Report: Phil's Out, Kobe Opts

by **GloveGuy** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:33 am

By mutual agreement, Phil Jackson will not return as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, ESPN has learned.

Jackson has an opportunity to remain with the organization in another position and will decide in the upcoming days. The Lakers are expected to make an official announcement sometime tonight.

Also Friday, Kobe Bryant opted out of his contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent July 1.

by **Full Surface** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:45 am

The Laker Dynasty has fallen. :cry:

by **Steve04** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:57 am

This is all exciting. Bring on July 1rst!

by **Full Surface** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:24 pm

Wait.. now that Phil is gone and Shaq about to get traded, Kobe might just stay in LA.

by **Amphatoast** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 12:58 pm

staying in LA and lead them to the playoffs would do a lot of proving to others that he is good

by **Stevan** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 1:23 pm

WOW! The shiteth has hiteth thy fan!

Bloody Lakers, trying to stay in the lime light even after they lost the finals! :lol:

Looks like the big four next season might be Medvedenko, Walton, Rush, and George

I'm hopeful all the major pieces of the Lakers are gone. It's an interesting shake up for the NBA with so many stars rumoured to be on the move (y)

It would be interesting to see how the Lakers rebuild.

Bluesky · by **Andrew** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 3:16 pm

Will it really be worth keeping Kobe if everyone else leaves? At least Shaq would bring some talent in return, but there's not going to be much chemistry there, with no Phil Jackson to manage their egos.

by **Amphatoast** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:21 pm

Andrew wrote:Will it really be worth keeping Kobe if everyone else leaves? At least Shaq would bring some talent in return, but there's not going to be much chemistry there, with no Phil Jackson to manage their egos.

Gotta start somewhere...keeping Kobe gives the Lakers a franchise player to build around...unless you don't think he is franchise player material?

If Iverson is a franchise player, no reason Kobe can't be..Kobe will have to make adjustments, but all great players know how to make adjustments.

Bluesky · by **Andrew** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:41 pm

He can be a franchise player, though he needs a little more experience, patience and maturity in his game before he can be a successful one. It just seems that the Lakers are choosing to keep Kobe and let Shaq go when they could quite easily keep both.

Kobe without help isn't going to work out much better than T-Mac or Iverson or anyone else. Even the great franchise players through history have had their sidekicks and key role players. The depature of everyone except Kobe would leave the ranks awfully thin.

by **J@3** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:45 pm

Looks like the big four next season might be Medvedenko, Walton, Rush, and George

Oh dear god :shock:

Actually I'm not too bothered about this, I was kinda getting sick of the fact that in order to be a Lakers fan, you seemingly by law have to be a bandwagoner. Now that the Lakers have to re-build, not only does it make things all that more interesting, it will also prove who all the true fans are.

by **magius** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:51 pm

i think their are two mentalities here:

1. if you cant win big, lose big and draft high.

2. a. keep kobe and hope to god that a great free agent wants to come to la (not likely, since it is the end of the la dynasty now, and after the end of dyanstys their are generally long lay offs because stars dont want to follow in the footsteps or be compared to others-- see chicago, see boston. stars generally want to leave their own legacy), b. hope you get an incredible steal in the mid-late draft, because that most likely is where the lakers will be for 7 years with just kobe. c. hope to god if you are a lottery team that you luck out and get the #1 pick in a year where their is a consensus big man at #1.

i do not foresee any championship impact big man leaving their team via free agency in the near future, save shaq. I am doubtful that la can get anywhere close to equal value via trade.

i for one would go with option #1, but that is because i know you cant win with a guard, and if you could, that guard will need a lot more support than said guard has, and i dont see la getting that anytime soon (see 2a).

la is crazy not to have stood behind shaq. like i repeatedly say, i for one prefer 3 years of title contention to 7 years of mediocrity.

by **BMG** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:52 pm

in the words of the great Moses Malone,
'The ship be sinkin!'

by **MVP** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 5:22 pm

They will definitely keep either Shaq or Kobe...(LA managment is gonna try to keep both)...to rebuild....but it's not gonna happen. I think Phil Jackson will retire and won't try for that elusive 10th ring.

Malone is gonna try for his 1st ring one more time....not as Laker though. Where?...I don't know.

July 1st will definitely be interesting!

by **Stevan** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 5:47 pm

Shaqle O'Deal is pissed off that LA seemed to put Kobe first, Kobe tried to be a hero in the finals, and then there's the history between the two. All up that's a whole lot of reasons for Shaqle to get out. If I were Shaq I'd be outta there. He could go to any average team and make them a contender. Shaq for McGrady would be sweet. Orlando would get O'Neal, Grant Hill might be back, they still have the third pick and they still have Howard, Gooden, Mini-me, Garrity etc.

or how about Shaq going to the Clippers :lol:

I hope they're all not just doing things in the heat of the moment and then taking back what they said later. Hopefully this supposed split is the real deal. Some of you Laker fans could join us Bulls fans down here... it's really not that bad all the time (y)

We can talk about old times, and how our teams were "once dynasties"... and who would win, "96 Bulls or 2000 Lakers?". :lol:

by **magius** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 5:59 pm

boston is a once dynasty too

by **MVP** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:13 pm

It's official....Phil Jackson has stepped down as Lakers coach. Shaq looks to be on the trade block and LA managment is looking to re-sign Kobe at all costs. A new era for the Lakers.

by DB on Sat Jun 19, 2004 8:52 pm

i defenittly think kobe can handle leading a team.
Remember last season with his 40+ points streak? He didn't only score but he led his team to victories during that streak.

by **Jackal** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:08 pm

If Iverson is a franchise player, no reason Kobe can't be..Kobe will have to make adjustments, but all great players know how to make adjustments.

