NBA stars play for team; they shouldn't run them

By JERRY BREWER
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/sports/basketball/9180344.htm
The Orlando Sentinel


LAS VEGAS - Mark Cuban - that intelligent, wacky, loquacious owner - again has made sense of a complicated issue as only he can.

During a recent appearance on CBS' The Late Late Show, host Craig Kilborn asked the Dallas Mavericks owner whether King Kobe could lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship without Shaquille O'Neal.

"He's an amazing player," Cuban said of Kobe Bryant, "but I don't think he's a very good (general manager), so I don't think so."

With one witty jab, Cuban expressed the biggest misconception in the NBA. Franchises owe superstars money, respect, adoration, input, understanding and maybe even nurturing. But they do not owe them full authority.

Superstars make terrible general managers, just as coaches make terrible general managers. They are the worst two-way players in sports, kind of like a skilled cornerback who keeps dropping punts_but on a larger scale. Fumble a punt, and you lose a possession. Fumble a franchise's future, and you lose your legacy.

Bryant, no matter how much he says otherwise, did run off O'Neal. The Lakers wouldn't have traded O'Neal to Miami last week if their other superstar already had a long-term contract.

Bryant was a free agent. The Lakers knew he hated O'Neal. The Lakers understood Bryant wouldn't return to them and be the No. 2 guy anymore. So Bryant used his free-agent clout to force this trade, which will go down as one of the worst deals in league history. He also managed to get rid of Coach Phil Jackson, he of nine championships.

"That upsets me," said Bryant, who signed a seven-year contract for $136.4 million Thursday and then tried to dissuade people from thinking he had the power to make a legendary coach and legendary 7-footer disappear. "It angers me and hurts me."

He can be as upset and angry and hurt as he wants. It's true. And his career will suffer, because he let his ego and desire for freedom influence his judgment.

So this is the second consecutive summer a free-agent superstar has ruined his team playing GM. About this time last year, the New Jersey Nets re-signed Jason Kidd for seven years and more than $100 million.

To get Kidd's signature, the Nets had to sign center Alonzo Mourning to a four-year contract, the same Mourning who had a disease eating at his kidneys. Kidd wanted to play with a big man, the Nets blindly granted his wish, and Mourning played 12 games last season before discovering he needed a kidney transplant. He received a new kidney, but his career likely is over. Still, the Nets owe Mourning $17.6 million over the next three years.

This past week, the Nets, in a financial mess its new owner doesn't want to inherit, chose not to re-sign their second-best player, Kenyon Martin. They gave him to the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade deal for three future first-round draft picks. Kidd is mad now, considering whether he should demand a trade. He has forgotten that his request to play with Mourning contributed to the Nets' salary-cap problems.

The NBA lives off its superstars, and teams must deal with it. But franchises go too far when they give superstars free rein over their team's personnel moves.

Players are too invested in the game to sit back and think logically. The best teams ask for advice from their stars, keep them informed on potential moves, include them in the free-agent recruiting process_and then do exactly what's best for the franchise.

Stars always will request players they are familiar with because they know no better. They will urge their teams to acquire shooters because good shooters help spread the floor for them. And they want big men, lots of big men, even if they're big themselves. They're all about making their lives easier because they feel they are their teams.

In many cases, they really are the team. But it doesn't always mean they know what's best for the team.

King Kobe will learn this, just as King Kidd has learned (we hope). And maybe those poor-communicating franchises will discover how to work with a superstar instead of pandering to him.

I agree completely, Kobe will regret running shaq and phill out of town and already Kidd is regretting running Scott out of town and to some extent he is responsibly for the departure of Kenyon as the article states... I am loving their demise..

After that whoopin LA received from detroit last year, you would think that KOBE would have sat down with shaq and say hey, lets put all the personal stuff behind us and go back out and prove how great we are.. I will tell you this, in the run that LA had of 3 straight, they beat the sixers and the nets who IMO were not the strongest teams in the east at that time, LA did beat a young pacers team but, I have the feeling that a more seasoned team could have given LA a run for the money. You would think that Kobe would be itching to get back to the finals.... Now chances are he may never get back with the current team he has now.. guys like shaq come along once every what 60 years? Stupid Kobe, just stupid!!!

Posted by codeunknown:

Honestly, I don't think Kobe is stupid at all for running Shaq out of town. It really depends on getting what you want and Kobe managed to use his leverage superbly in achieving that. List of things that Kobe is getting: 1) max money, 2) complete control of the Laker team on and off the court. The only thing Kobe isn't getting is Shaq and he doesn't care.

Sure, a championship will be harder to achieve, but I think thats the whole point with Kobe - its the pinnacle of a challenge. Whats another championship with Shaq anyway? He already has 3, who cares if its 5 or 6. To Kobe, a chance at 1 championship without Shaq is worth more than all the titles he and Shaq could have won together. Kobe wants to be "the man" and its understandable because the only credit missing from his resume is winning without the big man - like Jordan. Winning with Shaq doesn't prove anything anymore. Ask yourself, what does Kobe want to achieve now? The answer is cementing his legend as the best of all time. The only way to do that is to up the difficulty.

Yeah, and sinking his team with him. I understand what you say, and thats exactly Kobe's point of view. But thats just so selfish. I mean, Kobe is not the only one on the team that matters. He has his championships? Fine, but there were also other players working hard to get one. There are fans that really want the best team they can get. There are fans that, as any other place in the league, would want to win as much championships as they can. As a Knicks Fan I would want to see my team win one soon. After that? Get another one, they aren't easy to get anyway. Im sure the Pistons will work harder to get that second tittle next season.

And talking about the Pistons, they just won a championship against a Laker team that had Kobe and Shaq, along with Malone too. After losing and looking so lost and dominated, what a great challenge would be to come back with your team and avenge that loss? Anyway, the world is not around Kobe. You want a challenge? Sure, go get it, but don't destroy your team in the process. Be man to look for your way without hurting your team in the process. Its sad when in a team sport like basketball someone puts his personal goals ahead of the team's goals. The team isn't called the Kobes, is called the Lakers because its about doing the best for the team, not for an individual. That show he made where he wasn't sure if he wanted to remain a Laker of become a Clipper to get some attention because most of the media was focused on the Shaq trade was simply pathetic. Kobe wants to become a legend? He just became one, the legendary stupid who sunk his team because he wanted personal glory.

[Edited by - KnicksFan on 07/19/2004 17:28:44]

Posted by codeunknown:

Kobe wants to become a legend? He just became one, the legendary stupid who sunk his team because he wanted personal glory.

[Edited by - KnicksFan on 07/19/2004 17:28:44]

See, thats exactly where you're wrong, Knicksfan. I believe in the team game as much as you. But, Kobe didn't sink the Lakers, the Lakers did, if at all. As a supremely valuable commodity in the basketball world, Kobe is coveted by every team and its his prerogative to sign with any team that gives him what he wants. It was the Laker's belief that signing Kobe at the expense of Shaq was the right decision. Moreover, they may very well be right because, down the line, they will surround him with the right pieces. And Kobe is only getting better.

Believe me, I agree that from a Laker fan's perspective, Kobe's plan of action was very selfish. But, Kobe isn't bound to anyone except his ambitions. And he isn't stupid because winning with Shaq, no matter how difficult against the Pistons, wouldn't gain him the recognition he believes he can earn alone. He is already one of the greatest of all time. He wants to be the best and winning alone is the only way to acomplish that. The Lakers weren't forced to keep him either, they could have kept Shaq.

I understand your point and you are right. The Lakers are also very reponsible of this situation. They decided to go with Kobe under his own rules and by that they have to accept the consecuences. This situation can be seen in two ways for the Lakers: short-term and long-term. Short-term, they messed up with the Lakers. Not obligated to trade Shaq, they did it like if their lives depended on that, and the results was a deal where they got value not even close to Shaq's. Shaq is still able to dominate the league, so the deal as of now is definitely a bad one for the Lakers. If someone can make a team instant championship contenders is Shaq. In return, the Lakers got players that will help, but don't assure them of making the postseason. This is where I see the Lakers sinking. But you are right, the Lakers are also very responsible for this.

The long-term is too unclear for the Lakers to say that they may have done the right thing by trading Shaq. They traded him so desperately that they couldn't get back what they exactly wanted to start again. Its now their job to surround Kobe with the necessary pieces to give him the team he wants and needs. And that can take some time, so who knows what will happen.

The present isn't as beautiful as it once was for the Lakers. Kobe wanted to make it his team and as selfish as it might be the Lakers granted his wish. Both are responsible for the team's possible slide in the present. But I agree that things could work out for the Lakers in the long term because Kobe is still young.

Posted by codeunknown:

(so long as hes not in prison).

that would be a real tough blow for the lakers. wow. they would never recover from that.