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Phil Jackson has agreed to two-year contract extension to remain in Los Angeles through 2010. Who'd of thought?

All the signs were pointing against this one. Kobe wants out. The Lakers blow (sorta), and tensions have been high with just about everyone in the Lakers front office. Buss got a DUI, and no one likes the way Kupchak handles things.

So why does Phil stay?

Rewind about a month. It looked like everything was about the blow up in La-La land. Kobe was on a tirade, and about to be moved any second. Phil was friends with Kobe, then mad at Kobe. And Phil said he'd revisit the extension issue around Thanksgiving time.

Fast forward to now. The Lakers are a modest, yet decent 8-6, good for 2nd place in the Pacific Division. No one expected the Lakers to be here at this point in time--probably especially not Phil. They've knocked off some high-quality opponents, including Phoenix, Houston, and Detroit. Kobe's shut his mouth for the time being, and the bench is playing much better than anyone expected.

In other words, Phil's worked some of his magic to calm everyone down, and now he's even made Kobe realize, it seems, that L.A.'s not so bad.

Plus, it probably helps that he's still dating the boss' girlfriend. I'm sure that had a bit of an impact.

Either way, great news for Lakers fans, and he'll make between $11 and $12 million over the next couple years.

Can we get a solid free agent to come to LA in the offseason to appease Kobe and get back into title contention? Perhaps this is the first step.

Labels: basketball, Jerry Buss, Kevdog, Kobe, Lakers, NBA, Phil Jackson

Just as the Lakers were off to a decent 4-3 start, and the world had basically shut up about Kobe being traded, this hits.

The Pistons and Lakers reportedly agreed to a deal that would send Kobe to Detroit for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson (who?), and a first round pick to the Lakers.

Kobe, fortunately, used his veto power to stop the deal dead in its tracks. I read that ESPN's Ric Bucher reported this, but I haven't read this on ESPN.com so it is just a rumor at this point, and it was reportedly denied as being agreed to by the Pistons. Either way, it seems clear that something was on the table.

1. What are Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak thinking? Kobe's kept his mouth shut, and the team is playing with good chemistry thus far. Quit trying so hard.

2.What are Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak thinking? Tayshaun's a decent player, but he's not one to build a squad around. Hamilton can score, but he's not the presence at SG that the Lakers would need to replace Kobe. Who's Amir Johnson? This would also bring in a plethora of G/F on the team--just the problem that exists now. At least get a big man out of the deal. The Laker lineup would be smaller than it is now. Fisher-Hamilton-Prince-Odom-Mihm/Bynum/Brown. I'm not a fan.

The rumor mill was hot with the idea that no trades had surfaced, and Kobe wasn't saying anything stupid to insinuate that he still wanted to be moved. The Lakers have beat the Suns and the Rockets now in this young season, and they seem to be playing quite well. Why, if you're Kupchak and Buss, are you still trying to move him?

What does Kobe's veto mean? Does it mean that he was refusing to play in Detroit? Does it mean that he was refusing to play with a depleted Detroit squad? (If it does, he must be refusing to play anywhere, because with that deal, he'd still be playing with Billups and Rasheed Wallace. He can't be moved for free). Or does it mean that he wants to be a Laker after all?

I think it is some combination of all of those questions. Kobe's not goin' anywhere, as I said when the season started.

Labels: basketball, detroit pistions, Jerry Buss, Kevdog, Kobe, Lakers, NBA

Ever since Jerry Buss opened his mouth and said that the Lakers would still field offers for their superstar, the news has been abuzz. Perhaps I was wrong. I said that Kobe wouldn't be leaving and this was just Buss' rhetoric to appease the superstar. While I'll still hold to my opinion, despite just about every noteworthy sportswriter disagreeing with me, I think Kobe will still be around this season.

