Will Kobe come?????????????????

[Vol4ever]

I'd have to say it's highly unlikely.........

Why????????

He has been with the Lakers who play for the title almost every year, the bright lights and endorsements of Los Angeles. Why would he come to a team that is going to be pathetic, no decent coach or players? No fan base. Yeah why would Kobe play in an empty arena? No decent player will.

I understand the philophsy of moving contracts to clear cap space, but at least draft picks or younger talented players coming back in return would have been better. Now all the Hawks future has been put into CASH and the free agent market. LOOK what happened when Chicago took this road to recovery, they're still Terrible with all the picks and free agents they have. A team cannot be reconstructed totally on free agency, you have to spend too much for the stars and the mid-level players. You have to build through the draft and make smart trades that inprove your team and then maybe look at a free agent.

How many legit Centers are in this league? I'd say maybe eight and we had one of them. No, his numbers were not great but watch how he improves Portlands interior defense. What will the Hawks do at Center now? Priz and Doleac? If they do get a decent center it will be at a high cost. The Hawks do not plan to acquire a decent center though, they will try to get by with a stiff (remember Jon Koncak?) and get a good PF.

Furthermore, look at the expansion teams, which is basically what the Hawks are now. Why didn't the BIG free agents go to them? They had all the cap space in the world. Big Free Agents want to play for a winner!

There will not be a winner in Phillips anytime in the next few years unless it is a visiting team.

Save this message and If I'm wrong I will be the first to apologize. I don't think I will be offering any apologies in the next 3 - 4 years.

[cyman3]

ur rite, its very unlikely...

in fact, we have 1/30 chance of gettin KOBE as of rite now (there are 30 teams in the NBA as of next year, rite?)...

its all speculation for now...

[Admin]

There are only about 4 teams that have a realistic shot at Kobe because of having the money to sign him, not including the Lakers. However its almost set in stone that he wont be back next year with them. That leaves the Clippers, Suns, Nuggets, and Hawks as pretty much the only viable options. All of these teams however have a good shot at him and talent wise we are probably the worst but of the 4 we have the most cap space to offer and we are the only ones that can say Kobe this is YOUR team. I think that will go a long way with him.

[swolehawk2]

Yeah but Kobe hass too much of an ego to get his lunch ate every night in and night out...it is hard to claim you are this or that when you can't carry your teams to wins...even Kobe know he has to have some talent around him....we would probably have to sign at least a Kenyon Martin type before Kobe would consider Atl. I think Kobe signs out west for the better opp. to win and get a chance to stick it to Shaq and the Lakers at least 4 times a year.

[KB21]

1. Marketability. Atlanta is a major media market. Kobe will no doubt regain some endorsements he lost by becoming the patron saint of Atlanta baskeball. The city would pretty much be ruled by Kobe and Vick.

2. Money. The Hawks can offer him a max contract.

3. Ego. This would be an opportunity for him to not only prove he can win without Shaq, but to switch the balance of power back to the Eastern Conference.

[Diesel]

1. Atlanta will have enough money to offer... When you start to talk about money, the odds jump from 1/30 to about 1/5:

Denver, Utah, LAC, Phoenix, and Atlanta.

2. We're the only team in the East that has the money to get him.

I think that's a big Point. Mostly the reason why Kobe is leaving is to answer his critics. So many people are saying that Kobe can not win without Shaq. It's true, the Lakers are Shaq's team. If you put Pierce, tmac, or any other Allstar 2 guard in LA in Kobe's place, the Lakers still win.

3. Kobe has to prove that he's the best 2 guard.

In the West, he plays Finley and Ray Allen. That's it in terms of elite 2 guards. In the East, he would play; Pierce, AI, Tmac, Vince... Guys who he has been compared to and guys who it has been said are better than him because they actually carry a team.

4. The Elusive League MVP.

Kobe will never get a shot at being MVP playing beside Shaq.

However, I don't think that Kobe wants to go to a team that can't win. That's why there's got to be some players around him:

Howard. Is he the next Lebron James? If he is, he could be a good bargaining piece to bring in Kobe.

Sheed/Martin. Both play Pf. Both are allstar. Right now, it would be easy for us to get both Kobe/Martin/Howard if the pingpong balls fell the right way.

What we are up against:

Matrix/Stoudamire/Johnson = Phoenix. I think the more Phoenix plays, the more it will realize that they don't need Kobe, they need Nash.

Anthony/Camby/Nene = Denver. I think that when you really consider it, Anthony is the man in Denver. Plus, would Kobe want to go back to Denver???

Kirlenko, Hapring, Arroyo = Utah. It doth not appear what Utah shall be. However, i don't think that Kobe fits so well there. First off, they need a big man and good health more than anything else. A big man being a PF. I think they would do better to make a run at KMart or Sheed or even Mcdyess.