Yeah, we saw what happened to AI as franchise player, or any other guard for that matter. AI had Mutumbo (a big man) the year they got to the finals. Kobe can be a franchise player, he can try atleast, but as has been said...the team wouldnt be good or great, they would be mediocre. Especially in the West where every team has a decent big man. :roll:

Shaq to Orlando would make it all the more interesting. McGrady to LA along side Kobe? Ehehe...no. If Shaq + Kobe cant get along, Kobe + no other star will get along.

I defenittly think kobe can handle leading a team.
Remember last season with his 40+ points streak? He didn't only score but he led his team to victories during that streak.

We remember, but do you remember a season is 82 games long? :?:

by DB on Sat Jun 19, 2004 9:51 pm

Well you're absoluttely right, but what i tried to say is that kobe showed everybody signs that he could do it, just during that streak.
(begrijp je)

by . on Sat Jun 19, 2004 10:04 pm

It just seems that the Lakers are choosing to keep Kobe and let Shaq go when they could quite easily keep both.

No they cant keep both that easy, its pretty simple in my eyes, either Shaq goes or Kobe goes. If Shaq stays, Kobe will be gone, if Kobe stays then Shaq will be gone. Kobe clearly wants to be the leader on the team, if he cant be that on the Lakers team then he will somewhere else, its a big gamble for the Lakers...But I think it would be smarter to go after the star player who will be there for some years then someone who will retire after 2 or 3 years. Still a big gamble, but atleast you have a franchise player already instead of starting all over and looking for that player.

Also, Kenyon Martin is a Free Agent...if they manage to get him you would have the Shooting Guard franchise player, and the All-Star Big guy. And if the Lakers trade Shaq they will probably get something in return and maybe that good bigman that they are looking for, also if that wont work out...you can always wait for next year untill Yao Ming becomes a Free Agent and try to get him.

This is going to be 1 interesting summer

by **Stevan** on Sat Jun 19, 2004 11:48 pm

Remember last season with his 40+ points streak? He didn't only score but he led his team to victories during that streak.

I think the Lakers were sub .500 during that streak, or just barely over .500. Shaq was out for most of it right? It was something along those lines, while Shaq was out they struggled

by **Steve04** on Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:20 am

I think it's obvious with the current supporting cast Kobe cannot and will not succeed. Not only are they old and un-athletic, but they are built for the offense to run through Shaq. This team was built for the triangle and Shaq. Now they'll have to retool if they want to make it Kobes team. They need athleticism, shooting, and defense. Can I say that the Lakers problem the last few years has been their inconsistent defense first, and terrible shooting 2nd? Oops, I just did.

by **matmat8** on Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:20 am

I think Kobe knows he isn't going to win it alone :roll:

He knows he will need some big man (don't ask who) to support him he just doesn't want Shaq anymore and i can understand that...shaq is shaq...
I think Kobe can be great franchise player in the future. He's still young so his game will improve, he will be more mature, already has a lot of experience,...
Everybody saying he needs shaq...i think he needs a good supporting cast (just like all franchise player) but not necessarily shaq.

by **Steve04** on Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:24 am

Yeah..he obviously needs Shaq to win with the current Laker team though.

Funny though, if Shaq goes East the power balance will be balanced for the first time in awhile. I hope the Celtics some freaking way trade for him. Not happening though..Shaq on the Celtics would spell doom for everyone.

by **Jackal** on Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:34 am

Stevan wrote:I think the Lakers were sub .500 during that streak, or just barely over .500. Shaq was out for most of it right? It was something along those lines, while Shaq was out they struggled

No, he led them to a 8 and 4 record. I don't remember if Shaq was there or if he wasnt.

If he wasnt, people who say he that Kobe cannot win with the supporting cast LA has at the moment (or of last year) their arguments become useless...the supporting cast is built to play around Shaq? Yeah...

ATLANTA, Feb. 3 -- Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers today was named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played during the month of January. Bryant averaged 30.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.42 steals in leading the Lakers to an 8-4 record in January.

So if Shaq wasn't around and that's what he averaged, he can do it with the supporting cast. Kobe just chooses not to rely on the supporting cast and be the man all on his own. Sometimes, just sometimes you have to rely on the supporting cast to save your arse. Note, I said sometimes.

He can't do it with the supporting cast, pff...goober. :roll:

Report: Phil's Out, Kobe Opts

Report: Phil's Out, Kobe Opts

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