Zen Master officially back with Lakers

Good idea Jonex, I'm here.

of course im here.
get a tally going quick, im curious to see myself, so i can internat-bash any bandwagoning little bitch!

Like Sit you mean?

(sorry)

yo! come on now Jackal.

Sits cool, he'll make himself present and accounted for very soon.

Yep, give him a Yao Lakers jersey and away he goes.

Argh...looks like Tex Winter and Scottie Pippen were offered positions in joining Jackson on the Lakers...if they sign up i'll be forced to be a Lakers fan <shudder>.

No you won't, who'd be forcing you?

Edit:

Since we're keeping to Shaq quotes and since some people think he's too much of a dickhead for the comments he makes although they seem to be in good jest but to each his own, is he a dickhead for this too?

On Kobe Bryant: ``The best quality about Kobe Bryant? You want me to be honest? I don't know. I'll tell you why. I open my arms to everybody, but he never stepped forward for the embrace, so I never really got to know him. I don't know anything about him, and it's kind of sad.'

You decide which is the dickhead now given Shaq even managed to call up ARTEST after he was handed the season long suspension. Dickhead, yeah, huge one.

Oh, this is an interesting article:

Named one of Esquire's ''most extraordinary men alive,'' Shaq said of his free-throw shooting: ``Me having a beautiful wife and great family and friends . . . all the money I've got . . . a Ferrari . . . the rings I got, the two mansions on the water, a master's in criminal justice, I'm a cop, plus I look good. So me shooting 40 percent at the foul line is just God's way of saying nobody's perfect. If I shoot 90 percent from the line, it just wouldn't be right. I'd shoot zero percent before I'd shoot underhanded.''

On the ''moment that changed my life'': ``[It] came when I was 13, and this guy ratted me out for throwing something in class. I caught up with him after school and beat him up. When the kid went down, I kicked him. Then he started having an epileptic seizure. A man ran out of a car and put something in the kid's mouth and got him to stop. If that guy hadn't come, the kid might have died and I'd have been done, done, done. I was a different person from that day on.''

He plans to go to an ''old folks home'' when he gets old ``but not just any old folks home -- I want the whole top floor, TV on one side, video games on the other . . . 30,000 square feet should do the trick.''

Rock on Shaq, rock on!

Edit again:

About the whole Phil Jackson / Kobe Bryant thing, I think this man described it best:

"I think Kobe wants to be successful," Pippen said. "I think the things that happened to him over the last year and a half have really humbled him a lot. It's very difficult for him to drop his ego and say that 'Yes, I really want Phil back', because he's a very egotistical kind of person. But at the end of the day, he wants to get back to the top. He wants to get back to the pinnacle of the game. No one really knows who you are during the regular season.

I expect Kobe to tear it up this season. Not only will he do so on a personal level, LA will do better. Much better. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but it's better than not being so. Hell, Kobe's ego becoming smaller is something I've dreamed of for a long time as a Laker fan. He's great, he should just calm that attitude down a bit. Well, my fingers are crossed.

Last edited by Jackal on Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

I expect Kobe to tear it up this season. Not only will he do so on a personal level, LA will do better. Much better. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but it's better than not being so. Hell, Kobe's ego becoming smaller is something I've dreamed of for a long time as a Laker fan. He's great, he should just calm that attitude down a bit. Well, my fingers are crossed.

We'll see. It's easy to get get a swollen ego when the team is doing well, so it's hard to stay humble, but tear it up in points and in the wins column. It's hard to maintain that balance since winning/stats go hand in hand with cockiness. If Kobe's able to get things going well next season, then I would admire him more.

It will be interesting to see if Kobe welcomes PJ off the plane like he did with Odom.

