Kobe: Kwame "one of the best defensive big men I've ever seen."

[eliteballer]

"Kwame, he's a great defensive player. He's one of the best defensive big men I've ever seen. But in terms of offense, he was challenged."

Reminded Kwame Brown was still in the league, Bryant laughed and said, "Somehow he talked Philly into giving him $7 million a year. Then they want to lock us out?"

In two minutes he'd managed to take shots at Lakers ownership, the new collective bargaining agreement and every other NBA owner. There might not be another player in the league who could speak truth to power with such blistering honesty. Outside of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich or Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, I can't think of any other coach who'd let it rip like this.

But this is Bryant's status in the game now.


There are people who will read Bryant's comments and find them cruel or mean-spirited. But read 'em again. The part about Brown being one of the best defensive big men he has ever seen. He meant every word.



"He was really quick. He understood defensive concepts," Bryant said of Brown. "He might have actually showed Andrew [Bynum] a few things, especially on screen-and-roll coverages and one-on-one defense."


http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8491161/los-angeles-lakers-kobe-bryant-afraid-speak-mind

[1987_Lakers]

Brown has always been a good defensive player. Nothing new.

[chazzy]

Kobe complimenting his former teammates as usual

[wally_world]

Kobe complimenting his former teammates as usual

:lol

But seriously, Kwame gets too much hate. He's obviously not living up to his hype but he's managed to stay in the L for this long, he's a solid backup defensive big.

[StateProperty]

Kind of lame to talk about another guy's money. And he's not making 7 mil a year.

[stallionaire]

Kobe just needs to shut the **** up already.

[jaydacris]

wow kobe you soft?

look at jordan go hard on kwame in practise


You ****ing flaming ******. You don't get a foul on a goddamn little touch foul, you ****ing ******. You don't bring that ******y shit here. Get your goddamn ass back on the floor and play. I don't want to hear that ****ing shit out of you again. Get your ass back and play, you ******.

**** = f*ck, f*ggot (you can figure out where they go)

[Indian guy]

You ****ing flaming ******. You don't get a foul on a goddamn little touch foul, you ****ing ******. You don't bring that ******y shit here. Get your goddamn ass back on the floor and play. I don't want to hear that ****ing shit out of you again. Get your ass back and play, you ******.

This is just gold :oldlol:

[97 bulls]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.

[GreatGreg]

This is just gold :oldlol:
:roll: :roll: :roll:

[BlackVVaves]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.

You can't be serious.

[irondarts]

The Warriors gave him 7 million. The Sixers gave him a 2 year/6 million dollar deal.

Love Kobe's bluntness, though. And he's right, Kwame is incredible on defense.

[flipogb]

Kwame holds his ground better than anyone. unfortunately he does it on the offensive end also and does nothing with the ball

[Fudge]

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=books/excerpt/nothingelse3

[97 bulls]

You can't be serious.
I'm just going off facts and Bryants statement. Mihm was one of the better center in the league AT THAT TIME. Easily top 10. I've always maintained Brown was a damn good Center/Power Forward. Then you had Odom. They weren't a great team but the notion that Kobe had to carry a bunch of scrubs is just not true.

[eliteballer]

I'm just going off facts and Bryants statement. Mihm was one of the better center in the league AT THAT TIME. Easily top 10. I've always maintained Brown was a damn good Center/Power Forward. Then you had Odom. They weren't a great team but the notion that Kobe had to carry a bunch of scrubs is just not true.

You're a MORON. In 05 Kobe and Odom missed 20 games apiece. Thats the ONLY year Mihm played more than 60 games for LA. His BEST season was 10 points and 6 rebounds per game. Smush and Mihm aren't even in the league anymore. Kwame has been bouncing from team to team as a 10th man.

I repeat, you are a MORON.

[ImmortalD24]

Brown was a very respectable 1on1 post defender. His help defense wasn't all that great since he's never been a leaper/ shot blocker, but 1on1 he was solid.

Offensively though, due to the triangle, there was a huge demand for him to be a competent scorer. And to compound his offensive deficiencies even moreso, Phil Jackson force fed the ball to him solely to embarrass/make an example out of him. (which is why I was never a fan of the triangle during the 05-08) But overall, he gave me less headaches than Lamar Odumb and Puke Walton.


Another reason why I'm excited about the Dwight Howard trade: Kobe/Lakers will finally have a decent screener. Kwame was the last player who set solid screens (during the few instances they ran that play).. Solid man screens - unlike the slip soft ones Gasol pulls, and the ultra-slow and sluggish ones of Bynum.

