Kobe Kerry Flip Flops on the Lakers
By Ted M. Green | L.A. Confidential, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Column
When it comes to flip flopping on the Lakers, Kobe Bryant is now the John Kerry of the jock world.
In case you haven’t heard, Kobe is now singing the praises of the teammates he once trashed with the passion of an American Idol finalist.
Ship Andrew Bynum? Kobe is now talking like he wants to adopt him.
Remember it was just last summer that General Manager Bryant was inappropriately loud and public in his desire to exile the then teenager to Jersey for Jason Kidd or even just for two free bowling passes at the Hackensack AMF.
Kobe’s most effusive pro-Laker comments yet came after that amped-up Christmas Day fun run against the Suns.
The surging Lakers won Tuesday, 122-115, taking Phoenix to flight school on their way to their third straight win and 9th in 11 games, raising their record to 18 and 10, fourth best in the West.
So after the game Kobe Kerry said this:
“We have a solid foundation, we really do. We have length, we have speed, we have quickness, we have shot-blocking. We have guys that can steal the ball. We have playmakers. It’s looking very solid.”
Kobe stopped just short of saying we also have enough votes to carry the New Hampshire primary.
But give him credit. It may have taken 28 games, but even the most stubborn and prideful man on the planet now realizes
the perfect storm of talent he suddenly has around him. And in his own way, saving as much face as he can with that much egg on it, Kobe is at least acknowledging now what I’ve been saying for over a month.
The Lakers and Kobe Kerry may be on a Swift Boat to the NBA Finals.
I use the expression Perfect Storm because that’s what the 2008 Lakers are.
In plain English, a “perfect storm” is defined as “the simultaneous occurrence of events which, taken individually, would be far less powerful than the result of their chance combination.”
Wikipedia says, “Such occurrences are rare by their very nature, so that even a slight change in any one event contributing to the perfect storm would lessen its overall impact.”
In Hollywood, “The Perfect Storm” was the year 2000 movie in which both George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg drowned at the end, but I didn’t care because all I could think about was going to bed with Diane Lane.
In Lakerland, this is a Perfect Storm:
1. At barely 20, Bynum morphs into a dominant NBA center and full fledged monster with an upside too frightening to contemplate.
2. 21-year-old point guard Jordan Farmar matures into an energizer and floor leader good enough to start on 15 teams in the league, but the Lakers get the luxury of bringing him off the bench.
3. The unusually grown-up Derek Fisher returns to bolster the backcourt, upgrade the spot-up shooting and add a desperately needed locker-room presence, mentor and voice of experience…a calming balance to the tempestuous tough love the younger Lakers get from Bryant.
4. In what appeared to be a throwaway 2 for 1 trade, the Lakers bring in Trevor Ariza, local kid from Westchester and UCLA, still just 22 years old and an uber athlete, to add length, speed, defense and posterizing ability to an already potent bench.
5. And in a residual benefit of No. 1, Bynum’s emergence as a potential No. 2 scoring option to Kobe takes all the pressure off Lamar Odom.
So instead of being viewed as too inconsistent to be the Pippen to Kobe’s Jordan everyone wants Odom to be, a bust as a second scoring option, the Bynum bustout now allows Odom to slip quietly (a word he likes) into the third option slot. And when Lamar Odom is your third option getting 15 and 12 every night, you are going to be a very dangerous basketball team.
There they are, five events, occurring simultaneously, a chance combination.
A Perfect Storm, possible even in the land where the sun shines 330 days a year.
So I say, batten the hatches, San Antonio, Utah, Dallas and Phoenix, but be advised: There’s a good chance you’re gonna get wet anyway.
Which brings us full circle to Kobe, who would be such a mensch if only he would smile, admit he was wrong–make that WAY wrong–while formally announcing he is getting out of the talent evaluation business forever.
Kobe flipped, now he’s flopped, proving only that it’s easier to make All-NBA 1st Team than it is to be elected President of the United States.
Ted Green is Senior Sports Producer for KTLA Prime News, a former sportswriter for the L.A. Times and National Sports Daily…and Kobe’s favorite armchair psychologist
Discuss:
16 Responses to “Kobe Kerry Flip Flops on the Lakers”
- 1 Pingback on Dec 27th, 2007 at 4:08 am
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Ok … and being the journalist you are, in asking Kobe for an apology you left out the part where Bynum was not practicing as hard or training as hard as he does.