Argh...looks like Tex Winter and Scottie Pippen were offered positions in joining Jackson on the Lakers...if they sign up i'll be forced to be a Lakers fan <shudder>.

yeh that would be pretty weird if that were to happen, seing pippen on the lakers bench. this assistant coach thing kinda comes as a surprise since he was talking about being interested in a career in broadcasting games. he was doing the bulls playoffs games, as well nba matchup and other guest spots... and was pretty good at doing it

i'd even be more surprised if the bulls organization let pippen go. he's an icon of the team and GM paxson was the one who brought pippen back in the 1st place

I'm a cop, plus I look good.

hmm... awell, I thinK Barkley quotes are still funnier then Shaq quotes. Plus you can understand what Barkley's saying.

Ok here we go.......... Around the end of December it became clear that Rudy T was suffering severe burnout. Feelers were put out to the agent of Phillip (Tod Musberger) around this time. Phillip was very bored and had decided around middle of Dec. that he wanted to coach in the NBA again. He and Jeanie discussed this. When Rudy T quit things really started to heat up between the Lakers and Phillip. He thought about taking over the Lakers soon after Rudy quit but decided against it out of loyalty to Hamblen.

Despite what Phil says publicly he feels this Lakers team has a chance to be the New Bulls 91-93 version. They have a blueprint all planned and ready to go and have roster moves already in mind. Now back to the story..... Phillp calls Kobe to see where his mind is. Kobe tells him that the media is killing him and "People run there mouth too much" This is when Rick Bucher said that Phillip and Kobe would meet. Kobe relayed the message to Phillip and was like "see how is this stuff getting out who is talking?" From that point on the Lakers completely shut off the media. Anybody caught leaking stuff would be punished.

The deal has been done since late April. Both sides agreed officially on a contract and both sides were happy. Phillip and Mitchell meet and agree to what Kind of team they wanna build around Kobe with Long athletes who can defend. Everything is smooth sailing and the Lakers brass meet after Phillip and Kobe talk again. They discuss the soap opera aspect and people runnin there mouths causing static in the media ect. Neither Kobe, Phillip or anybody in the Laker org. want that stuff to happen again. This is where it gets funny. Emplay, daocho, Peter V. were right when they said a source from SFX was saying Phillip won't be coach and Kobe is trying to stop it.

I would have fell for it also if the source I had wasn't actually in the room when Phillip and Buss agreed to a deal. This story was falsely planted to catch a mole or find out who has a Big Mouth. It worked. You know how you tell one person a rumor and by the time it gets around its a whole different story? Thats what happened. Now there you have it.

Why don't I believe that guy.

Actually this guy is very credible.. so 1 of his 2 rumors has been confirmed, the other is his Bender rumor.

Anyway, the thread where i got this from.
http://forums.lakersground.net/viewtopic.php?t=1896

Lol he's had 1 rumour confirmed?

For this year... I dont know about recent years but the people at LG seem to take his word like god's word.

Phillip and Mitchell meet and agree to what Kind of team they wanna build around Kobe with Long athletes who can defend.

If this is right, then Jarrett Jack sounds alot more likely now... alot of people say he's the best defensive PG in the draft. Although it does help Diogu's case aswell.

The rumour he started was about Phil coming back. Well, that was a tough one.

LakersGround is one of the biggest collections of retards evah.

No you won't, who'd be forcing you?

Edit:

Since we're keeping to Shaq quotes and since some people think he's too much of a dickhead for the comments he makes although they seem to be in good jest but to each his own, is he a dickhead for this too?

On Kobe Bryant: ``The best quality about Kobe Bryant? You want me to be honest? I don't know. I'll tell you why. I open my arms to everybody, but he never stepped forward for the embrace, so I never really got to know him. I don't know anything about him, and it's kind of sad.'

You decide which is the dickhead now given Shaq even managed to call up ARTEST after he was handed the season long suspension. Dickhead, yeah, huge one.

Oh, this is an interesting article:

Named one of Esquire's ''most extraordinary men alive,'' Shaq said of his free-throw shooting: ``Me having a beautiful wife and great family and friends . . . all the money I've got . . . a Ferrari . . . the rings I got, the two mansions on the water, a master's in criminal justice, I'm a cop, plus I look good. So me shooting 40 percent at the foul line is just God's way of saying nobody's perfect. If I shoot 90 percent from the line, it just wouldn't be right. I'd shoot zero percent before I'd shoot underhanded.''