[LakersReign]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/stephen-a-smith-laugh.gif

[Reverend Hoops]

I'm just going off facts and Bryants statement. Mihm was one of the better center in the league AT THAT TIME. Easily top 10. I've always maintained Brown was a damn good Center/Power Forward. Then you had Odom. They weren't a great team but the notion that Kobe had to carry a bunch of scrubs is just not true.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/stephen-a-smith-laugh.gif

[ImmortalD24]

... :biggums:

[SAKOTXA]

ISH when averaging 10/6 and missing almost 1/3 of the season, including the playoffs is equivalent to one of the best centers in the NBA.

Shaq, Curry, Howard, Ben Wallace, Yao Ming, Kaman, Bogut, Camby, J. Oneal, Pau, Big Z.

That's 10 guys for you off the top of my head, and he has no case against any of them. So tell me 97 Bulls, how great that Laker team was.

[BoutPractice]

This'll look pretty ridiculous if Kobe ends up declining this year.
He'd better start making headlines because of his play.

[Rooster]

Brown was a very respectable 1on1 post defender. His help defense wasn't all that great since he's never been a leaper/ shot blocker, but 1on1 he was solid.

Offensively though, due to the triangle, there was a huge demand for him to be a competent scorer. And to compound his offensive deficiencies even moreso, Phil Jackson force fed the ball to him solely to embarrass/make an example out of him. (which is why I was never a fan of the triangle during the 05-08) But overall, he gave me less headaches than Lamar Odumb and Puke Walton.


Another reason why I'm excited about the Dwight Howard trade: Kobe/Lakers will finally have a decent screener. Kwame was the last player who set solid screens (during the few instances they ran that play).. Solid man screens - unlike the slip soft ones Gasol pulls, and the ultra-slow and sluggish ones of Bynum.

I agree with your assessment on Kwame. He ca not anchor the team defensively but he was solid on ball defender. I do recall those days when guys like Tim Duncan and Yao Ming cant move him and ended taking tough shots. Bynum play man to man defense like that. However, Luke Walton was essential during those years before his big contract. Triangle offense usually revolved around him from the post.

[goldenryan]

Brown isn't that bad. You just gonna use him the right way, 20 mins a games with an offensive PF. He can be a Perkins type player.

[KingBeasley08]

wow kobe you soft?

look at jordan go hard on kwame in practise



**** = f*ck, f*ggot (you can figure out where they go)
:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

MJ :bowdown:

[Clifton]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.
yyyyyyeahhhNo.

Kwame and Smush, as far as I can remember, were the two worst starters in the league at their respective positions. Actually, they may have been the two worst starters in the league period. And that's at the PG and C positions. Kwame was a very good one on one defender, about as good as there is in the league in fact, but his help defense was only good not great, and his help-defensive presence was nonexistent. How many BPG did he average? Whom did he discourage from driving into the lane? And what of his rebounding? And all this from a guy who was one of the biggest offensive liabilities in basketball.

I'll always maintain Smush Parker was a better player than everyone gave him credit for, but it's also true he had no business starting for an NBA team.

I'm not sure whether those Lakers weren't better than those Orlando teams Tmac kept almost taking to the second round somehow, but they weren't good.

[Clifton]

He can be a Perkins type player.
Nah. The distinguishing feature of Kwame's game is that he consistently sticks to his man and tries to stop him on defense (because he's not good for anything else). Since not all guys do that, in fact most don't, he stands out that way.

He's not a bruiser. He doesn't scare anyone. He can't rebound. He doesn't get blocks (at least he didn't when I was paying attention). He's just kind of annoying and slows his man down more than normal because he makes a habit of playing one-on-one D.

[FireDavidKahn]

Kobe be trollin':oldlol:

[97 bulls]

ISH when averaging 10/6 and missing almost 1/3 of the season, including the playoffs is equivalent to one of the best centers in the NBA.

Shaq, Curry, Howard, Ben Wallace, Yao Ming, Kaman, Bogut, Camby, J. Oneal, Pau, Big Z.

That's 10 guys for you off the top of my head, and he has no case against any of them. So tell me 97 Bulls, how great that Laker team was.
That Laker team wasn't great. But they weren't hardly as bad as Laker fans try to make them out to be. They were solid.


