“He was very, very respectful. I told him when I walked in that I was going to try to talk him out of it. And he said, ‘I’ll listen carefully.’ And he did. He listened very carefully for 30, 45 minutes. I tried to explain to him how much the city of Los Angeles loved him, and that to leave 10 million sweethearts for unknown territory might not be the right thing to do. But when I was finished, he said he basically felt the same way. And I said, ‘OK. With that, I will proceed to see what’s available.’ “

And proceed he did. Unfortunately for Kobe, the Lakers got offered a crap platter, and Jerry couldn’t pull the trigger.

“You have to get comparable value when you make a trade. It’s very hard to trade somebody like him because people who have enough material to make it worthwhile are usually contenders and they don’t want to make the trade.

What was offered was not ever under consideration. And I told Kobe that. I told him I would try my best to accommodate his wishes, but that I could not afford to let him go unless we got comparable talent, if there is such a thing. . . . I even told him occasionally what I was offered and I said, ‘You have to know that this is not in favor of the Lakers. This would just be terrible to do.’ And he said, ‘I understand.’ “

So there it is. Kobe’s as good as gone and he knows it. That’s why we haven’t heard a peep from him, he’s getting his way. The only problem is finding a team that has enough disposable parts to trade for Kobe and still field a championship caliber squad. I would hate to see the Bulls gut their team to bring in Kobe Bryant.

All Kobe, All The Time
Buss: Bryant isn’t untouchable. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
Kobe Bryant Leaving Los Angeles?
Kobe Speaks, Lays Groundwork For L.A. Exodus
Kobe Bryant, Funcrusher

Tags: Jerry Buss Trading Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, Trade Demands

The fellas over at The Big Lead have the whole Kobe video up and a link to the guys behind the video. Little did I know, Kobe Bryant sounded off on more than the state of the Lakers. **Contains some NSFW language**

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVtL0UQuW1I]

Who knew Kobe could think of anybody other than himself? I think KB24’s on to something with the JT for gm campaign. Timberlake works well with black people, he’s more respected around the league than Mitch Kupchak and Johnny Buss combined, and he served Kenny Smith. Plus, if Justin’s tied up with a day job maybe there’ll be some women left over for the rest of us.

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It’s time to trade Lamar Odom. Get his ass on the first thing smoking. Destination: Anywhere but here. There’s no other way to put this.. Lamar, GET OUT.

Think about it.. Do the Lakers really want to saddle themselves with this guy? This is the same guy that we haven’t heard a peep from the whole offseason. He hasn’t criticized management, he hasn’t demanded a trade. All he’s done is sit back and hear his name in trade rumor after trade rumor, and he’s still acting like a gentleman? Bullshit!! Get his ass outta here.

How quickly we all forget. Lamar Odom is the dude that tore the labrum in his left shoulder, missed 5 games, and then returned to the line-up. He even had surgery AFTER the season. That’s garbage. He averaged 19 points and 13 boards in the playoffs against Phoenix. Who the hell does he think he is? And why isn’t he helping the team? When Kobe’s scoring 40, 50, or 60, all Lamar’s doing is passing the ball or trying to stay active in the offense while Kobe’s dribbling the 24 second clock down. When Kobe called damn near every radio station in the country, how many did Lamar call? Zero. He made Kobe carry the load again. That’s unacceptable.

What has Lamar Odom done to prove that he’s worthy of staying in Los Angeles? He hasn’t chased the owner of the team, Jerry Buss, halfway around the world to bitch and moan. He hasn’t been leaking his discontent to Ric Bucher or Stephen A. Smith. Hell, he hasn’t even been caught on tape, by a camera phone at a strip mall, berating Andrew Bynum and Mitch Kupchak. It seems like he wants out of here to me, and I think the Lakers should grant him his wish.

 Have you seen Lamar Odom’s website, http://www.lamarodom.com/? What the hell is that? Where’s the trade demand, where are the goodbyes? Lamar, my man, what’s the point in having the website if you’re not using it to talk shit? Odom can’t do anything right. It’s like he’s daring the team to trade him. The Los Angeles Lakers can not stand for this.

The Lakers need to go ahead, cut their losses, and move on. Who knows if Odom’s going to Indiana or Minnesota? He has the gall not to speak on it. I’d like to hear Lamar speak on how he was a key piece in Miami’s trade offer that forced Shaq out of Los Angeles.. He’s playing his “good soldier” role to perfection, and this is Hollywood, but the team can’t have him not acting out… The fact that Lamar Odom puts the team ahead of himself intentionally is selfish, and the Lakers should trade him now.

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The will Kobe go, will Kobe stay talks continue. I wrote a post some time ago where I quoted Stephen A. Smith talking about Kobe Bryant’s feelings towards the Lakers “He has absolutely no problem leaving if the Los Angeles Lakers, specifically owner Jerry Buss doesn’t get his act together. Do not be surprised at all if this stuff continues if Kobe Bryant some time around next year is asking to be traded.”

Ric Bucher reported that Kobe said he would demand a trade if Jerry West wasn’t brought back to L.A… A report that Kobe quickly denied. Well, now “Bean” is sounding off on his website:

Was up again, y’all. I saw an article this AM in the LA Timeswhich said a Lakers’ “insider” noted that my wanting to “get away from Shaq” is what created this whole “mess” the Laker’s currently find themselves in. Man, hearing something like that, which is not true, and which comes from the “inside” is totally frustrating. The fact of the matter is that many people don’t know what really went down when I was approaching free agency because I have stayed quiet about it this whole time. The real facts are that Dr. Buss requested a meeting with me during the 04 season long before I opted out of my contract, and he told me he had already decided to not extend Shaq, as he was concerned about Shaq’s age, fitness and contract demands. Dr. Buss thought it was best for the Lakers to make a trade to get value for Shaq while they could.

Kobe goes on to say:

“when stuff like this is coming from the “inside” all I can do is hope that someone from the “inside” comes forward to support me and set straight the facts of what really happened.” 

You can read all of Kobe’s post here, including yesterday’s entry about not wanting to be traded…KB24 can claim that he doesn’t want to be traded or he’s a Laker for life, but his words seem to say otherwise. I doubt that Ric Bucher made up the Kobe quotes so there’s the first hint. His beef with “the insider” is just another part of the “I want to be traded” foundation, but the biggest hint, the best clue, is when Kobe said

 ”Dr. Buss called me from his Vacation in Italy on the eve of my decision and promised me that the Lakers would do everything to build a contender NOW. I told him at that time that my fear was the Lakers waiting to save Cap Room to sign a top notch free agent in 3 or 4 years, so that was why I was leaning towards other teams like the Clips and Bulls, both of who had a cast of good young players.”

If you don’t understand what he’s saying allow me to translate: “Dr. Buss said he was gonna get some real players in here and I believed him, but now, have you seen this @#$% roster? Get me the hell outta here.”

I find it hard to believe that this current Laker regime wants to go down in history for losing Shaq and Kobe. Kobe’s recent outbursts are his way of trying to force the team to do something big… If they can’t get Jerry West back in the fold they need to try to pull off a Jerry West type of deal. You know, try to fleece a team in a trade, land a GOOD free agent, make something happen, make the team relevant. If not, we’ll be hearing Kobe’s (non) trade demands all of next season.

**YBB UPDATE**

Kobe spoke to John Ireland and Steve Mason from The Big Show on ESPN 710 in Los Angeles. The interview is 15 minutes long and Kobe discusses his feelings towards the Lakers organization, the Ric Bucher article, and the Lakes failure to sign Baron Davis, Carlos Boozer, and Ron Artest. Listen here

Kobe spoke to Petros Papadakis and Matt “Money” Smith from PMS on AM570 in Los Angeles. The interview is 23 minutes long and covers a lot of the same topics as the first interview. Kobe comes across more frustrated in this conversation. He’s not only talking hoops as he covers the Wiggles, Barney, and his daughter dancing like Shakira.  Listen here

Again, Kobe can say he’s not demanding a trade but if you listen to what he’s saying it sounds like the Lakers are one misstep away from losing #24.

All of the “Kobe demanding a trade” talk is apparently taking its toll on Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss. Jerry Buss arrested on suspicion of DUI courtesy of the L.A. Times

**END UPDATE**

Kobe wants West to return to Lakers with full authority. Courtesy of ESPN.com

Kobe says he’s just suggesting West’s return, not demanding it. Courtesy of ESPN.com

The Truth: Lakers “insiders” all wrong. Courtesy of KB 24

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