On the ''moment that changed my life'': ``[It] came when I was 13, and this guy ratted me out for throwing something in class. I caught up with him after school and beat him up. When the kid went down, I kicked him. Then he started having an epileptic seizure. A man ran out of a car and put something in the kid's mouth and got him to stop. If that guy hadn't come, the kid might have died and I'd have been done, done, done. I was a different person from that day on.''

He plans to go to an ''old folks home'' when he gets old ``but not just any old folks home -- I want the whole top floor, TV on one side, video games on the other . . . 30,000 square feet should do the trick.''

Rock on Shaq, rock on!

Edit again:

About the whole Phil Jackson / Kobe Bryant thing, I think this man described it best:

"I think Kobe wants to be successful," Pippen said. "I think the things that happened to him over the last year and a half have really humbled him a lot. It's very difficult for him to drop his ego and say that 'Yes, I really want Phil back', because he's a very egotistical kind of person. But at the end of the day, he wants to get back to the top. He wants to get back to the pinnacle of the game. No one really knows who you are during the regular season.

I expect Kobe to tear it up this season. Not only will he do so on a personal level, LA will do better. Much better. Maybe I'm being optimistic, but it's better than not being so. Hell, Kobe's ego becoming smaller is something I've dreamed of for a long time as a Laker fan. He's great, he should just calm that attitude down a bit. Well, my fingers are crossed.

and jackal, after all that, he continues to put down the people that helped him be a successful bball player.

Yes, he even put down Penny.

Looks good?? wtf, if u consider Shrek good looking, no worries

Im waiting for Wade t oshoot a few threes, then it will be Wades turn to get ripped on.


anyway, i do hope your last paragraph comes true though, it will be good to see.

The Lakers, to me, are a poor-man's Chicago Bulls -- the one that Phil coached.

We have Kobe who, though some of us refuse to admit, is the closest thing to Michael Jordan in terms of style and swagger that we've ever seen. I expect this to be the year -- the year that Kobe finally gets it. Many people don't know this but before Jordan won his first title, he was very similar to the Kobe that we've watched these past years -- trying to do everything. He shot, he dished, he rebounded. He did too much. When Phil came in, he stated that for the Bulls to win the championship, Michael would have to put more faith in his teammates. That's what Kobe needs to do and I have a feeling that that's what he will do.

Next we have Lamar Odom who immensely resembles Scottie Pippen except less mobile and more versatile. But his playing style is extremely Pippen-like.

Chris Mihm = Luc Longley.

Now Chucky Atkins is very much like John Paxson and could really thrive in the triangle offense. The thing is though, I expect the Lakers to pick up a point guard with the tenth pick -- a purer point guard. We'll see though.

What's missing is the tenacious rebounder, the Horace Grant/Dennis Rodman. Could we revitalize Brian Grant to his days in Portland? Or will the Lakers instead pick someone like Sean May or Charlie Villanueva?

I'd prefer to see Charlie Villanueva in LA. Him and Lamar as the forwards should be a good combe. As long as Mihm can get going like hes shown he can then it will be good. The Lakers have the potential to be a contender down the track.. note the down the track. Right now, they aint ready and it will be afew years until they get back to the top.

I agree with u Gloveguy. Brian Grant will be important because Jax has singled him out as a guy who has to work on his defence and rebounding. Chucky is a good shooter who really played out of his own role last season.

Lamar will get the ball a lot more and Caron will get a chance to contribute.

The main piece is really Kobe. It all comes down to him. I think that Kobe will put faith in his teammates... why? Becuase Phil has come in and will make him the focal point, like his idol, and this I think should make him feel valuable, and will make him notcie that in order to get this, he needs to contribute.

Logically, it sounds too easy... but its what could happen for the team.

The Lakers, to me, are a poor-man's Chicago Bulls -- the one that Phil coached.