Howard, O'neal, Gasol, weren't Listed as centers in 06. All were getting voted as Forwards in the all-star game ballot. In 06, Lorenzen Wright (Grizzlies) not Gasol, Francisco Elson (Nuggets) not Camby, Scott Pollard/Jeff Foster (Pacers) not O'neal, and Tony Battie (Magic) not Howard, were their teams starting center for most of that season.

Mihm avg 10/6 in 25 minutes on 51% shooting. And he was voted fourth in the allstar game that year. The problem is you guys aren't comparing him to the centers that year, your comparing him historically.

No matter how you slice it, Mihm was one of the better centers in the league

[All Net]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.

Good one...

[97 bulls]

yyyyyyeahhhNo.

Kwame and Smush, as far as I can remember, were the two worst starters in the league at their respective positions. Actually, they may have been the two worst starters in the league period. And that's at the PG and C positions. Kwame was a very good one on one defender, about as good as there is in the league in fact, but his help defense was only good not great, and his help-defensive presence was nonexistent. How many BPG did he average? Whom did he discourage from driving into the lane? And what of his rebounding? And all this from a guy who was one of the biggest offensive liabilities in basketball.

I'll always maintain Smush Parker was a better player than everyone gave him credit for, but it's also true he had no business starting for an NBA team.

I'm not sure whether those Lakers weren't better than those Orlando teams Tmac kept almost taking to the second round somehow, but they weren't good.
Never said they were good. But the notion that this team was bad talent wise after Bryant is just wrong.

Brown was a shotblocking rim protector. But that wasn't his job. His job was to defend the other teams best low post scorer without any help. And he was damn good at it. Kendrick Perkins is exactly the type of player Brown was.

Parker wasn't bad either. Bryant talks bad about him because he doesn't like him. He waas a good defender, who could slash and shoot the three on occasion. I think his attitude got him kicked out of the league. Not lack of talent.

[ImmortalD24]

I agree with your assessment on Kwame. He ca not anchor the team defensively but he was solid on ball defender. I do recall those days when guys like Tim Duncan and Yao Ming cant move him and ended taking tough shots. Bynum play man to man defense like that. However, Luke Walton was essential during those years before his big contract. Triangle offense usually revolved around him from the post.
Looks like the Puke Walton stans are still alive and well i see...

Essential... for what? Failure? To the teams sucess? If it's the latter, you are nuts.

Even prior to his big contract, I was one of the very few people arguing against the Puke Walton signing on realgm. LOL at this clown romanticizing Luke Walton (scrub). Luke was a liability on the floor, all he did was play hot potatoes with the ball (since he couldn't shoot for shit) and do those gimmick between the leg back pass on set plays (which enamored everyone and their momma for some strange reason) .

Luke couldn't shoot, defend his position to save his life and often made very low iq plays for a "heady" player. Scrub (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRqXv46owUg).

Get out of here with this garbage.

[DKLaker]

I'm just going off facts and Bryants statement. Mihm was one of the better center in the league AT THAT TIME. Easily top 10. I've always maintained Brown was a damn good Center/Power Forward. Then you had Odom. They weren't a great team but the notion that Kobe had to carry a bunch of scrubs is just not true.

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Kobe said he almost won MVP playing with scrubs like Kwame and Smush.
Odom was not a quality starter and.....Luke Walton???
It was Kobe and a whole bunch of scrubs....to argue says you don't know crap about the Lakers.

[Rooster]

Looks like the Puke Walton stans are still alive and well i see...

Essential... for what? Failure? To the teams sucess? If it's the latter, you are nuts.

Even prior to his big contract, I was one of the very few people arguing against the Puke Walton signing on realgm. LOL at this clown romanticizing Luke Walton (scrub). Luke was a liability on the floor, all he did was play hot potatoes with the ball (since he couldn't shoot for shit) and do those gimmick between the leg back pass on set plays (which enamored everyone and their momma for some strange reason) .

Luke couldn't shoot, defend his position to save his life and often made very low iq plays for a "heady" player. Scrub (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRqXv46owUg).

Get out of here with this garbage.

What garbage. Common sense. Do you think he could have gotten the big long contract if he was not decent enough. The triangle offense started with Luke during those time. You probably did not watch and follow to know the difference but when Luke went down with injury, Lakers went downhill to their 42-40 season. I agree he was garbage after that but he did have a couple of years of good season before that. But once again you are just one of countless fans who only remember the worst of a player. Guys like Devean George, Luke Walton and Vujavic had a decent season and when they got their money, they became garbage. And I agree Luke could not guard a licks, can't shoot too and often times turnover prone but he was the Lakers best passer on those post Shaq and before Gasol came over.