That said, Kobe apparently didn't take the news too lightly. He skipped 3 days of practice with the Lakers, citing sore knees, but it seems that the rumor mill simply claims that Bryant's just pissed. Then came reports yesterday, denied by Kobe, that he cleaned out his Laker locker. Kobe, rather, said he "reorganized" his locker. Crazy media.

That said, Kobe didn't sound too thrilled with the Lakers. When asked if he'd played his last game with the Lakers, Kobe said:

"I don't know, talk to Mitch and Mr. Buss about that."
"I'm just getting ready. If I'm here, I'm ready to strap it up."

Granted, this doesn't sound like a very happy man. But, in my opinion, the media has blown this way out of proportion for a couple of reasons.

First, as Buss stated in his original comments that pissed everyone off, you CAN'T get anything close to equal value for Kobe Bryant. And because of that, Buss won't pull the trigger on anything quickly. Buss is a Hollywood guy, and he knows the scene. He knows that the LA fans won't settle for a lineup of Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Kwame Brown, and Lamar Odom. Even the hottest rumor has a package from the Bulls centered around Luol Deng and/or Ben Gordon. Yes, they are good young players, but come on. Buss made this mistake once, getting back no superstars for that other superstar the Lakers traded to Miami in 2004. He won't make the same mistake twice.


Second, every thing Kobe does or doesn't say is being way too read into. Fox Sports released a great column today, mocking the situation. I was glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks that this has been pretty ridiculous.

So what does it all mean? I'm sticking to my opinion. Kobe's a Laker, and he will continue to be a Laker for a while. How long? Who knows? I think he'll remain all season, personally. The Lakers have no NEED to move him yet as he can't opt out until after next season. Come next summer, if things don't get better, they may want to move him so as not to risk him walking away for nothing. But, until then, the dust from this big game being played will settle, Kobe will play, and the Lakers will continue to be mediocre.

Best case scenario: the whole incident lights a spark in Kobe and he comes out and dominates and thrusts the Lakers up the standings. I'm not holding my breath, but I can dream, right?

One thing is for sure, we'll continue to monitor every move that Kobe makes, whether he plays in the preseason games, how he does, whether he high fives his teammates or yells at them. In any event, it's an interesting thing to watch it be Kobe and Phil vs. the world, as opposed to Kobe vs. Phil. Who would have ever thought that they would be allies? Stay tuned.

Labels: Bryant, Jerry Buss, Kevdog, Kobe, Lakers, NBA, Phil Jackson, stalemate, trade

I woke up this morning and perused through the ESPN.com headlines as I usually do. The top NBA news suggested that Lakers owner Jerry Buss was "still willing to listen to trade offers for Kobe."

My first thought was one of rage. Uh oh, Kobe trade talk again. I thought we were over this.

Then, I stepped back a bit. Buss still willing to listen. Um, duh. I'm sure every GM in every sport on every team will listen to a trade offer for any player on the team. That means nothing, and Buss essentially said that by saying "I told [Kobe] I would try my best to accommodate his wishes, but that I could not afford to let him go unless we got comparable talent, if there is such a thing."

Translation? I'll listen, but you're not going anywhere, Kobe. Buss has to say that he will listen to offers. Kobe said he wants out, and the least the owner can do is appease him. I'm sure Kobe knows (and Buss, in that article, says that he does) that he isn't going anywhere, because any move the Lakers make for him will make them worse. I've said it before, but I think in part, Kobe's actions were a ploy to make the front office do something.

So, what'd they do? Nothing huge, but they did get Derek Fisher, a guy Kobe confides in and Kobe knows will bust his butt every night for him. He's no Kevin Garnett, but you can't have it all.

Anyway, the point is that this headline means virtually nothing. Of course Buss is (going to say that he's) open to trading him. To not would be to disrespect his player's wishes, which would ultimately hurt him. Kobe knows he's stickin' around, and so does Dr. Buss. The media just needs a good story to keep things interesting.

Labels: Fisher, Jerry Buss, Kevdog, Kobe, Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers