L.A. Lakers: Inexplicably Quiet
The good news is there is no news from the L.A. Lakers. - Kobe Bryant has not reopened his demands for a trade. On October 1, the Lakers leave for Honolulu for training camp. The assumption is that Kobe Bryant will be on that plane and will be part of the Lakers.
The bad news is that there is no news from the L.A. Lakers. - Kobe Bryant stated after last season that the Lakers needed to improve their personnel. Other than adding some first year players and resigning some familiar faces (included Derek Fisher) the Lakers are basically the same team. Lakers management has been reluctant to trade Andrew Bynum. Management seems to value Andrew Bynum far more than Kobe Bryant values Andrew Bynum. So even after having their team superstar denigrate the team, the Lakers have remained unchanged. Kobe Bryant cannot be happy.
Added to the drama is the fact that the coach, Phil Jackson, is entering his final year of his contract. He too has been expecting some additional help in player personnel. It hasn’t happened. Phil Jackson could leave at the end of the season. He has expressed his reluctance to coach a team that does a quick exit from the first round of the playoffs - if indeed they can secure a playoff spot in the coming season. If Phil Jackson leaves, count on Kobe Bryant’s frustrations increasing. And if Kobe Bryant decides to seek his next championship elsewhere, the Lakers will have a major problem on their hands (as well as some very disgruntled fans). Their superstar and their Hall of Fame coach indeed could both leave.
Lakers management has been inexplicably quiet during the off season. The acquisition of Kevin Garnett has been an opportunity that has come and gone (to Boston). Jermaine O’Neal remains a remote possibility. And the free agent market does not seem to have that one key player that could move the Lakers to an elite level in their own division.
Could the Lakers implode this season? That is the ’soap opera’ for these Lakers. It’s a drama suitable for Hollywood.
Catherine Forsythe
Tags: nba, l.a. lakers, kobe bryant, phil jackson, training camp, drama, trades
[…] desconocido wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptThe good news is there is no news from the LA Lakers. - Kobe Bryant has not reopened his demands for a trade. On October 1, the Lakers leave for Honolulu for training camp. The assumption is that Kobe Bryant will be on that plane and … […]