The Los Angeles Zoo
I've been thinking about what championship era teams that I could compare the Lakers teams to...
Although I don't like to make comparsions between teams in different sports because each organization is different. I have to say that the Laker teams over the last three seasons have reminded me of the "Bronx Zoo" New York Yankees' teams of the late 70s....A team of big ticket items that can't get along together as they travel through a season with a dust storm of drama swirling around it all times.
So, when looking through the crime scene tape surrounding the Staples Center in Los Angeles this weekend, you have to wonder what clues GM Mitch Kupchak and Dr. Jerry Buss are looking toward when deciphering their reconstruction of the Lakers for the next five years...Because they look absolutely clueless with the directions the team is taking.
After reading Tom Friend's article in ESPN The Mag tonight, it's pretty clear that Bryant is the straw that is stirring the Lakers' drinks...His statement that he didn't like Phil Jackson "as a person" should make an observer raise an eyebrow considering that Jackson has nine championships in fourteen years by meshing the talents of stars and role players together to act as a group driving toward one goal...the championship.
However, when you look at the late seventies, didn't we see the same drama unfold in the Bronx in the 70's?...Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin feuding along with the meddling of a front office presence George Steinbrenner , who eventually made some bizarre moves by giving away the future to surround his bratty talent of his superstar in Reggie Jackson. His moves at the beginning of the 80s affected the direction of the franchise for a decade and a half.
So when considering Kobe's mood swings, his dissatisfaction of the proven team-oriented offense, his bewildering selfish performances throughout the Finals and the end of the regular season, along with his aloof antics that he displayed by showing up late to practices and Jackson's sacred team building sessions, the move to build the team around Kobe is disappointing for a team purist.
After all, Kobe is very Reggie like, and finally people are going to see that he is probably one of the most selfish players that have come through all of the professional sports in quite some time. (Mark my words...Watch) The fact that a team that is seeped in tradition is bowing beyond any means necessary to keep Kobe in a Laker uniform is baffling.
Why are the Lakers banking on a player who not only may be playing with a low-jack on his ankles in two to three years, but also banking on a player who threw the strychnine in the team's chemistry potion that was brewed by a coach who is known for his expertise of creating team cohesiveness?
Well, when you think of the some of the subtle antics that Shaq has pulled over the last twelve months...the antics that took place in the short blurbs of page 6 behind the headlines as much as Bryant's trial, you an understand why Kupchak and Buss are going to ship O'Neal is going to be shipped to a deserted island.
After all, it was Shaq, who nailed Kupchak to the wall this year with his comment that "he (Shaq) is a better GM than Kupchak" and his insinuations that Kupchak did nothing to assemble the Laker team over the past two to three years.
It was also Shaq, who not only made a perennial entrance into camp overweight, but also made the asanine choice of taking on an operation as soon as training camp opened this past year so he could have his foot operated on during "company time" and not during the summer off-season, which would have allowed him to be ready for the upcoming season.
That incident alone probably burned Buss's pants more than all of the dropped ashes that have fallen in his lap over the last ten years. So, when Shaq ends up back home in Orlando or another franchise that will be surrounding him with inferior talent, he should look back at how he dealt with some of his choices on the Lakers "company time".
Yet, when analyzing the Lakers' dismantling, the fall-guy that shouldn't be Los Angeles is Phil Jackson. To think that the Lakers are actually thinking of replacing Phil with Rudy Tomjanovich is a sham...You're replacing the proven Zen practices of a championship coach with a laid-back style of a coach, who is coming off major health problems and not used to dealing with the media barracudas in the LA media...c'mon.
As I stated in a previous post, my only hope is that Jackson ends up hanging out whijle giving motivational speeches over the next few years so he can land himself in the right position....Golden State (My personal hope), New York (Isiah and Phil...not likely), a Vegas franchise headed by MJ (Possible, but still far-off, that is probably more of a dream on my part dream).
However, I am glad of one thing for Phil while viewing this mess...Phil Jackson is leaving the "Zoo".
Fans of Bryant who have made the absurd comparsions to MJ are now going to get their chance to see how strong of a player Bryant is...He's going to be playing for the first time without one of the most dominating centers of all-time. The system will be designed solely for him, and the pressure is on. He got what he wanted the world will evolve around him....Now all you Kobe sweatees better hope that he can get someone to follow his rotation...
Believe me it's going to be awkward...As awkward as Kobe's combination of a Yankee jersey and a Dodger hat at Dodger Stadium tonight for the Yankees/Dodgers game on ESPN's game of the week...For some reason, he just doesn't seem to get it....
