Hartman: Maybe Buss family doesn't have the means to build a championship team anymore. Does Kobe think there's any way to mend the fence?
Kobe: Can only go by conversations with PJ. Phil says they're now determined to do something, get something done. No more long-term plan. Kobe's frustration would've been alleviated if they'd told him about the long-term plan. Kobe brought Baron, Boozer, et al., management wasn't getting deals done.
Hartman: blah blah blah
Kobe: Was frustrated because deals weren't getting done. Looking back, management wasn't incompetent, they had a long-term plan that Kobe knew nothing about. Now they're trying to get things done. Kobe draws hope from Phil, they want players to trust management.
Kobe: Just got a voice mail from Magic, can't wait to call him back.
Thompson: If Lakers trade Kobe, the team they trade him to will be gutted to get him.
Kobe: It's not about being in a position where they don't have a championship caliber team. He wants the team to be aggressive, try to win now. His problem comes with the team telling him one thing, doing another.
Kobe: Thinks he knows who the "insider" is. He's glad the truth is out there now.
Vic the Brick: blah blah...Kobe is positive energy...
Hartman: There has to be a level of trust, trust has been betrayed. How can that trust be repaired? If Dr. Buss apologized right now and said he's now committed to winning, will Kobe trust him?
Kobe: Buss would have to sell it to him. There are two people Kobe trusts in the NBA: Phil Jackson and Jerry West.
Hartman: How did Phil rebuild the trust with Kobe?
Kobe: Phil said in the media that a lot of unfair things were being said about Kobe, he came back to try to help Kobe.
Would Kobe meet with Jim Buss?
Kobe: Would love to. He wants to know what the hell is going on.
VTB: Laker Nation is with you Kobe.
Hartman: you bring the effort, come to play every night.
Kobe: I want to be a Laker more than anything else. I hope they can do something, figure something out. Had an emotional conversation with Phil, Phil told him to let them have time to figure something out.
If us players feel like we can trust what's going on here, if there's none of this "insider," "dark corner" stuff going on, I'm staying.
Might have had a better team if he'd gone to Clippers or Bulls, might still be playing now. He was willing to take the risk of staying with the Lakers because he loves the Lakers, it's the team he's always wanted to play for.
A start would be for Dr. Buss to call Kobe, open up communication. Kobe doesn't have his number.
VTB: rambling...
Thompson: you must have Buss' number.
Kobe: he doesn't have it. Guys in the media are killing Kobe for Shaq leaving. That's pushed Kobe beyond the point. Now these guys want Kobe to pick up the phone, call Dr. Buss, and say what?
Hartman and Thompson criticizing Buss for not calling Kobe...Kobe seems like he's getting mad all over again...thanks guys.
Shaq leaving was nothing about an ego clash between Shaq and Kobe, Shaq felt the Laker organization was in decline because of West and Phil's departure. Shaq and Kobe were opposite personalities, so they bumped heads, but when they stepped on the court, they both had the killer instinct, and that's what drove their success.
Kobe: Shaq knows the organization. When Kobe was younger, all he focused on was basketball, he didn't know or care about organizational politics.
Kobe has an idea who the "insider" was, but he doesn't know for sure. He can't go confront someone when he may be wrong.
Thompson: My suggestion to you, Kobe, is to get together with Magic. You and Magic and West are the three best Lakers in history.
Kobe: Magic is the man. That's the guy I want to talk to. We need to get this worked out.
