And The Glove's Goin' Back

[GloveGuy]

Yep...as many of you should know, Gary Payton is making his return to Seattle where he'll face his old teammate/coach, Nate McMillan, and the Supersonics. If the Sonics fans have enough dignity and sense in themselves, they'll give GP the warm welcome he deserves. He was the man in Seattle for most of his career, whether it was by himself or with Shawn Kemp. After Ken Griffey left the Mariners, he was Seattle's most popular athlete.

It was tough for him in his final years, coming to training camp with a whole other crew of guys to lead. The organization was unfaithful to him in his later years, not giving him his contract extension and all. Hopefully he'll have a solid game, giving the fans a treat. Damn I wish they could play it on ESPN or something.

[j.23]

im sure the sonics fans are going to give him a warm welcome.. they love GP and as you know many of them were against the trade.. look for GP to bust out a good game just like sprewell did when he played the knicks a couple weeks ago (minus the verbal tirade)..

that's a great picture

[Mazzocchi]

lol Kobe looks so dopey with that Fro lol (laughs ass off)

[Full Surface]

He's already said that he'll sign with the Sonics in his final season

[GloveGuy]

Refuze do you know where I can find a link for that quote?

[Mazzocchi]

He's already said that he'll sign with the Sonics in his final season

Yeah but like most athletes with a huge Ego and no talent *COUGH!*Karl Malone*COUGH!* (not saying Karl has no talent, he does lol) He's on the Lakers, for 1 reason, and whats that reason? Yeah, He WANTS A CHAMPIONSHIP FRICKIN RING! thats all annyone cares about so in conclusion, Gary Payton, Huge Ego, NO TALENT cares only about a Championship Ring, And so does Karl Malone, he's got talent but all he cares about is a championship ring,you think GP o the Mailman would be on the Lakers if they were a powerhouse team? no, and about the lakers, Just liek the Yankees, THEY SUCK! THEYRE THE YANKEES OF THE NBA!this is what is killing the NBA teams like the Lakers and the Yankees, but just like the Yankees, the Lakers are gonna fall! theyre gonna fall! not to theyre Arch rivals, (the Kings) but by an un-suspecting team, The Mavericks (ok not the mavericks maybe but they'd kill the lakers in a championship game) But in conclusion, Yankees Suck, Lakers Suck, Lakers are gonna fall in championship and Mailman and Glove arent gonna get theyre beloved Championship rings!
Lets Go Mavericks!

[Stonecold]

He's already said that he'll sign with the Sonics in his final season

But in conclusion, Yankees Suck, Lakers Suck, Lakers are gonna fall in championship and Mailman and Glove arent gonna get theyre beloved Championship rings!
Lets Go Mavericks!

I think you are the one who suck. Don't act like a bunch of damn kid around here.

[GloveGuy]

That's funny since I'm from Boston and the Lakers are my favorite team.

You're wrong...

Gary Payton is a Top 50 All-Time, future Hall of Famer. To say that he has no talent is just moronic and you're just acting like an ignoramus(Ben would be proud I learned some new vocabulary from him )

Who cares if they only want a ring. Today, most players are just looking for the money. You can either hate what they did because you hate to see the Lakers get more stacked, or you can look at what the two vets did as what it is, a class act on their parts.

[PoliceLineDoNotCross]

He's already said that he'll sign with the Sonics in his final season

But in conclusion, Yankees Suck, Lakers Suck, Lakers are gonna fall in championship and Mailman and Glove arent gonna get theyre beloved Championship rings!
Lets Go Mavericks!

I think you are the one who suck. Don't act like a bunch of dame kid around here.

calm down guys. and it was a really mature thing to do by retaliating.

i sure hope GP plays well and if the lakers get their team chemistry just right, malone and GP might just get what they're looking for

[Mazzocchi]

yeah just trying to get a point accross

[Old School Fool]

How Can you SUCK AND FALL?!

[GloveGuy]

yeah just trying to get a point accross

Bullshit! It was a false point, and all you did was knock GP and Malone using moronic and ignorant opinions, all because you hate the Lakers.

[PoliceLineDoNotCross]

i have to admit, i dont like the lakers, but i dont hate them. i just prefer the underdogs. GP and malone showed that they truly cared for the team by taking reduced salaries in order to help the lakers and achieve personal goals.

i want GP to get a ring, but theres always my love for the underdog teams.

go knicks! i sure wish patrick ewing and his knicks had won a title when he was around.

[Mazzocchi]

eyah i do gotta hand it to Glove and Malone with the reduced salary thing though

[Vins15]

YES I get to see Payton playing the Lakers tomorrow in Vancouver.. i hope Payton could put on a show for the Sonic fans

[Nick]

Mazzocchi, what's wrong with wanting a ring?

[GloveGuy]

Mazzocchi, what's wrong with wanting a ring?

Yeah it's better than wanting millions of dollars...

[Andrew]

i have to admit, i dont like the lakers, but i dont hate them. i just prefer the underdogs.

That pretty much sums up my feelings towards the Lakers too. I can empathise with Laker fans as I too know how it feels to see so much hating. I do not hate the Lakers, however:

I am a Bulls fan, so I don't want to see them beat 72-10. I make no apologies for that.
I'm an Eastern Conference fan, so I'll always cheer against the Lakers in the NBA Finals (whether the Bulls are there or not).
I'll also cheer for the underdog (though I won't bandwagon).

I admit, I don't care for a lot of comments Shaq makes. Like Charles Barkley before him, some of the things he says just aren't funny. But I do like "Goofy Shaq" and his game speaks for itself. His response to one of Rodman's comments ("Me responding to Rodman is like talking to a Bugs Bunny doll. I don't talk to Looney Tunes.") is one of my favourite NBA quotes. I don't outright hate him, I don't outright like him.

I've never been a fan of Karl Malone, but I acknowledge his greatness. If he's not the best power forward we've ever seen, he's top three. I would consider Larry Bird the best forward we've ever seen, but the Mailman is also top five (or at least top ten) among all forwards.

I don't think Kobe is as close to MJ (or Bird, or Magic, or Wilt, or Russell or any of the greats) as some people suggest. I think he has to win without Shaq and prove that he is "The Man" on his own team before he can truly be considered as great as those legendary players. But I certainly don't hate him.

I have absolutely no dislike for the Glove. Definitely one of the best point guards of the 90s, and I'd even go so far as to suggest top ten all-time. One of my favourite players not named Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen.

I have to give both Payton and Malone a lot of credit for accepting the paycut. Bring me a knife and fork so I can eat my words stating the Lakers would never be able to bring both of them to town. I really didn't expect that they'd sacrifice so much money or that the Lakers would be doing as well as they are. I tip my metaphorical hat to GP and the Mailman for putting team goals ahead of money and personal stats.

Speaking of the Glove (since that's what the thread's actually about), I thought it was shameful the way the Sonics sent him packing. Granted, chances were he wouldn't be back after the season ended, but I thought he was entitled to a little more dignity. I thought it wasn't very classy to trade him right before what would have been his 1000th game as a Sonic. After his tenure with the Lakers, it would be nice to see him return to Seattle for a farewell tour (as Scottie Pippen has done in Chicago).

I'm "watching" the LiveScores at NBA.com. Sonics currently lead 23-22 late in the first half.

[Andrew]

The Sonics prevailed 111-109, spoiling the Glove's return to Seattle. I see that Kobe missed a shot at the buzzer, but he still had 32 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Payton had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. I read that he did get a warm reception.

I see Shaq only played 14 minutes, scoring 6 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Can anyone who saw the game shed some light on what happened there?

Nice stat lines for Allen, Barry and Lewis for the Sonics. Good win for Seattle, tough loss for LA, but not the end of the world. They still have the best record in the league and the most impressive starting five.

EDIT: I now see that Shaq suffered a calf injury.

[DipSetVC]

Shaq left the game with an injury.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1699108

[Andrew]

Thanks. As soon as I posted, I saw the article.

[DipSetVC]

Thanks. As soon as I posted, I saw the article.

It's all good man, just go back to the "Penny Hardaway" thread and let me know how you feel about what I wrote about the Raptors...LOL I thought we had a nice discussion going there.

[Andrew]

Sure thing. I got distracted "watching" the Lakers/Sonics game.

[Vins15]

awsome win for Seattle...i feel that Ray Allen has really come together since the injury..he's doing pretty well...and putting on some nice numbers too

[Amphatoast]

hehe well, unless the Lakers go 52-1 for the rest of the season, they can't beat the Bull's record.