:thumb: I agree. The thing for him is that he has really improved shooter-wise, so he could continue to get better and better in that regard.

 

He made some good progress as a shooter this season. No reason to think he won't continue to improve in that regard.

 

There's no shame in losing to a team with James and Wade and Bosh in your first conference finals. Rose and Durant and some of these guys may never win a title. It's possible that Miami could go on a run of dominance like Jordan's Bulls.

He made some good progress as a shooter this season. No reason to think he won't continue to improve in that regard.

 

There's no shame in losing to a team with James and Wade and Bosh in your first conference finals. Rose and Durant and some of these guys may never win a title. It's possible that Miami could go on a run of dominance like Jordan's Bulls.

 

I am expecting a run like that.

That is what I'm saying. LeBron does so much more on the floor than Kobe does. He's better at every phase of the game IMO other than shooting mid-range and finishing games. But he is quickly improving at both. And we forget at 18 Kobe had Shaq. That is an advantage neither LeBron nor Jordan. Now I'm not saying Shaq won by himself, but what I am saying is that not all title counts are created equally. If they were Bill Russell would be considered the best of all-time.

 

And no one compares to Jordan at this time as far as I'm concerned. I rank Kobe at #2 all-time, tied with Magic. But it is a distant #2. You put MJ in the situation Kobe came into and he gets his 6 titles before running Shaq out of town IMO.

 

One thing not mentioned much, is if Jordan never retired. Then there is probably a good chance he has 8 titles and not just 6.

Glad that series is over. Painful to watch the last few minutes of virtually every game. The Heat were spot-on the final few minutes. LeBron has developed tremendous confidence in closing minutes with his new teammates. I have said before what a big deficiency in his game was his defense. It is now uncomfortable to watch him guard on the ball because he is so darn good.

Glad that series is over. Painful to watch the last few minutes of virtually every game. The Heat were spot-on the final few minutes. LeBron has developed tremendous confidence in closing minutes with his new teammates. I have said before what a big deficiency in his game was his defense. It is now uncomfortable to watch him guard on the ball because he is so darn good.

 

LeBron has been a top notch defender for about 4 or 5 years.....

I totally agree w/ CCC here and partially Pippen. When Jordan left for getting his Dad murdered because of gambling debts the Bulls still made the Eastern Finals. The Cavs won 19 games after LBJ left. Kobe demanded a trade to the Bulls then didn't want to go because they would have had to give too many good players to the Lakers. He knew you couldn't win alone. Why did people expect LBJ to win alone in Clev when nobody with the possible exception of Hakeem won alone? He wouldn't have won his either if it wasn't for the MJ leave. Being the best player doesn't mean you're good enough to win it all with no help. Jordan is by far the best player of all time, but LBJ is more talented and it's not close. That doesn't mean LBJ will ever have the desire to be the best which MJ did and that's what will ultimately decide who goes down as the best. Pippen was right too that LBJ dominates on D more than MJ did.

LeBron has become a combination of Jordan and Magic. That is where he differs from Jordan. LBJ can play anywhere on the floor and dominate his opponent. I am really looking forward to seeing how he matches up versus Dirk. If LBJ is able to control Dirk's production and lead the Heat to a title, it becomes that dream season LBJ envisioned when he made the decision and justifies everything for him. It also gets LBJ in the real discussion as the greatest ever. I am not saying it makes him the greatest ever but you can legitimately discuss it without having the no titles argument discounting him. Until he wins that title, you can't make the argument for LBJ as the greatest ever IMO. If he doesn't win this title, it really works against him in any greatest ever discussion.

LeBron has become a combination of Jordan and Magic. That is where he differs from Jordan. LBJ can play anywhere on the floor and dominate his opponent. I am really looking forward to seeing how he matches up versus Dirk. If LBJ is able to control Dirk's production and lead the Heat to a title, it becomes that dream season LBJ envisioned when he made the decision and justifies everything for him. It also gets LBJ in the real discussion as the greatest ever. I am not saying it makes him the greatest ever but you can legitimately discuss it without having the no titles argument discounting him. Until he wins that title, you can't make the argument for LBJ as the greatest ever IMO. If he doesn't win this title, it really works against him in any greatest ever discussion.

 

Agrred, but I think LBJ needs at least 3 titles to enter the discussion.