I hear Bynum has improved so much he’s the 2nd laker to get to practice and the 2nd to last laker to leave … coming 2nd to only Kobe in both of those categories
The man is without question the hardest working laker … yes Bynum might be physically more Talented, but credit Kobe as the 1 laker that urged the entire team to step their game up (FO included) or Trade him
In a sport where being in the league literarily gurantees that you’ll be a millonaire, be very grateful for the athletes that work consistently hard. And while you’re all over Bynum and calling his potential unlimitless, I’d preach caution like Kobe has, i.e. wait until you’re sure ‘hard work’ is now a habbit for him
Outside of the parallel being a hamfisted one based on a campaign smear(Bush was more of a flip-flopper politically, even more so during his first 4 years as a piss poor president)- how many athletes have historically gone back and forth throughout the tenure of their careers? Yep, this piece is rather yawn-worthy.
Who cares? The Lakers are looking like contenders now. The statements that Kobe made about Bynum this summer and now was what he honestly felt at the time. Does it make any sense for Kobe to criticize Bynum now? It’s not about flip-floping, it’s human nature. If anything, Kobe should be commended for admitting that he was wrong. Let’s go Lakers!
You forgot another couple of elements:
1. Kwame, if/when he gets back, will be playing in a contract year
2. Ronny T will be playing for a new contract
3. Sasha Vujacic will be playing for a new contract
At the beginning of the season, I also thought Vlad Rad would be “motivated” to “redeem” his reputation after last season’s snowboarding accident. Shows what I know!
Nice comparison to the “perfect storm” phenomenon!
I think you’re wrong about Kobe and how he should ideally behave though - in fact I believe that at least to some extent his public display of frustration played a distinctive psychological role in the development of at least some of the others players on the team and thus in fact in creating the “perfect storm”. The rationale for this assessment is the following: Basketball being a game of will power I believe there’s some plausibility to the theory that the distinctively improved play of several players on the roster (Sasha and Vlad at least for several games come to mind, and of course Andrew Bynum himself…) is (among of course other factors) linked to realizations of Kobe being rightly frustrated to some extent and a feeling of “damn, I should be able to play better lest I be remembered as being part of the team that had the best player in the league but failed to perform because guys couldn’t knock down open jumpers, play serious minutes throughout the season or actually catch some passes in the paint…”
Assuming some competitive fire along those lines has in fact been lit by Kobe’s comments, him officially retracting them now might even be counterproductive psychologically…
Malone (around 2000), Jordan (toward the end of his career), Magic (adios Riley) and Jabbar (throughout) have all criticized fellow players, their coaches and/or their respective Front Offices during their careers. Why all the hate on Kobe? Charged/Arrainged/Dropped…remember?
Don’t forget that Kwame getting injured should be part of the Perfect Storm. Kwame rushes or mishandles 3 to 4 shots per game. That’s an average of 6 to 8 points per game!
It is normal to adapt your conclusions to changing facts. That you try and fail to ridicule Kobe for this just makes you look silly.
While it may seem like Kobe is flip flopping it is really him doing the right thing by acknowledging the improvements. While the way went about addressing his concerns in the off-season may be wrong–it did light a fire under the rest of the team. Do you think they, especially Bynum would have come out as ready and prepared for the season if Kobe didn’t say anything. Remember, Kobe is the most competitive person in the league (like MJ) and by being so competitive he will not accept mediocrity. So give props to him for being honest in the bad times and the good. Now, we just have to hope Kwame comes back fired up…and we will be fine for the rest of the season. Another thing, credit has to go to Phil also, his ability to see that the Lakers needed to run a faster tempo offense has been the key to the success the Lakers are having–the triangle is still their foundation…but those first few seconds in the shot clock are the most exciting…
There is lack of critical thinking when people say Kobe went about it the wrong way. What is the right way when the front office made promises that they did not follow thru (reloading) on after how many years? At some point Kobe had to sound off or go with the flow (the flow being score a lot of points and wasting his best years with a team rebuilding thru drafts).
Tell me, what was the better way?
Man, look at all the members of the Kobe Defense Force in here.
I think it’d be easier for all of you to say “KOBE IS A GOD. EVERYTHING HE DOES IS PERFECT. I WORSHIP THE GROUND HE WALKS ON. BETTER YET THE WATER THAT HE CAN SURELY WALK ON IF HE WANTED TO. EVEN WHEN HE’S WRONG HE’S ACTUALLY RIGHT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT.”
I LOVED IT…IT WAS MUCH BETTER THAN CATS…I’M GOING TO SEE IT AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!
Its getting boring that almost every one in press now criticize Kobe because Lakers are playing well. He truly is the one that brought the change in attitude of fellow Lakers that made today’s situation happen.
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I wonder how everyone would react if Lakers end up like last year (Remember Lakers are at same situation at the beginning last year too