By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider
Chad Ford's Chat Wrap with SportsNation on Thursday
What were the Lakers thinking this summer when they let Kobe Bryant dictate whom the team acquired in the offseason?
Everyone knows they were desperate to re-sign Bryant, but once you give up that type of power to a player, he isn't giving it back.
Since making his free agent power play this summer, Kobe already has helped exile Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton and Derek Fisher. Kareem Rush was given away last week for two second-round picks.
Tuesday, Bryant nailed the door shut on a Karl Malone return to the Lakers.
In a radio interview, Bryant said he didn't think Malone was coming back, then criticized the Mailman for leaving the team up in the air.
"It's not really fair to hold it over the guys' heads that are here," Bryant said. "The guys that we have here are working hard, practicing hard every day. It's kind of tough for them to be looking over their shoulder, wondering if he's going to come back and then everybody is going to disappear.
"It's really not fair for us to sit around and speculate how long this is going to go on. I mean, you can't sit up here and speculate for the remainder of the season whether or not he is going to come back. I mean, that's not fair to the guys that are working here."
" I get the feeling that everyone there is pretty miserable. I know [my client] wants out and he claims others do too. It's hard enough to have a coach on you all the time, but then when a player is doing it, too, it's just too much. "
-- An agent of an unhappy teammate of Kobe Bryant's
Oh, the hypocrisy. Wasn't it Bryant who held his impending free agency over the heads of the entire organization last year? Wasn't everyone looking over their shoulders wondering if Bryant was going to bolt to the Clippers? Maybe Malone isn't the player the Lakers need right now, but Bryant shouldn't be the one making that decision or delivering the message.
But that's not the worst of it.
What left Bryant's mouth after that speaks volumes about whose team this really is.
"They are here giving me 110 percent," Bryant said of his teammates.
Really? The Lakers are playing for Kobe now?
That wasn't a slip of the tongue. Two player agents who represent players on the Lakers and one league source told Insider that Bryant was ruling the Lakers with an iron fist, getting in players' faces and acting as if he owned the team. According to one agent, Bryant even threatened to trade his client if he didn't do things The Kobe Way.
"I get the feeling that everyone there is pretty miserable," one agent told Insider. "I know [my client] wants out, and he claims others do too. It's hard enough to have a coach on you all the time, but then when a player is doing it, too, it's just too much."
The Lakers need to be careful. Word is spreading quickly around the league that while Bryant is an awesome player, he's a terrible teammate. When the Lakers finally have some cap room to go out and lure free agents, what top-tier player is going to want to play there?
The Lakers responded to the whole Malone mess by stating that Bryant wasn't "speaking on behalf of the Lakers management or organization."
Bryant has a $136 million contract that says otherwise.
Where will the Mail be delivered next?
Malone claims he's close to 100 percent and wants to play again this season. Where might that be? A source close to Malone told Insider on Wednesday that the Spurs, Timberwolves and Heat are the three teams Malone has narrowed it down to.
Is Vince off the block?
An Achilles injury might hinder the Raptors' efforts to trade Vince Carter.
An injury to Vince Carter's Achilles might send his trade value into a freefall.
Carter strained his left Achilles' tendon Wednesday in the first minute of the second half in Toronto's game against the Pistons.
The injury highlights a growing concern among GMs that Carter isn't healthy enough to justify a trade. Several teams sent advance scouts to watch Carter play the past week, and at least two teams were concerned enough about his health that their trade interest immediately waned.
"He's got some serious tendinitis going on right now," one GM said. "Our scout came back and said that he's not going to be able to play like the old Vince Carter, so what's the point?"
GM Rob Babcock was in no mood to talk about it after the game.
"In a situation like this, we're concerned about a player's health," Babcock told the Toronto Star after the game. "The last thing you think about is the trade stuff."
The Truth about Pierce?
Paul Pierce is the latest star player to run into tough times with his team and his coach. Pierce has looked unhappy for weeks and lost it recently when head coach Doc Rivers pulled him out of a game.
Gary Payton added a few logs to the fire on Wednesday when he criticized how Pierce plays the game.
"He needs to make some changes, but it's been like four years that he's been taking those type of shots and stuff like that," Payton said in the Boston Herald. "Now he has to understand that that's got to go. He's getting a little deeper into his career - he's more than seven years deep - and those shots are not going to make it for you.
Paul Pierce (right) and Gary Payton's relationship might take a turn after the Glove's comments.
"You can be the man here scoring 20 or 30 points, but you're not going to win basketball games, you know what I'm saying? He's going to learn. I think he's going to have to learn the hard way. It's going to take somebody like myself to keep talking to him, but he'll get the picture.
"I know he doesn't feel good after these games. I know he doesn't. So he's going to look at it and he's going to figure out what's going on."
All of that negativity has spawned a number of trade rumors. However, don't put too much stock in them.
Celtics sources say they have no interest in trading Pierce - Payton will be long gone before Pierce is, they claim. And Pierce's agent, Jeff Schwartz, told Insider on Wednesday that Pierce wants to stay in Boston.
"He's happy in Boston," Schwartz said. "He wants to stay there. There is some frustration because Paul doesn't like to lose, but he thinks things are starting to turn around in Boston."
