Anyone else think Kobe could be a MUCH better exec than magic?

[Duderonomy]

Magic is like Isiah Thomas just putting big names together and not worrying about chemistry or future positioning.

Kobe has that mamba mentality, you know he'd be methodical about this man. i definitely see him running a front office one day. he's a true student of the game. he'd be a great coach too but i think that's beneath a man of his stature.

[stalkerforlife]

Kobe is better than Magic at everything basketball related.

Mamba would be a GREAT GM.

[warriorfan]

Yes. Kobe has a higher iq than Magic and is more recently removed from the league. He

[kennethgriffen]

kobe said harden was the best player in the nba like half a decade ago...nobody listened

[bigkingsfan]

He tried to push the 19 yr old Bynum for 34 yr old kidd trade :facepalm

[kennethgriffen]

He tried to push the 19 yr old Bynum for 34 yr old kidd trade :facepalm


actually it was a 19 year old bynum for a 33 year old kidd and if that trade goes through the lakers might have 3-peated with kobe/gasol


bynum didn't even play during their 2 title runs ... he averaged 6ppg and sat the entire 4th every game

[bigkingsfan]

actually it was a 19 year old bynum for a 33 year old kidd and if that trade goes through the lakers might have 3-peated with kobe/gasol


bynum didn't even play during their 2 title runs ... he averaged 6ppg and sat the entire 4th every game
Nah Kobe was unhappy and request for a trade, that started the chain reaction for the Pau trade. That likely doesn't happen with Kidd.

[PickernRoller]

I don't think there is any doubt. For starters, he ain't signing old corpse Bran to a MAX retirement deal.

[hiphopanonymous]

The difference between Kobe and Magic lies in their personalities which also reflected how they play.

Magic could get along with ANYONE and as a ball handler in a free wheeling offense he could distribute to everyone and just make a team work - all his teams were always contenders in his PG years no matter his supporting cast and because of this he projects his own personality on to other people and thinks "they will all make each other better" just like how he made other players better.

Kobe's different. Kobe is more reserved and calculating and was/is a tireless worker who busted his ass for everything he ever earned. Kobe had a chip on his shoulder. If you didn't work hard you didn't have his respect. Kobe also knows what it feels like to play with pieces that don't contribute to the team or fit a system. Kobe isn't a ball dominant player so in his experience you have to actually be the right fit for a team - he played in a triangle system. Pieces have to be in place. Players have to know their role. Etc.

Both Magic and Kobe were all-time great players. But the way they approach the game and place trust in other players is different. I think on this particular Lakers team, Magic is placing TOO MUCH TRUST in the other players to simply make it work.

The Lakers NEED KOBE making the decisions. He's much more methodical and deliberate about players playing their roles and WORKING HARD. He'd get this team to the promised land from the top down. Magic's greatest asset to himself as an individual is his potential downfall when projected on to others. Other players aren't as good as he is at gelling a team together. Magic ran on offense. The guy he's placing his trust in hammers the ball into the hardwood until there's no air in it and no time on the clock and just whips it at stationary teammates. The team needs a Kobe to take command and come up with a tactical system where every player has a very specific role and if they don't work hard at it or buy into it they will be traded at his discretion (not some certain players discretion) - because the current players are doing an awful job at creating a team identity and sharing the ball.

[kennethgriffen]

Nah Kobe was unhappy and request for a trade, that started the chain reaction for the Pau trade. That likely doesn't happen with Kidd.


i think it does considering jerry west was looking to get rid of paus contract for expiring deals anyway and he had connections to the lakers

nobody can just randomly call up a team and get an allstar just because their guy demands a trade

plus if they pulled the trigger on kidd then it would have meant they were trying to win and going all in. which was the whole point of the trade demand in the first place because management told phil they were just waiting on bynum to mature and using kobe to sell tickets


so with kobe directing things the wheels would have been in motion for kidd and pau

[kennethgriffen]

I don't think there is any doubt. For starters, he ain't signing old corpse Bran to a MAX retirement deal.

and they would have drafted tatum instead of lonzo

[PickernRoller]

and they would have drafted tatum instead of lonzo

For sure...

[FKAri]

Hard to say but Magic's been horrible.

[LoneyROY7]

kobe said harden was the best player in the nba like half a decade ago...nobody listened

This is actually true. He said he would start a team with a Harden over anyone years ago. Kob might just have that talent evaluating knack.