Brand/Maggette/Kaman = LAC. This seems like a really good fit. Kobe doesn't have to move. Brand is a player that is a very good role player. I think that Kobe fits here well, the question is does he want to stay out west?

What we have:

Nobody knows because we won't know until at least after Draft day. However, it could shape up very nicely. If we have greased the tracks really good with Stern, we might get the first pick overall.

OF course there will be other teams that will try to work with the Lakers... Like NY. I can easily see NY offering Houston/future picks for Kobe. However, I just don't know if Jerry Buss is going to do a SNT with Kobe, he's going to force a team to pay Kobe and that's where we come in.

We have more money to offer than LAC, Utah, or Phoenix. Denver has as much as us, but again... Would you go to Denver if you were Kobe??

So, it's very possible that we can get Kobe...If he thinks about money and opportunity and we get a few breaks in FAcy and the draft.

[swolehawk2]

"Ego. This would be an opportunity for him to not only prove he can win without Shaq, but to switch the balance of power back to the Eastern Conference."

The risk is greater than the reward. We would not only have to add starters but we need to add a quality bench for Kobe to have enough to win. This does not happen over night. There is a great chance Kobe would not be able to elevate us to a high level or compete for a championship much like T-Mac.

The last thing Kobe and his senstive ego wants to hear is "see I told you he couldn't carry a team, he needs Shaq and Phil"

I think it will take some established talent in place on a team for Kobe to come...maybe that means we need to sign some free agents before Kobe....don't think Kobe will be here though.

[macdaddy]

I'm not really believing the hype that Kobe will leave LAL. Assuming is legal issues are resolved they will kiss and makeup by years end. This is all posturing to get a better contract.

If he does go I just can't see him anywhere except Phoenix or LAC.

Personally I'd rather have someone else here. He's a great player but he's a baby. He'll get impatient here and start causing trouble.

[Weez]

get a better contract? do you follow the NBA? the max amount that he can make is already pre-determined by the association...and he can make more for more years (6 vs. 7) if he stays with LAL.

it's not about the dollars...at least, not about a max contract anyhow. Now, if you start arguing about whether he'd actually go PHX for a less than max Bird-Rights to another team deal...

[Diesel]

Is he competitive enough to come to Atlanta. Play against the best Guards night in and night out and EARN a spot on the allstart team or as league MVP...

Or will Kobe stay in the West, with a better team and a better shot at Allstar fame and Playoffs.

I don't think that Kobe wants to face: AI, Pierce, Redd, V. Carter, Tmac and even some PGs like: Kidd, Wade, and B Davis on a nightly basis and he not have a lot of help to bail him out.

I've seen Kobe play when teams focus in on him. He's no Jordan. He's shrinks and disappears. The comments that I have made about Kobe are TRUE.

However, if we can get some help in here: K Mart, Swift, Damp... Something like that, He might come.

[Weez]

like he shrank last night in the third and fourth quarters?

[cyman3]

Hes definitely NOT JORDAN... but who is?

Hes a clutch player and he knows how to close out games...

if we get him in here, i dont care if we are in ORLANDOs shoes... cuz they are 1 step ahead of us anyway (they just need good role players)... besides, we wont be in ORLANDOs shoes... they have GRANT HILL hurting them and preventing them from signing another big name player. Now, if Hill wasnt there, TMAC and SIDEKICK would be winning many games in the EAST!

so 1/4 chance that we land KOBE? i think not! wat about SIGN AND TRADE? cant LA do that?

[chillzatl]

Quote:

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I've seen Kobe play when teams focus in on him. He's no Jordan. He's shrinks and disappears. The comments that I have made about Kobe are TRUE.

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Citing how good defensive teams shut kobe down when Shaq isn't playing is only citing life in the NBA. Tmac, Pierce, AI, Carter, etc, have ALL been shut down by good defensive teams that focus on taking them out of the game. Kobe has dropped big numbers on every one of teams at different times too.

Quote:

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I don't think that Kobe wants to face: AI, Pierce, Redd, V. Carter, Tmac and even some PGs like: Kidd, Wade, and B Davis on a nightly basis and he not have a lot of help to bail him out.

[Diesel]

Quote:

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Citing how good defensive teams shut kobe down when Shaq isn't playing is only citing life in the NBA. Tmac, Pierce, AI, Carter, etc, have ALL been shut down by good defensive teams that focus on taking them out of the game. Kobe has dropped big numbers on every one of teams at different times too.

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It's a difference. When AI or Tmac faces tough defensive teams all the time and they don't have a Shaq to defer to or to help take the pressure off. The real proof has been the last few years.

76ers vs. Lakers. Before the 76ers gave up, they played Shaq single coverage and that left Kobe/McKie and Kobe/Snow and Kobe/Lynch matchups. He disappeared until about game 3.

PTL vs. Lakers the year before. Kobe made Smitty look like a God.

SacTown vs. Lakers last year.

I think Kobe is very good when teams can't double full time.