jackson also wrote that he became so frustrated with his star that he approached general manager Mitch Kupchak in January about trading him. The key passage: “I won’t coach this team next year if he is still here. He won’t listen to anyone. I’ve had it with this kid.”
Turns out even yoga masters have their price. Jackson came back last year for more money and a smile from Jeanie Buss. But it’s clear Jackson fought harder to make the Kobe-Shaq relationship work than Kobe did. He knew what Kobe is only now finding out: Bryant can’t do it alone.
In Miami, O’Neal went to the Eastern Conference finals the first season, won the NBA title last year and was bounced in the first round this season. The Lakers minus Shaq haven’t won a playoff series.
It’s not all Bryant’s fault. But remember how this started.
Now Bryant wants out.
“At this point I’ll go play on Pluto,” he said.
So the Hawks qualify? Not really. If he thinks the Lakers are too far away, where does that put the Hawks?
You think: “Bryant and Joe Johnson. Wow!” But any Lakers trade demands probably would start with Johnson and the third overall pick.
Don’t. Even. Think about it.
The Hawks have a chance to do something right (draft Mike Conley Jr.) and go up.
Kobe Bryant is going down.
It hasn’t turned into the show he expected.
Permalink | Comments (33) | Categories: Jeff Schultz
Richt’s hard not to like
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
You know what? It is impossible to dislike Mark Richt.
OK, OK. Maybe you might have a problem with the guy if you can’t stand Santa Claus, or if you’re sort of into Buzz more than UGA IV.
It’s just that, whenever the Georgia football coach talks about anything, you get the feeling that he actually believes what he says, and that he really is telling the truth.
Sounds simple enough, but such isn’t necessarily the case for many of Richt’s coaching peers. You know, on the other side of the equally straightforward Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech.
All of this came to mind again as I was reading Richt’s responses to questions from the AJC at the annual SEC spring meetings this week in Destin, Fla.
For example:
On the departure of defensive back Paul Oliver for academic reasons: “I knew going into the (spring) semester that it might be a tough one for Paul … but we’ve got some pretty talented young players back there.”
On Matthew Stafford’s infamous Internet photos: “If nothing else, it was helpful for him to understand, even more than us telling him, that he is not a normal guy. He has no privacy, and he has to understand that. That is just part of the responsibility of being the starting quarterback at Georgia.”
On the off-the-field screw ups of linebacker Akeem Hebron: “I believe he can learn a valuable lesson from it. I think he can grow into more of a man for it … What happens between now and the end of his career will measure him more than what just happened.”
Very nice.
And Richt can coach, too.
Permalink | Comments (45) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
