Keep Kobe even his Wife has an over inflated ego

[Diesel]

And what I said was true....

It wasn't about Kobe.. it was about Phil Jackson. Phil Jackson is why that team finally won. In fact, if you want to be honest: Kobe was abused in the playoffs. Steve Smith and Scottie Pippen had a field day posting Kobe up. In fact, the Lakers saving grace was that the ref threw R. Wallace out of the game for looking at him the wrong way???

[JB20]

I haven't gotten a chance to sit down and look more into the stats of these HS guys yet (I will at some point before I go and write about them on my website), I was just going off of what they had listed on ESPN.com.

They said he averaged 25.5 points and 8.8 boards per. Maybe that is his entire high school career? If one thing is true lately, ESPN hasn't been very good with numbers. It wasn't intentional that I got them wrong, that's just what I read there and ESPN is usually reliable...

[Plainview1981]

Wait? Why did Tmac leave Toronto again??? Anybody remember?

[Weez]

he got a max contract....

[cyman3]

i think its cuz TORONTO wouldnt play him or start him... as much as he wanted...

he thought he was an elite SG (well, he is) but at the time was unproven....

plus, he was a big fan of PENNY back in the day and he likes the weather/location in ORLANDO....

not to mention, they had money to sign 2 MAX CONTRACTS (for a while it seemed like DUNCAN and HILL or DUNCAN and MCGRADY... but at the end, it was HILL and MCGRADY)...

[DominiqueWilkins]

He doesn't get along with anyone on the Lakers, because they have always attacked him also. The team isn't Kobe's it's Shaqs. The team has been built around Shaq before Kobe stepped into the league, and the main guy is still Shaq. Even in the playoffs so far Shaq has been doing so many things, along with Kobe's help/scoring!!

I think Kobe is a much better leader than T-Mac. T-Mac blames his teammates as someone else said, and T-Mac has a supporting cash some.....what!! I don't think T-Macs supporting cast is all that great, but if the Hawks had Kobe you build smart!! Kobe would do so many things for the Hawks, and if we built a STRONG supporting cast that fits Kobe the rest is history!!

I wish we were able to draft Josh Smith and Dwight Howard!! If that was the case I wouldn't even have Kobe in my mind, but this offseason Kobe is the treasure!!

I would happen happy with theses names: Q-Rich, Manu, M. Daniels, Jamal Crawford!!

All of those guys are restricted free agents, and we would still be forced to build a strong team. If we signed Kobe all we would have to do is build a strong supporting cast.

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as far as nobody likin KOBE... look, Shaq doesnt look Kobe but u put 2 of them on a team and ur bound to win 3-4 championships.

As long as u win, tahts the bottom line. i dont care if the guys hate each other on the team... as long as u come out to play, play hard, and get the W... as a fan, im happy.

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Interesting but this is not the question. The question was/is is Kobe a leader... The answer is no. He doesn't get along with anyone and he's selfish. Those facts are undisputed. The reason it's important is what happens if Kobe comes to Atlanta. The truth is that we couldn't rely on him to be a leader because he has never shown leadership. In our team building we would have to account for that and get someone on the team who was able to lead...

He could still be clutch, he could still put up 25/5/5... However, he's not leadership material. He's too much into Kobe.

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[Diesel]

1. Max Contract.

2. He's from Orlando.

3. He wanted to prove himself as an elite 2 guard in the league.

[Plainview1981]

3. He wanted to prove himself as an elite 2 guard in the league."

And you say he's ok with sharing the spotlight? lol

I doubt Kobe would allow a team to lose....18 str8 games

was it? ESP if he played in the weak east.

[Diesel]

Huh? What??

Hots... You got to make that relation.... Every 2 guard that wants to prove himself in the league is not Kobe and is not AI...

[Plainview1981]

Tmac should have stayed with Vince. He got to Orlando and

found out that being the big star isn't all that great. If

he was so great the Magic wouldn't have lost so many games

in a row. He isn't as good as Kobe.

[Diesel]

There were many reasons to leave Toronto...

1. Butch Carter.

2. Taxes.

3. The Max Contract.

4. Going back home with no taxes.

5. Chance to play SG.

I don't think Tmac had a problem with sharing the spotlight. In fact, he signed after Grant Hill did. Grant was a bigger star than Tmac and Vince... So he didn't leave because of Vince's Stardom. He left because of some of these other reasons plus the opportunity to go home. I mean, the same is true of Eddie Jones. He turned down Chicago to go Home...