[ImKobe]

He tried to push the 19 yr old Bynum for 34 yr old kidd trade :facepalm

And was he wrong? Bynum barely contributed to any Playoff wins for us and constantly got injured in the middle of the RS while Kidd was one of the best defensive guards in the game and played 80 games a season up until 2012 and was still consistently putting up 10/7/10, who could still create and who became a great 3-PT shooter. Kidd was an all-star still at age 36.. while Bynum was washed up by the end of the 2012 season after making one all-star game. Let's not forget that he was immature and didn't really care for the game. Only a few bigs in NBA history are as skilled and athletic as Bynum, but he he didn't care about winning games, he just wanted money.

That would have been a great trade for us.

[bigkingsfan]

And was he wrong? Bynum barely contributed to any Playoff wins for us and constantly got injured in the middle of the RS while Kidd was one of the best defensive guards in the game and played 80 games a season up until 2012 and was still consistently putting up 10/7/10, who could still create and who became a great 3-PT shooter. Kidd was an all-star still at age 36.. while Bynum was washed up by the end of the 2012 season after making one all-star game. Let's not forget that he was immature and didn't really care for the game. Only a few bigs in NBA history are as skilled and athletic as Bynum, but he he didn't care about winning games, he just wanted money.

That would have been a great trade for us.
Of course it was the right move keeping Bynum because they got two rings out of it. There's all kind of butterfly effect if they traded for Kidd.

[ImKobe]

Of course it was the right move keeping Bynum because they got two rings out of it. There's all kind of butterfly effect if they traded for Kidd.

Bro, Bynum was barely putting up 7 points and 5 rebounds in those Playoff runs.. If we have Kidd in place of Bynum, we could have legitimately won a title in 2008 and who knows what happens in 2011 with Kidd on our side and not on the Mavs. Bynum would have been on the Nets and wouldn't have lasted a season there. Look at the amount of games he missed for us and his Playoff averages, he was a role player for those two rings.

Bynum was great for us in the first half of the 2008 season, but got injured and was out for the rest of the year with a serious knee injury, we make the trade before that and who knows what happens in the Finals with Kidd defending Pierce/Allen. We probably don't get killed from 3 and our offense runs better.

[bigkingsfan]

Bro, Bynum was barely putting up 7 points and 5 rebounds in those Playoff runs.. If we have Kidd in place of Bynum, we could have legitimately won a title in 2008 and who knows what happens in 2011 with Kidd on our side and not on the Mavs. Bynum would have been on the Nets and wouldn't have lasted a season there. Look at the amount of games he missed for us and his Playoff averages, he was a role player for those two rings.

Bynum was great for us in the first half of the 2008 season, but got injured and was out for the rest of the year with a serious knee injury, we make the trade before that and who knows what happens in the Finals with Kidd defending Pierce/Allen. We probably don't get killed from 3 and our offense runs better.
Nah, you're assuming everything happens exactly like it does with the Gasol trade if they got Kidd. That's not certain.

[ImKobe]

Nah, you're assuming everything happens exactly like it does with the Gasol trade if they got Kidd. That's not certain.

Why not? We still would have needed a big and we still would have probably had the pieces to pull it off. A Kobe/Gasol/Kidd duo is much better in 08/09/10 than with Bynum IMO. You still have a line-up of Kidd/Kobe/Ariza or Artest/Odom/Gasol. That perimeter defense :eek:

[bigkingsfan]

Why not? We still would have needed a big and we still would have probably had the pieces to pull it off. A Kobe/Gasol/Kidd duo is much better in 08/09/10 than with Bynum IMO. You still have a line-up of Kidd/Kobe/Ariza or Artest/Odom/Gasol. That perimeter defense :eek:
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[Real Men Wear Green]

No, it's Kobe's agent who is the actual GM of the Lakers. Magic may be able to override his decisions but the real grunt work of being GM is poring over prospects, watching video, and managing the cap. That is what Pelinka does, not Magic. Magic is the guy that shows up at James' house the minute it's allowed and closes the deal with him. Bryant may or may not be as good as Magic is at that, and Magic did that successfully (mainly because James had already decided what he was going to do). There is little reason to think Bryant would significantly change LA's direction when his long-time agent is the actual GM. In reality Bryant might not want to deal with the grind of being the GM (similar to Magic).