OT - Kobe Bryant done for the year
Kobe Bryant is out for rest of season. From ESPN's online article
Bryant has been sidelined since Dec. 17 with a fracture of the lateral tibial plateau in his left knee. He also missed the Lakers' first 19 games while recovering from a torn Achilles in his left leg suffered last season.
After 18 years in the league, is Father Time telling him it's time to hang up the sneakers?
They shoulda held onto Manny Harris.
Kobe Bryant done for the year career
There. I fixed it for you.
Say what you will about his personality and actions off-court (and I'm sure some of you will), but I respect Kobe most of all active players. His work ethic, stamina, and consistency are second to none.
It's a shame he was injured this year, because in 12-13 the guy put up 27/6/6 in 39 minutes as a 34 year old. For comparison's sake, Michael Jordan put up 29/6/4 at the same age. I've heard people ask "who is the next MJ?" ever since I've followed the sport, but Kobe's the closest thing we'll ever see.
Except you know, MJ was never accused of rape. just sayin
Well no shit, however I tihnk we need to hold our athletes to a higher standard. Whether they like it or not, they are roll models for children ( and middle aged internet posters ) everwhere. I'm 33 years old, and never once in my life have I been accused of rape.
I don't know if Kobe was guilty or innocent. I just know that Kobe should have been smart enough to not end up in that situation.
I know that if I were a celebrity I wouldn't want assholes like me judging me on the internet.
In Kobe's defense, he was never convicted of a crime. And Kobe never had to "retire" for two years to make a league investigation into his gambling go away.
and either Nik Stauskas or Caris LeVert or Glen Robinson III will be the next MJ. Book It
Spike is the next MJ. No quesh.
ever see? might want to rephrase that little bit.
Especially with Lebron hitting his prime now and who knows what will happen in the next 20-40 years.
No, I'm content with my phrasing.
The "next MJ" is a prototype, a 6'6"ish 200ish pound SG, not a 6'9" 260 pound SF who was drafted as a PG and is transitioning to PF.
LeBron may end up with more accolades by virtue of playing straight out of HS (compared to MJ coming out after his JR year) and not having two pseudo-retirements that cost him almost 5 entire seasons and not losing a season to injury (85-86).
Kobe has patterned his entire career after Michael's. LeBron drew more from Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. They are an apple and an orange.
LeBron wasn't drafted as a PG. He was always a 3 at Cleveland, albeit one who often ran the offense.
Also, if you're really focused on the guy being 6'6", keep in mind that at the time he played, MJ was really tall for a shooting guard. That's no longer true.
Kobe should have no problem landing a role as a zombie on The Walking Dead. Oh except he probably won't actually be able to walk.
There's no chance Kobe retires, not after he signed a 50 million dollar extension in November.
Assuming his contract was insured (I believe it is standard practice), if he retired based on injury, wouldn't he received most if not all of it anyway?
In the CBA it says a team doesn't have to pay a player if the retirement is voluntary. Kobe would have to suffer a career ending injury and retire to get his money.
"Kobe would have to suffer a career ending injury and retire to get his money."
That is pretty much what I just said...
It would be considered a voluntary retirement because a ligament tear or a broken bone isn't career ending.
Good point. +1 to you.
He had a very good run and is one of the best players of all time, but the time has come to retire.
In terms of miles on his body, he's played somewhere in the neighborhood of 20.5 seasons if you count the playoffs.
I was going to edit my first post in this thread to say this.
Kobe's played 220 postseason games, which is 2.68 full NBA season, plus played on two Olympics teams and in a FIBA tournament. The guy's longevity has been phenomenal to witness. He's joining Stockton, Reggie Miller, Malone, and Duncan as guys I've been in awe of as they've gracefully aged.
Kobe Bryant has pretty much screwed the Lakers. I know he has done a lot for the franchise, but his selfishness and the crazy amount of money they pay him have doomed them to where they are now.
If the plan is to win in the next two years then yes, the Lakers are doomed. If they are smart, they will rebuild, so the next two years would actually be beneficdial if they suck.
Agreed, but they aren't going to rebuild until they unload him. Additionally, he's already chased coaches and players. Mike Brown was a good coach, Dantoni is a good coach. Dwight Howard is killing it in Houston.
Mike Brown and Mike Dantoni are terrible coaches. I guess Kobe chased Dantoni out of NYC and Kobe is the reason why no one besides the Lakers. when they were desperate. and the Cavs, who are perpetually a joke except when LeBron is on their team is gave Mike Brown a chance?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Brown_(basketball,_born_1970)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_D'Antoni
Those dudes have won alot of games.
Also, they are the Lakers, they are the Yankees of the NBA. They shouldn't really have to rebuild.
A lot easier to rebuild in baseball without a salary cap and unlimited resources where you can just buy pieces to complete your puzzle.
You can say pre NHL salary cap that the Red Wings were the Yankees of the NHL ..... but you can't really compare the Lakers to the Yankees.
Yes they are, and that is almost $35,000,000 of cap space right there.
Sure they have the money to sign anyone, but who wants to play with two guys that are that close to retirement? The Lakers will not win a championship with Kobe and Nash on the same team (unless at least one of them takes a huge pay cut and a reduced role).
I love how he doesn't flop (and if he does flop, he has to be in the minority) and actually endorses a more physical brand of basketball.
Disagree. Kobe is articulate but he's not a warm, likeable, interesting personality that you need for that role. Have you seen him in interviews? Well spoken? Yes. Interesting? No.
Given his lack of personality and charisma and given how polarizing he is across the country, I don't think he has an on-air retirement position available to him (assuming he'd even want it).
I think it's going to be very interesting to see what Kobe does with the rest of his life. As far as I can tell (having been a hardcare Lakers fan since 1993), Kobe has no social network, is estranged from his family, has no other hobbies and a rocky relationship with his wife.
He's the Black Mamba! Are you serious? There will always be a network willing to pay him $$$ to put his face out there. And he'll be much better at it than you think.
Only thing that will stop Kobe from a tv career is the 8 figures in his bank account. He won't need to do anything the rest of his life.
You don't think every NBA network hasn't tried to get MJ into a deal? Of course they have. But the MJ's and Kobe's of the world have serious bank. Lebron will be in the same situation probably x3.
Granted, the Lakers may be making an assumption, but their official statement is hopeful that he'll rehab in the offseason and be back at it next year. Indeed, Bryant himself expressed a desire to be there - and hopefully 100% - when training camp starts.
Given the Lakers state right now, there probably is no rush to get Kobe out there regardless, and he did recently sign an extension too - hard to imagine his production doing anything but slide though. If he never played another game, he would leave 4th in points and 8th in made FGs all-time, I believe, among a long list of other accomplishments, so he does have that.
/s
The Lakers are done as an organizational as long as Jim Buss is there. Re-signing Kobe at a huge price for two more years is insane and everyone knew it at the time. Supposedly, they didn't let him walk because they were scared of how the fans would react. Real smart.
Trading for Howard and then resigning Kobe. It's going to take some time to dig out of that hole.