[Plainview1981]

Vince Carter could and can play SF...I'm sure they could

have fixed that issue. I know there is tax issues,but i'm

not buying that. Hill was a superstar, but he wasn't the

show stealer Vince was. Grant Hill done his thing in a

more modest way and Vince was the high leaper that crowds

came to see. If I remember correctly, the Magic didn't

exactally tear it up with both of them in the lineup the

few games that they were.

[Diesel]

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Vince Carter could and can play SF...I'm sure they could

have fixed that issue.

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Hello, I never said that Vince Couldn't nor did I say that Tmac had a problem with Vince.... In fact, I said the opposite. I said since Tmac was going to Orlando to play with either Hill or Duncan that sharing the spotlight had very little to do with why he left! Can you read?

I think that the answer lies with Butch Carter/Taxes/Max Contract and the opportunity to go Home.

As far as Vince Carter vs. Grant Hill, that's another subjected to be debated elsewhere... However the subject here is why did he leave... Of all the reasons that I have mention, I have not said Vince.

[Traceman]

Nothing wrong with it but that certainly played a role in his decision to leave Toronto.

Toronto offered T Mac the max to stay and he chose to leave anyway. I think it was pretty obvious that Vince was considered THE MAN on that team. Even though I think T Mac was already a better all around player than Vince when he left Toronto, Vince was already the established star and he got all the accolades. T Mac would have eventually gotten accolades in Toronto but he would have always been Robin to Vince's Batman.

Grant Hill had been around longer but he was NOT a bigger star than Vince was when T Mac decided to go to ORL. NOBODY was a bigger star than Vince at that time. He was the league's biggest attraction and the All Star games leading vote getter by a mile.

With regard to Butch Carter, he was a character but he wasn't as bad a coach as many tried to make him out to be. He is the last coach Toronto had who held Vince accountable for playing soft and he would not hesitate to criticize Vince when he thought it was necessary. Vince needed that tough love and he has gooten it since Butch left.

[Diesel]

Tmac went to Orlando knowing that he would be playing beside Grant Hill.

Sure Grant Hill is hurt now... But then, Grant Hill was the Sprite guy.

Grant Hill had just come off of a season where he averaged 25.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 5.2 apg.

Grant was a many time allstar.

No. Grant wasn't a slam dunk champion... He didn't have to be. Grant Hill was called "Heir Apparent" or did you guys forget that? The eastern conference was expected to be placed on Grant Hill's shoulders and he was supposed to lead Orlando with Tim Duncan against Shaq/Kobe....It was supposed to be the new Lakers/Celtics... But Grant got hurt.

My point is that there is NO WAY that Tmac was going to Orlando believing that he was "the MAN" In fact, he was their third option behind Hill and Duncan...

[Traceman]

Yes, Hill was a superstar in his own right but not of the magnitude of Carter. Do you not remember the buzz going around Carter at that time? Shaq, Karl Malone and many other great players were raving about Carter. Malone said he wouldn't pay to see an NBA game but he would pay to watch Vince Carter play. When a first ballot HOF player says that, you know the guy is THE MAN.

In addition, while Hill could and certainly did score, he was a lot more likely to share the wealth than Carter. Hill was not only a scorer, he was a playmaker. Many envisioned him running the point in Orlando while T Mac (or Duncan) became the primary scorer.

I think T Mac wanting to go home to ORL was the primary factor in his decision but I think getting out of Carter's shadow certainly played a role.

[caseloads]

wow. i thought I was the only one who remembered kobe's nickname was showboat during his first few years in the league... i remember shaq being on tv saying/singing "showboat's the world, he's our future" sarcastically to the "we are the world" tune

[caseloads]

weezy, shaq and kobe came to the lakes the same year

[Plainview1981]

You seem to be missing the point. It doesn;t matter what

Hill done. He was NOT a Show the way Vince was at the time.

He didn't bring the highlights and attention the way Vince

did. Tmac knew what kind difference of personality the two

players had. I think had he been healthy Hill would have

become the more of a playmaker on that than scorer and Tmac

still would have become in #1 player on that team.

[Diesel]

Again...

Hill was coming off a 25.5, 6.2, 5.2 season..... Vince Carter may have been exciting... But Hill was awesome. Hill was the kind of Guy that you build a championship with. Everybody has always questioned Carter's HEART...

SO. Tmac was leaving Vince who was a young lion to play with Hill who was an established allstar, MVP type... There is NO way Tmac would have expected to be the man in that situation.