ESPN.com: Kobe: If West isn't back running Lakers I want out

• RedsArmy

  +2

  Ok Kobe.. Mr. Bright Guy... it's either fire Kupchak and bring in West or you want a trade?  Who's going to be the guy shopping you around?

  Mitch Kupchak. 

  I hope the Lakers grow a pair and you end up in Memphis.

  Posted 5/28/2007 [reply] [flag]

• Erin

  +1

  I'm not one for self-help books, but it sure seems like Kobe might do well to read this book.

  Posted 5/28/2007 [reply] [flag]

• tmcallist

  +1

  I guess this shouldn't be a big surprise-- Kobe has been dictating his teams' personell moves since the day he was drafted, and he strongarmed Charlotte into trading him to LA

  Posted 5/28/2007 [reply] [flag]

• Atma Brother #1

  +1

  Jerry West = Most overrated GM of all time

  Posted 5/28/2007 [reply] [flag]

• clarkey

  +1

  Kobe refuted this story. Media are so stupid, especially Ric Bucher. Sounds like he just took a few sentences from Kobe out of context.

  Posted 5/28/2007 [reply] [flag]

• spen

  +1

  I get tired of people hating on Bryant, just because he gets a lot of negative attention, if any of you were in his situation, where a team was not getting you a good core of players to finally bring back a championship, you would get tired to, Kobe isnt getting any younger, and all the talent is getting traded elsewhere, look at Shaq, you seen how Miami got him great compliment players, Wade, J-wil, Mourning, Walker, Payton, and plenty of other good players! Kobe cant do it by himself and thats what the lakers were trying to do think Odom was enough and no he isnt, not even close.

  Posted 5/29/2007 [reply] [flag]

  • Jason

    +2

    To be fair, Kobe brings a lot of hating on himself--the Lakers were a lot better before he ran Shaq out of town.  He's denied this report, but given his history, the idea that he would try to get his boss fired seems very plausible.

    Posted 5/29/2007 [reply] [flag]

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Links (24)

Kobe: If West isn’t back running Lakers I want out
Published 5/27/2007 by The Nugget at The Lakers Nation
... ESPN: Kobe Bryant isn’t happy with the Lakers’ direction and wants Jerry West back in Los Angeles to fix things.

Someone Please Stop T.J. Simers Before He Calls Bryant “Kobester” Again
Published 5/27/2007 by GC at Can't Stop The Bleeding
... he’d like to see some changes made. And he was considerably more blunt with ESPN’s Ric Bucher, demanding the Lakers rehire Jerry West and give the Logoman full authority to do whatever-it-takes (short of reacquiring Shaquille O’Neal, I suppose).

Kobe: Bring Back Jerry West or Trade Me
Published 5/28/2007 by Tom Ziller at FanHouse
... Kobe Bryant really really wants you to know he's not happy with the state of the Lakers. Ric Bucher got all lathered up to go on ESPNews today to relay Kobe's latest demand of Lakers brass: Bring back Jerry West, or trade me .

Links: Kobe On The Move?
Published 5/28/2007 by Lang Whitaker at SLAM Online
... According to ESPN’s recently slicked-back Ric Bucher, Kobe said if the Lakers don’t hire Jerry West and give him full control of the franchise, he wants to be traded.

Kobe To Lakers: Bring Back The Logo!
Published 5/28/2007 by Signal to Noise at Signal to Noise
... After losing to the Suns in the first round, Kobe Bryant said in a press conference that there needed to be major changes, and right now, he’s got one for Jerry Buss: either bring back Jerry West as GM and give him full authority over basketball operations, or he’s willing to waive my no-trade clause to get out of town.

Kobe Bryant Is A Douchebag
Published 5/28/2007 by john@redsarmy.com at RedsArmy.com: The Voice Of Celtics Fans
... Kobe wants the Lakers to fire Mitch Kupchak and replace him with Jerry West... or else he'll demand a trade.  Hey Kobe... who's going to pull off that trade if the Lakers refuse?  Umm... that would be Mitch Kupchak.  You really want the guy you tried to run out of town to be responsible for where you go?  How does Milwaukee sound, douchebag?  Or Atlanta?  Or Memphis? 

The Summer of His Discontent.
Published 5/28/2007 by Russ Bengtson at SLAM Online
... He apparently told ESPN’s Ric Bucher that, if Jerry West doesn’t come back to run the Lakers, he wants out (although there’s no direct quote about that).

Black Mamba A Bull?
Published 5/28/2007 by BenGo07 at Thank You Isiah
... Word is, Kobe may want out of L.A., and the Toros are the team with the pieces and cap space to make it happen. So assuming all this is true, uh, would we want to?

