RE: Celts may be able to pluck a plum

["Sampath, Venkatesh" <Venkatesh.Sampath@microcell.ca>]

Hi Joe,
      Funnily enough, I was in Asia too (during the same period) and I didn't see either the Lakers or Kobe being hyped so much. Guess it depends on which part of Asia - I was in India and that's where I saw the Celtics beat the Knicks. In fact, during my entire stay there (a little over three weeks), the Lakers figured only once on TV and Kobe hardly ever. The coverage given by ESPN and StarSports was very balanced with most of the NBA teams figuring at least once. 
     If you think Kobe is being over-hyped, what about Anna Kournikova (yes, it's a different sport, but ....). And somehow, I don't think Kobe is appearing very much more on TV than "Air" Jordan did in his prime.
     As for trading the entire Boston Celtics for Kobe, I think it's time we gave Shaq his due. Shaq without Kobe did make it to the Finals (but ran into Olajuwon at his best); Kobe without Shaq .... still a big question mark. And no, I am no more a fan of Shaq than I am of Kobe - goddamnnit, they are Lakers!!!!

venkat 

-----Original Message-----
From: Hironaka [mailto:j.hironaka@unesco.org]
Sent: 17 January 2001 04:43
To: Jim Meninno; celtics@igtc.com
Subject: Re: Celts may be able to pluck a plum


Jim Meninno wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- From: Berry, Mark S <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>
>
> > Kobe Bryant may be the best player in the league. If he's not the best,
> he's
> > in the top 3. He's 22 years old and only getting better. He is closer to
> > Michael Jordan than anyone ever could be. You build championships around
> > this kind of player. He ball-hogs to the tune of 47 percent shooting,
> > something neither Pierce or Walker will ever achieve. He's a great
> defender,
> > great scorer, great passer. He's tremendous in the clutch. Shaq can't
> stand
> > him. Fine. Shaq left Orlando because he couldn't stand Penny. Shaq can't
> > stand anyone who challenges his status on a team.
>
> I hope this is hyperbole to make a point, because NO ONE could win the
> players that would be left on this team after that trade.  Not Kobe, not
> Jordan, not Bird, Russell, no one.  And you wouldn't have a draft pick for a
> year and half or any cap room to add any players, either.  Now, if I'm wrong
> about the cap room, or if Kobe could convince a Chrs Webber to sign for the
> new 4.5m exception, that could be a different story.  I agree the teams that
> make the bold moves for the truly great players are the ones that win, but
> you need to be able to supply a supporting cast that's a lot stronger than
> the one this team would be left with after your suggestion.

Well if the Celtics can retain just their own draft pick--and it miraculously
turns into a top three--they would be looking at Kobe and Eddie Griffin
replacing Pierce and Walker. I think you'd see another Boston massacre if the
Celts didn't pull the trigger on that sort of deal in anything less than a
heartbeat.

Over the holidays in Manila and Tokyo I inevitably saw nothing but Lakers games
everyday. That's all they show in Asia. Even when LA wasn't playing that day,
they seemed to show a rerun or tape delay game. Turn on the TV at any time of
the day at its either a Lakers game, a Kobe Bryant shoe ad. Nauseating really,
but one things for sure, Kobe is a far better player than I ever imagined in my
worst nightmares. Somehow Kobe seemed to me to be a bit bigger, quicker and just
as polished as MJ was at this stage in his career. Of course, my memories of MJ
take into account that he actually had a few poor shooting nights against Boston
thanks to DJ and Ainge and the need to force shots to keep his team in the game.
I somehow remember a number of games where he'd get his usual scoring average
but have to jack up 25+ shots a la Antoine. It wasn't all pretty back then.

Anyway, I believe the Lakers would never trade Kobe Bryant. Given a choice they
would probably trade Wilt Chamberlain or Jerry West in their prime before they
would ever trade Kobe. Despite their long history of superstar players, the
Lakers have never had an even remotely comparable guy in terms of international
marketing value. The guy is easily worth ten-fold of Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan
in this specific regard. People in far off places who I'm sure can't  name a
single member of the past three Dream Team squads know Kobe's name and face by
heart from TV ads and lifesize billboards in every shopping mall and shoe store
around the world (except in Boston I hope).

Joe

p.s. The Camden, NJ highschool point guard legend DaJuan Wagner reportedly
scored 100 points in a game last night. I believe he's committed to Memphis
after Calimari signed his dad as an assistant coach.


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