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
ESPN Insider
Chad Ford's Chat Wrap with SportsNation on Thursday
What were the Lakers thinking this summer when they let Kobe Bryant dictate whom the team acquired in the offseason?
Everyone knows they were desperate to re-sign Bryant, but once you give up that type of power to a player, he isn't giving it back.
Since making his free agent power play this summer, Kobe already has helped exile Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton and Derek Fisher. Kareem Rush was given away last week for two second-round picks.
Tuesday, Bryant nailed the door shut on a Karl Malone return to the Lakers.
In a radio interview, Bryant said he didn't think Malone was coming back, then criticized the Mailman for leaving the team up in the air.
"It's not really fair to hold it over the guys' heads that are here," Bryant said. "The guys that we have here are working hard, practicing hard every day. It's kind of tough for them to be looking over their shoulder, wondering if he's going to come back and then everybody is going to disappear.
"It's really not fair for us to sit around and speculate how long this is going to go on. I mean, you can't sit up here and speculate for the remainder of the season whether or not he is going to come back. I mean, that's not fair to the guys that are working here."
" I get the feeling that everyone there is pretty miserable. I know [my client] wants out and he claims others do too. It's hard enough to have a coach on you all the time, but then when a player is doing it, too, it's just too much. "
-- An agent of an unhappy teammate of Kobe Bryant's
Oh, the hypocrisy. Wasn't it Bryant who held his impending free agency over the heads of the entire organization last year? Wasn't everyone looking over their shoulders wondering if Bryant was going to bolt to the Clippers? Maybe Malone isn't the player the Lakers need right now, but Bryant shouldn't be the one making that decision or delivering the message.
But that's not the worst of it.
What left Bryant's mouth after that speaks volumes about whose team this really is.
"They are here giving me 110 percent," Bryant said of his teammates.
Really? The Lakers are playing for Kobe now?
That wasn't a slip of the tongue. Two player agents who represent players on the Lakers and one league source told Insider that Bryant was ruling the Lakers with an iron fist, getting in players' faces and acting as if he owned the team. According to one agent, Bryant even threatened to trade his client if he didn't do things The Kobe Way.
"I get the feeling that everyone there is pretty miserable," one agent told Insider. "I know [my client] wants out, and he claims others do too. It's hard enough to have a coach on you all the time, but then when a player is doing it, too, it's just too much."
The Lakers need to be careful. Word is spreading quickly around the league that while Bryant is an awesome player, he's a terrible teammate. When the Lakers finally have some cap room to go out and lure free agents, what top-tier player is going to want to play there?
The Lakers responded to the whole Malone mess by stating that Bryant wasn't "speaking on behalf of the Lakers management or organization."
Bryant has a $136 million contract that says otherwise.
Where will the Mail be delivered next?
Malone claims he's close to 100 percent and wants to play again this season. Where might that be? A source close to Malone told Insider on Wednesday that the Spurs, Timberwolves and Heat are the three teams Malone has narrowed it down to.
Is Vince off the block?
An Achilles injury might hinder the Raptors' efforts to trade Vince Carter.
An injury to Vince Carter's Achilles might send his trade value into a freefall.
Carter strained his left Achilles' tendon Wednesday in the first minute of the second half in Toronto's game against the Pistons.
The injury highlights a growing concern among GMs that Carter isn't healthy enough to justify a trade. Several teams sent advance scouts to watch Carter play the past week, and at least two teams were concerned enough about his health that their trade interest immediately waned.
"He's got some serious tendinitis going on right now," one GM said. "Our scout came back and said that he's not going to be able to play like the old Vince Carter, so what's the point?"
GM Rob Babcock was in no mood to talk about it after the game.
"In a situation like this, we're concerned about a player's health," Babcock told the Toronto Star after the game. "The last thing you think about is the trade stuff."
The Truth about Pierce?
Paul Pierce is the latest star player to run into tough times with his team and his coach. Pierce has looked unhappy for weeks and lost it recently when head coach Doc Rivers pulled him out of a game.
Gary Payton added a few logs to the fire on Wednesday when he criticized how Pierce plays the game.
"He needs to make some changes, but it's been like four years that he's been taking those type of shots and stuff like that," Payton said in the Boston Herald. "Now he has to understand that that's got to go. He's getting a little deeper into his career - he's more than seven years deep - and those shots are not going to make it for you.
Paul Pierce (right) and Gary Payton's relationship might take a turn after the Glove's comments.
"You can be the man here scoring 20 or 30 points, but you're not going to win basketball games, you know what I'm saying? He's going to learn. I think he's going to have to learn the hard way. It's going to take somebody like myself to keep talking to him, but he'll get the picture.
"I know he doesn't feel good after these games. I know he doesn't. So he's going to look at it and he's going to figure out what's going on."
All of that negativity has spawned a number of trade rumors. However, don't put too much stock in them.
Celtics sources say they have no interest in trading Pierce - Payton will be long gone before Pierce is, they claim. And Pierce's agent, Jeff Schwartz, told Insider on Wednesday that Pierce wants to stay in Boston.
"He's happy in Boston," Schwartz said. "He wants to stay there. There is some frustration because Paul doesn't like to lose, but he thinks things are starting to turn around in Boston."
Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.
