Posted by PresIke:
I just watched Pardon The Interruption on ESPN (I never watch ESPN anymore, except for big news or games) with some LA reporter who said that Kobe did tone down the rhetoric somewhat after speaking on a few other talk shows but he thinks that Kobe is serious about wanting to leave, and that it is more likely that the Lakers may be forced to move him after next season since he can opt out after the next year.
The Jerry West thing (which that guy Wilbon 
was so sure would be magic) he said was not going to work because the Lakers have so few assets that it isn't like he can make some kind of miracle happen out of nothing and over the cap.
He then said "If I see 212 on the phone I'm not answering because the Knicks have nothing that the Lakers want." Which I think is complete typical b.s. about the Knicks from the press. Wilbon (?) said before that "You know the NY Knicks want to peddle off all of their players..." as if there are zero players that Isiah wants to keep. Shows you, IMHO, how ridiculous the anti-Knick rhetoric is in the sports talk world. I'm sure the Lakers wouldn't like Lee and Curry as part of a package (not saying the Knicks should do that). I swear some of these dudes don't watch any games or watch very few at all.
ike, what are the true value of our guys? what kind of player can they truly yield? do you really think we are in the running for possibly the best player in the league?
look at it from the lakers point of view, what does curry give them? he's never played in a playoff game. they would still have to make another major deal to get a perimeter player to help their cause. and they're not getting cap relief from our package. and even talking from a business perspective, they sell out games b/c of kobe. they sell a TON of jerseys and they're on tv B/C of kobe. without a superstar, they're like everybody else.
guys like kg and kobe - they're out of our range. i think that's basically reality.
we may get into the jermaine running - but that's because he's a full tier below kg and kobe.
at this point in time, i look at us on par with atlanta. they have just as much youth yet none of it has translated to anything positive. but again, they have a shot to right some of their wrongs with 2 lotto picks. and we have to hope curry b/c something special.
but back to kobe, it's a moot point. lakers would be stupid to trade him, but wilbon is right, there really is nothing many teams can offer to make the lakers bite, and we're one of them.
i mean, we had a thread saying crawford + frye was too much to give up for rashard. that's donwright idiotic. shard is not superstar, but he's 6'10, plays SF, grabs 7 boards and is one of the better perimeter shooters in the league, yet the package mentioned was too much?
5/30/2007 4:11 PM
No first round picks forver