Very bold words, IV. What if Phil defies all logic and decides to coach one of the worst teams in the league, like The Atlanta Hawks? Do you think he will win a championship with that team?IV said:
I'm pretty sure he will and I personally hope he will. He deserves it. :yes:MiamiHeat03 said:
Now that's a strong 'what if.' I'm 99,9% sure that will never happen. If Phil comes back to coach, he will find a team with the potential to win a title.tatahbenitez said:
Most fans don't know Phil Jackson's history. It's true, he never coached a team in the NBA without a dou of at least two great players, but he has taken a team and started from the bottom and worked toward a title. When Phil coached in the CBA (either CBA or puerto rican league). He took a job coaching a team that had the best player in the league. Phil found that this player was uncoachable because he wouldn't follow the team concept, so he urged management to trade him. Everyone thought Phil was crazy until he took that team minus the best player in the league and won the championship. Phil has been a success on every level of basketball.
I agree, Kobe would love to have Phil back. I honestly don't think Phil was the problem for Kobe, it was Shaq... specifically Phil's choice to use Shaq in the offense where Kobe wanted to be. But that's all water under the bridge now, if Phil comes back and there's no Shaq, Kobe will get what he wants, and I expect LA to turn things around.
Yes, and it will be a long time coming.
This is where you and I differ. I think Kobe and Phil had more than their publicized run-ins and though Phil and Shaq also differed, they still worked well together.IV said:
)That is where we differ. All parties involved could have shown more selflessness. Phil could have not demanded more money and could have not requested Kobe not be resigned for him to say. Shaq could of done the same, his contract demands were outrageous. Kobe could have fought for Phil and Shaq and been a little more patient. I don't blame one more than the others because they all were wrong, and a part of my compassion for Kobe being left to feel the burden of everyones fault sympathized with him because he did it Phil's way, and played second fiddle to Shaq for many years. Like you said, Kobe could have slowly worked his way into the head role of the team, but I don't think that was something Shaq was willing to do for Kobe. IMO, the time had come. And more so, Shaq shows regret by saying he wont make the same mistakes in Miami, he talks about how it's Wade's team, etc. Imagine if he could have humbled himself that way for Kobe? Alot of eaches fault seemed to stem from other fault and it just keep building itself until it was a complex tower of confusion. I guess things were destined to fall apart in LA, who knows...tatahbenitez said:This is where you and I differ. I think Kobe and Phil had more than their publicized run-ins and though Phil and Shaq also differed, they still worked well together.
Phils latest book showed that both Kobe and Shaq were to blame for the disharmony with The Laker team, but to me Kobe seemed to be more to blame than Shaq. And yes, I know Phil said that he is partly to blame for focusing more on Kobe's mistakes/faults, but Phil probably thought Kobe would be "adult enough" to take the critisizm. He knew Shaq was a big kid at heart and was trying to use that to his advantage, that's probably why Phil didn't push Shaq like he did with Kobe. Phil was right about Shaq, but was wrong about Kobe. :yes:
Kobe also thought the triangle was holding down his talent and that's why he disdained it and Phil for using it for Shaq instead of him. I think Phil knew what he was doing and if Shaq was showing signs of not handling being the main man, Phil would have changed the triangle to fit Kobe's needs. But Kobe was too restless and wanted to be the man, instead of gradually moving into the role of top gun. Now, Kobe has been literally thrown to the lions. Individually speaking, Kobe has been doing well considering the cirumstances, but the circumstances were caused by Kobe and deserves the blame/adulation The Lakers will be getting. :curse:
This is where I blame Kobe for what has happened to the Lakers. Management also had a hand in the release of Phil and Shaq, but Kobe never stood up for either of them (though I can understand why not Shaq, but Phil???
What part is ridiculous? I acknowledged his greatness, I just said O'Neal and Jordan would have won titles eventually without him. Your response is ridiculous, clown.IV said:
I don't feel any compassion with Kobe because he did not want to play second fiddle. I know Kobe is a great player and if he followed the ways of Phil could have surpassed Jordan, but Kobe never wanted to play second fiddle. You could tell from the way he plays now and during the latter part of the Shaq-Kobe duo. And I do think Shaq would have stepped down as #1 option, even Kareem did it to give Magic his chance, and Phil would have also known when Shaq was ready, even if Shaq wouldn't admit it. Kobe was just a a brash, reckless, young, talented player who didn't listen to Phil, wouldn't talk to Shaq or other teammates, and had Jerry Buss drooling all over him.IV said:
