Another reason I refuse to watch the NBA next year...

[Itsanalias]

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0710/1579083.html

The LA Lakers are officially the NY Yankees of the basketball world. Gotta love players like The Mailman and The Glove that can't win championships on their own so they gotta sell out and ride the coattails of Shaq and Ko-me. Heck, I could be their 5th guy and they'll win 70 games this year.

Even if one of my teams (Orlando Magic & Portland Jail Blazers) had done this, I'd hate it. But the fact that the LA Fakers have done it, makes it that much easier for me to hate.

 

[Steve H.]

Yep, a classic "buy a title" move. So much for the salary cap balancing teams out, eh? All a team has to do is find a number of old veterans who could care less about the money and sign them to "veteran minimum"?

What I wouldn't give for there to be a HUGE blowup in the locker room the first time one of those guys doesn't think they're getting enough shots!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Blech, I am tired of the Lakers.

And the poor Magic are trying to convince the NBA to give them a medical exemption to the salary cap because Grant Hill has been hurt the WHOLE four years he has been here (okay give or take a game or two).

Of course Darrell Armstrong was arrested this week, so who knows what is up with the Magic anyway.

 

[Itsanalias]

The NBA is becoming unwatchable. Too many isolations, too many pick and rolls, not enough scoring. Not anywhere nearly as many skilled team players as there used to be. The players today may be able to handle the rock, isolate, jack up shots and score individually better than yesterday's players, but there's way too many "me players" and not enough team players.

Jas - that's surprising DA has always been a model citizen. I love that guy.....

I guess this year will be spent spending my money on University of Oregon games instead of Blazer games.

 

[Michelle]

Waah, waah, waah.

As a huge Lakers fan, we WELCOME Karl Malone and Gary Payton with open arms. Can't wait to see how the season plays out!

 

[Itsanalias]

Originally posted by WebmasterMichelle
Waah, waah, waah.

As a huge Lakers fan, we WELCOME Karl Malone and Gary Payton with open arms. Can't wait to see how the season plays out!

Especially since you're done winning championships with JUST Shaq and Ko-me. Or is that Kobe-molestme??

 

[Miss Jasmine]

ITSA, here is a link to an article about DA. http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/articles/20030707/481984.html
Another Magic player had an incident this week when he started a fight in a club. I didn't pay much attention because things like this are just about a daily occurrence with NBA players.

Ugh Kobe, don't get me started.

 

[Itsanalias]

I found the article on ESPN.com. Thanks.

Yes, sadly, these occurrences are becoming commonplace in all sports. It's mainly b/c we put them up on pedistals and they think that they're above the law....it's too sad.

Kobe's an idiot. Hated him and his attitude since day 1.

 

[Buckalew]

I love watching the women play. The WNBA is so fun to watch. So many of these girls have character and are good role models--the guys could take a lesson or 2 for the most part.

It is so hard to find anything retail associated with womens' basketball. It is all NBA, NBA, NBA. Ugh! It is one of my pet peeves. LOL

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

The NBA needs to stop letting their stars get away with murder (not literal murder, I'm talking about on the court!). This problem is most glaring with Shaq, who is an AMAZING player; he doesn't need the ref's help! In this year's play-offs on one occasion, Rasho Nesterovic stepped out of Shaq's way to avoid contact, but Shaq caught him with a hard elbow to the mouth on the way to the basket. Did they call the foul on Shaq? NO! Did they just make a no call and let the basket stand? That would have been bad enough, but NO they didn't! I think all NBA fans kn ow what a ref does in that situation; they call a foul on the player that couldn't get his face out of the way of Shaq's elbow and send Shaq to the line !

I also agree that it doesn't seem "sporting" for the Lakers to sign away other teams star players to load up their team. It reminds me of a team a couple years ago that stole star players from the Pistons & Raptors and tried to pry Tim Duncan away from the Spurs. Magic fans, can you help remind which team that was?!?!?

 

[Simba]

I'd do the same thing if I were the Lakers. If I had the $ to do, why not? They still have to stay under all the restrictions. & just curious what's wrong with Kobe's attitude? He has been a positive role model since day one. he never goes out and is always at home with his wife and kid. he evn wore his hospital id bracelet in their game the day after his child birth. I think Kobe is a great person, and hopefully people will see that. & I'm not even a Laker fan. Go Clippers!!!

 

[Itsanalias]

Originally posted by Simba
I'd do the same thing if I were the Lakers. If I had the $ to do, why not? They still have to stay under all the restrictions. & just curious what's wrong with Kobe's attitude? He has been a positive role model since day one. he never goes out and is always at home with his wife and kid. he evn wore his hospital id bracelet in their game the day after his child birth. I think Kobe is a great person, and hopefully people will see that. & I'm not even a Laker fan. Go Clippers!!!

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0710/1578893.html

Yeah, I hope my kids grow up to be just like him.

Manchu - I know what you mean. Two years ago, with the playoffs on the line between the Lakers and Kings, The Fakers inbound the ball to Kome. Bibby is guarding him pretty tough. Kome gets tired of Bibby being in front of him, so he throws an elbow into Bibby's grill. The ref calls a foul on Bibby's face...as it's bleeding and all. It was the most lucidrous thing I've ever seen on a basketball court. From then on, I knew who David Stern had scripted to win the championship that year.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

itsanalias,

I'd LOVE to watch a FAKERS game with you some time!

Here's another reason not to like them; LA not only steal Minneapolis' team, they also steal "The City Of Lakes'" nickname.

KoME, I love it! Has a player ever been more conscious of where the cameras are? Has he ever done anything spontaneous, without thinking about how it would affect his marketability? Oh, I guess he ALLEGEDLY did a few days ago in Vail!

 

[Itsanalias]

Originally posted by manchurianbrownbear
itsanalias,

I'd LOVE to watch a FAKERS game with you some time!

Here's another reason not to like them; LA not only steal Minneapolis' team, they also steal "The City Of Lakes'" nickname.

KoME, I love it! Has a player ever been more conscious of where the cameras are? Has he ever done anything spontaneous, without thinking about how it would affect his marketability? Oh, I guess he ALLEGEDLY did a few days ago in Vail!

Sounds good to me. I'm in Michigan from time to time...that's the closest I get to Minnesota....

I don't need any reason to hate the Fakers...They're just like everything else in LA - store bought.

Well, Jordan was like that toward the end, but he was a beloved icon by then.

 

[Grog]

A lot will depend on the chemistry. After the Rockets won their second title they tried to buy a third with Barkley (playing with Drexler and Olajuwon) and then Pippen (with Barkley and Olajuwon). It didn't work. They were able to trade their way to their previous second title by aquiring Drexler from the Blazers, but that was a perfect trade for the Rockets as a) Clyde and Hakeem were very good friends and had played together in college and b) Clyde really wanted to finish his career in Houston (his hometown), especially if there was a chance for a title. The Lakers could end up with a clash of egos...or another ring. Only time will tell, and it should be interesting to watch either way.

 

[Buckalew]

Whoa! Just thought I'd post this as this jersey is going for an unbelievable amount of $$.

NBA auction

 

[Pop Daddy]

football is the only sport that dont cater to the major citys

 

[lulubelle]

Good luck with your (yawn) team the Orlando "Lethar-gic". (Sorry, but you started the play on names). The Lakers are awesome. It would be unthought of to not support them here in So Cal

P.S. And Kobe has been an exemplary citizen up until these recent allegations. And please remember - they are still just that - allegations.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Professional Athletes are overpayed


According to ESPN:

The New York Times, citing three sources, said Kidd was leaning toward accepting the Spurs' $94 million offer, and that the Nets are scrambling to find a way to convince Kidd to stay in New Jersey.

Why do you need that kind of money to play basketball, baseball, or football?

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

Let's hope that for the good of the NBA, I'd hate to see aging, ringless superstars attaching themselves to the front runner du jour become a trend, the LA experiment fails!

I'll have to confess to being jealous and envious as free agents are avoiding my beloved Timberwolves in droves!