Let's see what Kobe can do now,
BD
Although I don't like to make comparsions between teams in different sports because each organization is different. I have to say that the Laker teams over the last three seasons have reminded me of the "Bronx Zoo" New York Yankees' teams of the late 70s....A team of big ticket items that can't get along together as they travel through a season with a dust storm of drama swirling around it all times.
So, when looking through the crime scene tape surrounding the Staples Center in Los Angeles this weekend, you have to wonder what clues GM Mitch Kupchak and Dr. Jerry Buss are looking toward when deciphering their reconstruction of the Lakers for the next five years...Because they look absolutely clueless with the directions the team is taking.
After reading Tom Friend's article in ESPN The Mag tonight, it's pretty clear that Bryant is the straw that is stirring the Lakers' drinks...His statement that he didn't like Phil Jackson "as a person" should make an observer raise an eyebrow considering that Jackson has nine championships in fourteen years by meshing the talents of stars and role players together to act as a group driving toward one goal...the championship.
However, when you look at the late seventies, didn't we see the same drama unfold in the Bronx in the 70's?...Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin feuding along with the meddling of a front office presence George Steinbrenner , who eventually made some bizarre moves by giving away the future to surround his bratty talent of his superstar in Reggie Jackson. His moves at the beginning of the 80s affected the direction of the franchise for a decade and a half.
So when considering Kobe's mood swings, his dissatisfaction of the proven team-oriented offense, his bewildering selfish performances throughout the Finals and the end of the regular season, along with his aloof antics that he displayed by showing up late to practices and Jackson's sacred team building sessions, the move to build the team around Kobe is disappointing for a team purist.
After all, Kobe is very Reggie like, and finally people are going to see that he is probably one of the most selfish players that have come through all of the professional sports in quite some time. (Mark my words...Watch) The fact that a team that is seeped in tradition is bowing beyond any means necessary to keep Kobe in a Laker uniform is baffling.
Why are the Lakers banking on a player who not only may be playing with a low-jack on his ankles in two to three years, but also banking on a player who threw the strychnine in the team's chemistry potion that was brewed by a coach who is known for his expertise of creating team cohesiveness?
Well, when you think of the some of the subtle antics that Shaq has pulled over the last twelve months...the antics that took place in the short blurbs of page 6 behind the headlines as much as Bryant's trial, you an understand why Kupchak and Buss are going to ship O'Neal is going to be shipped to a deserted island.
After all, it was Shaq, who nailed Kupchak to the wall this year with his comment that "he (Shaq) is a better GM than Kupchak" and his insinuations that Kupchak did nothing to assemble the Laker team over the past two to three years.
It was also Shaq, who not only made a perennial entrance into camp overweight, but also made the asanine choice of taking on an operation as soon as training camp opened this past year so he could have his foot operated on during "company time" and not during the summer off-season, which would have allowed him to be ready for the upcoming season.
That incident alone probably burned Buss's pants more than all of the dropped ashes that have fallen in his lap over the last ten years. So, when Shaq ends up back home in Orlando or another franchise that will be surrounding him with inferior talent, he should look back at how he dealt with some of his choices on the Lakers "company time".
Yet, when analyzing the Lakers' dismantling, the fall-guy that shouldn't be Los Angeles is Phil Jackson. To think that the Lakers are actually thinking of replacing Phil with Rudy Tomjanovich is a sham...You're replacing the proven Zen practices of a championship coach with a laid-back style of a coach, who is coming off major health problems and not used to dealing with the media barracudas in the LA media...c'mon.
As I stated in a previous post, my only hope is that Jackson ends up hanging out whijle giving motivational speeches over the next few years so he can land himself in the right position....Golden State (My personal hope), New York (Isiah and Phil...not likely), a Vegas franchise headed by MJ (Possible, but still far-off, that is probably more of a dream on my part dream).
However, I am glad of one thing for Phil while viewing this mess...Phil Jackson is leaving the "Zoo".
Fans of Bryant who have made the absurd comparsions to MJ are now going to get their chance to see how strong of a player Bryant is...He's going to be playing for the first time without one of the most dominating centers of all-time. The system will be designed solely for him, and the pressure is on. He got what he wanted the world will evolve around him....Now all you Kobe sweatees better hope that he can get someone to follow his rotation...
Believe me it's going to be awkward...As awkward as Kobe's combination of a Yankee jersey and a Dodger hat at Dodger Stadium tonight for the Yankees/Dodgers game on ESPN's game of the week...For some reason, he just doesn't seem to get it....
Let's see what Kobe can do now,
BD
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