[97 bulls]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

Kobe said he almost won MVP playing with scrubs like Kwame and Smush.
Odom was not a quality starter and.....Luke Walton???
It was Kobe and a whole bunch of scrubs....to argue says you don't know crap about the Lakers.
Then perhaps we should start considering the MVP a team award. Tthe problem is your trying to compare that team historically as opposed to that particular year. That team wasn't great but they weren't bad either. Mihm wasn't Shaq, or Kareem, or Wilt off course. But id take him over players like Olowokandi, Elson, and some of the extreme garbage there was a center during that particular year.

Brown was a damn good defensive big. You could put him on the opposing teams best low post big and not have to give him help.


Odom was good. He was a versitle double double guy.

Aand no matter how you want to spin it. Parker was serviceable.

I was never much of a Walton fan, but I remember you Laker fans calling him solid. A point forward, High IQ type player.

[Rooster]

Never said they were good. But the notion that this team was bad talent wise after Bryant is just wrong.

Brown was a shotblocking rim protector. But that wasn't his job. His job was to defend the other teams best low post scorer without any help. And he was damn good at it. Kendrick Perkins is exactly the type of player Brown was.

Parker wasn't bad either. Bryant talks bad about him because he doesn't like him. He waas a good defender, who could slash and shoot the three on occasion. I think his attitude got him kicked out of the league. Not lack of talent.

Sorry Smush was never a good defender. The corpse of Sam Cassell was blowing past him because he does not read the defense well. The only quality that Smush possess defensively was his quick hands. I remember how Phil was yelling on him all the timesbecause he was confused and float around defensively like Radmanovic.

Kwame is not a shot locking protector either. His help defense is weak because not only he can't read the offense and how plays develop but he also late on rotation. But he was a one of the best on ball defender without any help. And you want him him to help you, he will get confused. A college coach would have all the patience to help him in that regard.

[Cali Syndicate]

That Laker team wasn't great. But they weren't hardly as bad as Laker fans try to make them out to be. They were solid.

Solid? Not exactly.

They just had a coach who knew how to best utilize the team's strengths and the opposing teams weaknesses.

Chris Mihm wasn't at all terrible center but he was far from being one of the better centers in the L, let alone a top ten. Guess you could say he was one of the better backup centers at the time though.

[97 bulls]

Solid? Not exactly.

They just had a coach who knew how to best utilize the team's strengths and the opposing teams weaknesses.

Chris Mihm wasn't at all terrible center but he was far from being one of the better centers in the L, let alone a top ten. Guess you could say he was one of the better backup centers at the time though.
But he wasn't a backup. And the center position at the time was bad. Which makes Mihm look better than he really was. That's my point. Historically Mihm would be a solid, hell excellent backup. But this isn't the point.

It says a lot when both him and Olowakandi can finsh fourth in their respective conferences in tthe allstar game voting

[LakersReign]

But he wasn't a backup. And the center position at the time was bad. Which makes Mihm look better than he really was. That's my point. Historically Mihm would be a solid, hell excellent backup. But this isn't the point.

It says a lot when both him and Olowakandi can finsh fourth in their respective conferences in tthe allstar game voting

This is the thing with ISH. People come on here, spouting THEIR OWN opinion, backed up with MORE of THEIR OWN opinion, trying to put it over as fact. There is a reason why no credible sports site, or writer has Mihm as one of the best centers in the game.:facepalm

[bd#1pguard]

anyone have a clip of jordan saying this to kwame or any link or support to back this up. I dont see a grown man not fighting jordan if he were to say this to them. I dont care who he is.

[oh the horror]

The only player Kobe had that was decent on that 06 team was Odom, and he eventually turned out to be the 3rd "best" player on their championship teams.


Odom is NOT a second option. Period. It was Kobe, and a team of scrub players.


Come on now.

[BigBalla44]

anyone have a clip of jordan saying this to kwame or any link or support to back this up. I dont see a grown man not fighting jordan if he were to say this to them. I dont care who he is.

Ever heard of Google? Its from a book that documented MJ's years as a Wizard. And yes, MJ is an asshole of epic proportions, but what can a guy like Kwame do to the most powerful man in basketball? Kick his ass? Yeah, that will go over well.

