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Kobe's hypocrisy borders on hysterical
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More from NBAKobe Bryant is the best all-around player in basketball, but he's also a hypocrite.
The Lakers great wants changes in Los Angeles, wants Jerry West to return, wants the team to become a championship contender again. Essentially, Bryant wants the Lakers to clean up his mess, the mess they allowed him to create.
Bryant was on a championship team, playing second fiddle to Shaquille O'Neal and running the plays Phil Jackson called. That Big Three led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles and four Finals appearances in five years.
But Bryant couldn't play with Shaq or for Phil. Bryant won the power struggle.
Jackson walked away and Shaq was traded to South Beach where he helped the Miami Heat to the conference finals in his first season and the NBA championship the following year. Bryant has won two NBA scoring titles since, but no playoff series.
Now Bryant is frustrated, demanding the Lakers make changes because they're not winning enough, that he doesn't have enough help.
The hypocrisy is hysterical.
Bryant wasn't happy when they were winning with the best big man of this generation and arguably the best coach.
Jackson returned and has gotten the Lakers into the playoffs the past two seasons. But he's going to go only so far with the team that was built after Bryant tore it down.
Bryant, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, has every right to want to win for all he puts into each game.
He has experienced winning, more than most players ever do. But it wasn't to his liking, so he forced the Lakers to choose. That victory has come back to bite Kobe.
Now he wants his mess cleaned up, wants West back to get players who will help him win again, which is a total slap in the face to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak.
The Lakers always have catered to Bryant. Naturally, he's going to think he can have his cake and eat it, too. Eventually, though, the Lakers should tell Kobe Bryant to get up from the table.
Posted by billcabrol on May 30, 2007 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Hackensack source proves to be unreliable. Per Steven A. Smith, even Shaq concurred with Kobe that it was upper management that got Shaq traded, not Kobe.
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