The Roundup: Dukes and Delmon Remain Angry, Liddell’s Hard-Partying, and 9-9-9
Published 5/28/2007 by TheBigLead at The Big Lead
... If Ric Bucher reports it, you know it’s coming from Kobe’s camp, and there’s an agenda. This time, the story is that Kobe wants Jerry West to be the Lakers GM. (ESPN.com)

Today’s Links 5/28
Published 5/28/2007 by FLCeltsFan at Celtics247.com

Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 5/28
Published 5/28/2007 by FLCeltsFan at LOY's PLACE a celtics green blog
... ESPN is reporting that Kobe has made a demand that the Lakers bring West back with full authority or he wants to be traded. I am sorry, but I just don't like Kobe. Even if he demands to be traded, I don't want him in Boston. I really don't. He is a great talent but a pretty bad person in my book. I think it is a moot point though because the Lakers will give in to him before they will trade their franchise player away.

Kobe Demands Jerry West or Trade
Published 5/28/2007 by commish at Los Angeles Lakers
... f the Lakers don t want to do that, Bryant said he wants to be traded. I would love for him to be a part of this, Bryant told the newspaper. But it s not something where I demand he comes here. All I can do is offer my thoughts. I love being a Laker. I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing, or at least help any way I can. I want to see us get to a contending level, he told The Times. I want to see us become a championship contender. It s been a frustrating process for me and I m sure it s been a frustrating process for all Laker fans. I m just hoping we can get to that level. I m still frustrated. I m waiting for them to make some changes. I haven t thought about it at all until Kobe brought it up today. My main priority is to [Grizzlies owner] Mike Heisley and to finish up with the Memphis Grizzlies, West told ESPN s Jim Gray on Sunday night. I am fiercely loyal to Mike, as I am to Mitch Kupchak. Having said that, I m a lifelong Laker and we will see what happens.

The Kobe Ultimatum
Published 5/28/2007 by JP at Pyle of List
... Perhaps you’ve heard of Kobe Bryant’s ultimatum by now. If you want the whole story from ESPN Basketball Writer and Kobe BFF Ric Bucher, click here. Essentially, he demanded that the Lakers bring back Jerry West with full GM power or he wants to be traded.

What’s the Deal With Kobe?
Published 5/28/2007 by Marcel Mutoni at SLAM Online
... with a report that Kobe Bryant wants to be traded from the Lakers if they don’t bring back The Logo, Jerry West. Bucher’s report was strange because it didn’t come with a direct quote from Bryant; Bucher just said he had a “conversation” with Kobe earlier in the day.

Celtics Links - 5/28/07
Published 5/28/2007 by Jim at Green Bandwagon: Front Page Posts

-WHY THE LAKERS ARE SCREWED-
Published 5/28/2007 by R at SPORTS UNFILTERED
... , and Ric Bucher's overblown story that Kobe's making ultimatums and demanding a trade if Jerry West doesn't return with full authority, got me thinking a little.

Kobe Engages in Friendly Fire
Published 5/29/2007 by PAR at LTD Hoops Blog
... Kobe Bryant didn't make any more friends this weekend. He may even have lost some support from the locals on Rodeo Drive. According to ESPN's Ric Bucher, Bryant is irritated with Lakers management for its inability to put together a roster around him which is capable of contending for an NBA championship. Bryant's agitation has led to demands, as he told Bucher he wanted a trade if the Lakers failed to bring back Jerry West to manage the roster (West traded for Kobe in 1996 and also wooed Shaquille O'Neal from the Magic).

Monday Extras: Howard Back in Business
Published 5/29/2007 by Matt P at The700Level.com - Philly Sports & Minutiae
... Kobe wants out of LA if he can't make all personnel decisions. [ESPN]

Enough of this Garbage Already Kobe
Published 5/29/2007 by Larry Brown at Larry Brown Sports
... I don’t care what the truth is, whether or not Ric Bucher’s ESPN report that if the Lakers didn’t hire Jerry West, Kobe would demand a trade, or if

KOBE SPEAKS, LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR L.A. EXODUS
Published 5/29/2007 by HG at YOU BEEN BLINDED
... Ric Bucher reported that Kobe said he would demand a trade if Jerry West wasn’t brought back to L.A…

Just Another Day In Lakerland
Published 5/31/2007 by West Side Slant at West Side Slant
... on July 1st as a "consultant." In a related story, Kobe Bryant has refuted a report by Ric Bucher that Bryant gave the organization an ultimatum, leading to West's return:

I am taw-wy
Published 7/6/2007 by kambrothers at Lakers Blog
... , floating the idea of replacing Kupchak with Jerry West and his ...

Hey Kobe, Happy Now?
Published 5/6/2008 by Fun Sheriff at Lion in Oil
... Oh, what a difference a year makes. And what a difference less than a year makes. On May 28th of last year Kobe Bryant began what seemed to be his self-destruction when he demanded that Jerry West come back to the team in some capacity. And then he called out Andrew Bynum and Jerry Buss, and then he asked for a trade. ...

The Kobe Ultimatum: 1 Year Later
Published 5/9/2008 by JP at Pyle of List
... Perhaps you’ve heard of Kobe Bryant’s ultimatum by now. If you want the whole story from ESPN Basketball Writer and Kobe BFF Ric Bucher, click here. Essentially, he demanded that the Lakers bring back Jerry West with full GM power or he wants to be traded. ...