Agrred, but I think LBJ needs at least 3 titles to enter the discussion.

 

Each title will strengthen an argument for him. One will not be enough to convince very many people outside his biggest fans that he truly is #1 all time. Each title will get a few more votes. To be generally acknowledged as the best of all time, he will at least need to match Jordan's 6 titles IMO. There are too many Jordan lovers out there for James to win some of them over unless he has at least 6. And that still won't do it for many of them.

I totally agree w/ CCC here and partially Pippen. When Jordan left for getting his Dad murdered because of gambling debts the Bulls still made the Eastern Finals. The Cavs won 19 games after LBJ left. Kobe demanded a trade to the Bulls then didn't want to go because they would have had to give too many good players to the Lakers. He knew you couldn't win alone. Why did people expect LBJ to win alone in Clev when nobody with the possible exception of Hakeem won alone? He wouldn't have won his either if it wasn't for the MJ leave. Being the best player doesn't mean you're good enough to win it all with no help. Jordan is by far the best player of all time, but LBJ is more talented and it's not close. That doesn't mean LBJ will ever have the desire to be the best which MJ did and that's what will ultimately decide who goes down as the best. Pippen was right too that LBJ dominates on D more than MJ did.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927

 

Come on guys, you have to get your facts correct for your false opinions on Kobe to make sense.

 

He said he'd welcome a trade and then backtracked. Never "demanded" anything and then went on to show the dysfunction the Lakers became as well as telling the secret behind Shaq's departure.

 

 

 

 

Kobe keeps 'em guessing in L.A.

Lakers' star: Owner has different vision

 

From wire reports

 

Kobe Bryant stoked trade conversations again, by writing on his website that "the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future."

 

The statement posted Sunday on kb24.com was the latest in a recent series of inconsistent comments from Bryant about whether he wants to remain in Los Angeles.

 

"When you love something as much as I love the Lakers it's hard to even imagine thinking about being elsewhere. But, the ONE THING I will never sacrifice when it comes to basketball is WINNING," the two-time scoring champion wrote.

 

"The more I thought about the future, the more I became convinced that the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future."

 

The 28-year-old Bryant, a nine-time All-Star, has four years left on his contract — but he can terminate it following the 2008-09 season.

 

Bryant last month voiced frustration at Lakers management and publicly requested he be traded after the team was eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs. Though he said nothing could change his mind, Bryant later backed off after speaking with coach Phil Jackson.

 

Bryant wrote Sunday on his website that the Lakers, owned by Jerry Buss, are not supporting him with players the team needs to win championships.

 

"The Lakers are pursuing a longer-term plan that is different from what Dr. Buss shared with me at the time I re-signed as a free agent," he wrote. "I have seen that plan unfold for the last three years and watched great trade opportunities come and go, and have seen free agents passed on. That has led to the Lakers not winning a playoff series."

 

Buss, who signed Bryant to a seven-year, $136.4 million contract in 2004, issued a statement two weeks ago stating, "We will continue to pursue every avenue possible to improve our team with him as the cornerstone."

More

 

Kobe Bryant's steady squawking over the last 96 hours about his cheerless existence as a Laker (since re-signing with the team in July of '04) to anybody flashing a media credential or offering a live mike thankfully appears to be almost over.

 

The Post has learned a championship-caliber collaborator should soon be coming to Kobe's - the city's and the team's - emotional rescue. How poetically peculiar that the player's last name is O'Neal, as in Jermaine, not Shaquille!

 

Interestingly, the teammates-in-waiting were chosen four spots apart in the '96 draft: Kobe No. 13 by the then Charlotte Hornets; Jermaine No. 17 by the Blazers.

 

Within the last week, the Pacers and Lakers have laid the groundwork for a trade that would certainly placate both sorrowful All-Stars. L.A. inquired about O'Neal - another fake franchise player pocketing maximum money on the prowl for someone to save him from losing. And was told he was available. Indiana let it be known the Lakers have ample assets (players and/or picks) to make a fair deal.

 

No specifics were delivered. No negotiating has been done. Still, Lamar Odom would have to be the principal of the package in order to adhere to NBA trade specifications. He's currently on the Laker salary cap for $12,348,596 and has two seasons remaining at 900G per raises.