We have Kobe who, though some of us refuse to admit, is the closest thing to Michael Jordan in terms of style and swagger that we've ever seen. I expect this to be the year -- the year that Kobe finally gets it. Many people don't know this but before Jordan won his first title, he was very similar to the Kobe that we've watched these past years -- trying to do everything. He shot, he dished, he rebounded. He did too much. When Phil came in, he stated that for the Bulls to win the championship, Michael would have to put more faith in his teammates. That's what Kobe needs to do and I have a feeling that that's what he will do.

Next we have Lamar Odom who immensely resembles Scottie Pippen except less mobile and more versatile. But his playing style is extremely Pippen-like.

Chris Mihm = Luc Longley.

Now Chucky Atkins is very much like John Paxson and could really thrive in the triangle offense. The thing is though, I expect the Lakers to pick up a point guard with the tenth pick -- a purer point guard. We'll see though.

What's missing is the tenacious rebounder, the Horace Grant/Dennis Rodman. Could we revitalize Brian Grant to his days in Portland? Or will the Lakers instead pick someone like Sean May or Charlie Villanueva?

a very poor man's chicago bulls team at that.

there are much more differences then there are similarities

first and foremost the MJ and his 'jordanairs" took about 8yrs to get their 1st title. they had to overcome a great pistons team that just owned them for consectutive years, almost like their rite of passage. they were on the cusp of winning the title when phil jackson was hired as coach. and the bulls had that 'doberman' trapping defense, amongst the tops in the league

these current lakers are rebuidling from the shaq era. players are still figuring out their roles lol. they aren't even a lock to make next year's postseason

odom only resembles pippen on offense. pippen's greatest contribution to the team was his defense- creating havoc by either playing a one man zone or guarding the teams best scorer. odom can only dream of being half the defender that pip was.

atkins and paxson? other then 3's that's about it.

i'll give you mihm and longley hehe

brian grant taking a trip in the time machine? don't count on it

glove- i respect your opinions but i think you're way off on this one

When I said poor-man's, I meant poor-man's. I realize that a Bryant/Odom is extremely inferior to that of Jordan/Pippen, but if we're looking for a modern day resemblance, they could turn into one.

I'm not expecting them to win any title, but the addition of Jackson could get them back in the playoffs. After all, they are an extremely poor-man's. The Lakers were on the cusp of the playoff hunt last year before injries and coaching changes.

Also, Pippen and Grant had only been there for three years before they won the title; Cartwright for two. The core of the team wasn't exactly established right when Jordan was drafted.

I'm aware of the defensive differences between Pippen and Odom and I'm not expecting the Lakers to become a defensive powerhouse like the Bulls were.

The Paxson-Atkins comparison is truly valid in that they're strengths were/can be utilized in the triangle offense. They're not pure point guards; they're point guards who's strengths lie in they ability to knock down the open jumper.

Brian Grant become 1/10th of Horace Grant isn't expected and I apologize for implying that he could be even more.

But I do expect Kobe to have a season much like Jordan's in 1990 -- the year that he got it. Now that Kobe's the Man, I think that Phil realizes that the Lakers' success is contingent on Kobe's ability to trust in his teammates. I have no doubt that Kobe Bryant wants more than anything to win -- he just doesn't know how. Phil will teach him the ways of making one's teammates better.

That is, if Kobe finally listens to Phil. I don't want to draw up any hype with the poor man's Chicago Bulls of the 90's, but I can give you the fact that there are some similarities in your comparisons.

I'm still surprised at that move by Phil. I don't know what he gains by doing this, but I do expect the Lakers to be better next year... but I doubt they'll make it far in the playoffs - if they make it at all.

he has millions of reasons to be coming back. now imo, aside from the money, there is 1 big reason to come back. if you ask me he needs to prove he can build a team(btw the lakers are not down and out so there is not much building to be had). he needs to prove this so when people call him the best coach of all time you dont hear laughter in the background. all great coaches have great players, otherwise they would not win, but i think he needs to actually go out and make some moves that bring the lakers to the top. until then i am still saying good old Red is the top coach.

We need to start counting Lakers fans now. Because when the season start we may get over-populated again

you can chalk my name up for the anti laker fan list.