[bd#1pguard]

Ever heard of Google? Its from a book that documented MJ's years as a Wizard. And yes, MJ is an asshole of epic proportions, but what can a guy like Kwame do to the most powerful man in basketball? Kick his ass? Yeah, that will go over well.

obvious answer is yes i am fully aware of google but whether i make a query here or there is water under the bridge. Thanks for the answer, even though it was in an ahole manner. Yes beat is ass because it will teach him a lesson not to run his mouth and earn kwame some respect as the guy that beat up jordan.

[KB2009Champ]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.


:roll:

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

[rodman91]

Mihm was one of the better center in the league AT THAT TIME. Easily top 10.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8nc2f2E5h1qd6t4bo1_400.gif

[97 bulls]

Wtf is wrong with some of you guys? Are you comparingg Mihm to the centers in basketball history or just the time in question? Under normal circumstances, Mihm would be a very good backup center. But in the mid 00s? The centers were bad. If you take a bunch of bad centers and put them in list with decent centers, the decent center is gonna be the best. How are you rating the centers in 05-06?

[AlphaWolf24]

obvious answer is yes i am fully aware of google but whether i make a query here or there is water under the bridge. Thanks for the answer, even though it was in an ahole manner. Yes beat is ass because it will teach him a lesson not to run his mouth and earn kwame some respect as the guy that beat up jordan.


Pretty sure MJ said the "Flaming ******!" remark to Kwame in Practice...even if Kwame stepped up to MJ...there would be 9 other guys holding Kwame down while Jordan beat his ***.

1 on 1...Kwame would make MJ his ***** though..

[97 bulls]

Mihm place fifth in allstar voting in 06

http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_2006_voting.html


Here's a list of the top centers in the league in 06

http://www.databaseBasketball.com/leaders/playerseasonsearch.htm

He was 13th in points, 16th in rebounds, 16th in blocks and shot 51%. In only 26 minutes.

And mind ou that list includes some PFs. Boozer, J. O'neal, Kristic, and Frye were PFs

[DirtySanchez]

Quote:
You ****ing flaming ******. You don't get a foul on a goddamn little touch foul, you ****ing ******. You don't bring that ******y shit here. Get your goddamn ass back on the floor and play. I don't want to hear that ****ing shit out of you again. Get your ass back and play, you ******.


Jordan wins!!!! Lmao hella mean

[Nick Young]

wow kobe you soft?

look at jordan go hard on kwame in practise



**** = f*ck, f*ggot (you can figure out where they go)
Jordan should be banned for life from stepping in to an NBA arena, this is shameless-bigotted bullshit to the highest degree. Disgusting.

[AlphaWolf24]

Mihm place fifth in allstar voting in 06

http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_2006_voting.html


Here's a list of the top centers in the league in 06

http://www.databaseBasketball.com/leaders/playerseasonsearch.htm


Kobe turns Big Scrubs into Allstars...

No wonder Kobe and Snaq 3 peated...Snaq was already a allstar caliber player..with Kobe he became Great...


GawdBE turning water into wine since 00'

[Nick Young]

Kobe turns Big Scrubs into Allstars...

No wonder Kobe and Snaq 3 peated...Snaq was already a allstar caliber player..with Kobe he became Great...


GawdBE turning water into wine since 00'
Even Shaq admits he was the second option adn Gawdbe carried him to 3 titles:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

Shaq only won one title without the great GAWDbe, and he played on teams with 2 time MVP Nash, Grant Hill, KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, not to mention former allstar center and MVP candidate JO, reigning MVP Lebron James, Anthony Parker the Euroleague GOAT,and Antawn Jamison aka multi-time allstar.

Gawdbe even turned Pau Gasoft who never won a single playoff game, into a 2 time NBA champion. Can't think of any other player in NBA history that could have pulled that feat off.

[AlphaWolf24]

Even Shaq admits he was the second option adn Gawdbe carried him to 3 titles:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

Shaq only won one title without the great GAWDbe, and he played on teams with 2 time MVP Nash, Grant Hill, KG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, not to mention former allstar center and MVP candidate JO, reigning MVP Lebron James, Anthony Parker the Euroleague GOAT,and Antawn Jamison aka multi-time allstar.

Gawdbe even turned Pau Gasoft who never won a single playoff game, into a 2 time NBA champion. Can't think of any other player in NBA history that could have pulled that feat off.


(repped) Love the Honesty...the Kobe is strong in you.:pimp:

[kenny817]

Perhaps we can end the nonsense that Kobe had no help in 06. People seem to forget Brown did a hell of a job when he went up against Duncaan. That Chris Mihm was one of the better centers in the league.





oh