 

O'Neal earns Kobe-like numbers: $18,084M this season, and has three remaining at $19.728M, $21.372 and 23,016M. Kobe has an out after two more seasons. Should he exercise it to become a free agent, he'dHe also expressed hope at being a Laker for life. leave $47.8M on the table.

 

Surely Andrew Bynum ($2.030M/$2.172M/$2.769M) must be included as well. I can't see the Pacers parting with a 7-footer without getting one back.

 

Obviously, this very real swap talk is why Kobe's blithering abruptly ceased late yesterday afternoon.

 

For days, he'd avoided returning phone calls from the Lakers. Yet, soon after demanding unequivocally to be traded while a guest on Stephen A. Smith's radio show, Kobe spoke to Jackson, who unquestionably clued him in to what's going on.

 

A couple hours later, Kobe was back on ESPN telling Dan Patrick he hoped his "quality help issue" could be worked out.

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Each title will strengthen an argument for him. One will not be enough to convince very many people outside his biggest fans that he truly is #1 all time. Each title will get a few more votes. To be generally acknowledged as the best of all time, he will at least need to match Jordan's 6 titles IMO. There are too many Jordan lovers out there for James to win some of them over unless he has at least 6. And that still won't do it for many of them.

 

I"m a huge LBJ guy and one title won't even make me say that historically James is better than Kobe let alone Jordan. He will keep winning them though and we'll see. If he gets 3 or 4 titles with 3 or 4 Finals MVPs, to go along with his overall body of work I don't see how he wouldn't be a top 10 guy. Realistically he's the most talented overall basketball player of all-time, but he's got a ways to go before he can be looked at with Jordan. It's a shame LBJ doesn't have more of that MJ attitude on the court.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2886927

 

Come on guys, you have to get your facts correct for your false opinions on Kobe to make sense.

 

He said he'd welcome a trade and then backtracked. Never "demanded" anything and then went on to show the dysfunction the Lakers became as well as telling the secret behind Shaq's departure.

 

Going on the radio and saying you'd like a trade is demanding a trade PP. If he said that on the radio, what do you think he said behind closed doors? Come on my man.

I"m a huge LBJ guy and one title won't even make me say that historically James is better than Kobe let alone Jordan. He will keep winning them though and we'll see. If he gets 3 or 4 titles with 3 or 4 Finals MVPs, to go along with his overall body of work I don't see how he wouldn't be a top 10 guy. Realistically he's the most talented overall basketball player of all-time, but he's got a ways to go before he can be looked at with Jordan. It's a shame LBJ doesn't have more of that MJ attitude on the court.

 

 

 

Going on the radio and saying you'd like a trade is demanding a trade PP. If he said that on the radio, what do you think he said behind closed doors? Come on my man.

 

Not questioning that. SSC said he demanded a trade to the Bulls but backed out when they wouldn't have enough players. Can't find proof of that rumor anywhere. Plus, I still don't get what Kobe's demands have to do with anything about where he stands as an all time great. Makes no difference to me what he said or did he has been a Laker his whole career.

Not questioning that. SSC said he demanded a trade to the Bulls but backed out when they wouldn't have enough players. Can't find proof of that rumor anywhere. Plus, I still don't get what Kobe's demands have to do with anything about where he stands as an all time great. Makes no difference to me what he said or did he has been a Laker his whole career.

 

He demanded a trade. That's all there is to it. That trade with the Pacers would have been great. Kobe would have loved it. There was a rumor that the Bulls had a deal in place to land Kobe but it didn't work out because Chi would have been worse than LA after the dust settled

It took me litterally 2 seconds on google to find the link.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=Deng_Bryant

 

Even then, it is not clear that any trade involving Deng would be acceptable to Bryant, who is wielding the power of the NBA's only no-trade clause by threatening to veto certain deals.

 

"It's not just the Bulls and Lakers who have to be happy with this deal. Kobe does, too, and that's a major factor," the source said.

 

 

Kobe whined that he didn't want to go if Deng was in the deal because they wouldn't be good enough to win.

 

Kobe is an all time great, but he couldn't win alone. He knew it. He demanded a trade. He only backed off of that after he was told they would get him help. At the time he had Bynum and Odom who are both better than anyone LBJ played with until now. Those are the facts.