From Laker fans eyes, will they be back? I Think if we lose...all of them will be gone Kobe- If we dont win this championship, I think he will set out to create his own legacy away from teh Lakers and Shaq. I think he will look to go to the Clippers or an eastern conference team and try to lead them to destiny. I think he is capable of it if he has the right role players. I hate to see him go, I just think that him and the Lakers have hit lows in communication and everything this year. Payton-Gone. HE is not the player we thought he would be, and he wants to win a championship. With the way it looks, we wont. He lost a step on defense and a couple on offense. Fisher was a better starter IMO and will be the starter next year. Malone- I think he will too leave if we do not win, He will leave to a team where he could be the two or three option(on the Lakers he is the 3). He will try to get the record that he is after, and if not I think he will retire after next year. I would lvoe to see him win a championship just because of all teh hard work he put into keeping his body in shape.
I think a lot of it depends on Phil Jackson...PJ trusts his triangle offense so much, almost to a fault. The talent our Fab Four, especially GP, would probably benefit from a different offense. GP said in an interview that him coming back depends on a couple of things...I think it depends on what Malone does and whether PJ stays.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Mel:</div><div class="quote_post">I think a lot of it depends on Phil Jackson...PJ trusts his triangle offense so much, almost to a fault. The talent our Fab Four, especially GP, would probably benefit from a different offense. GP said in an interview that him coming back depends on a couple of things...I think it depends on what Malone does and whether PJ stays.</div> Well he already said that he was going to do what Malone was going to do, they have become good friends and if one leaves I think the other does.
I truly think that Kobe is going to stay in LA. I know that he has kinda been in Shaqs shadow and i say kinda becuase some people think that he is the main spotlight of the team, but i think that Kobe will stay in La if Phil stays. He has made a really good career there and has won. I know he prolly wants to leave and make his own legacy but Shaq's years are numbered just like Malones so Kobe should wait it out and stay in LA. As for GP and the Mailman i think they are both gone becuase it doesn't look like they will win a title this year(by far am i counting they Lakers out they still have a chance). But Karl was here only becuase he wanted a ring and GP hates the offense becuase he isn't getting the shots he wants. So they are going to leave Karl plays two years and retires Gps has three left and he gone. LA will be alright if Kobe stays though becuase it will be back to the way it was.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe=DaMAN:</div><div class="quote_post">I truly think that Kobe is going to stay in LA. I know that he has kinda been in Shaqs shadow and i say kinda becuase some people think that he is the main spotlight of the team, but i think that Kobe will stay in La if Phil stays. He has made a really good career there and has won. I know he prolly wants to leave and make his own legacy but Shaq's years are numbered just like Malones so Kobe should wait it out and stay in LA.</div> I think what it comes down to is how this playoff series looks like. If the Lakers don't win the championship this year, then I think he'll leave. He already proved that he's a champion by winning three rings, and he'd definitely want to get out of the shadow and be the man somewhere else where he knows that particular coach will make him the main focus. But if there's a miraculous recovery that the Lakers rebound from a 2-0 deficit and beat the Spurs, and possibly win another title, then I think he'll sign the maximum contract and stay with the Lakers. He knows Shaq's best years are slowly decreasing, and with Payton and Malone probably leaving LA, and with himself being only 25 years old, why not the Laker management build around him for the future? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe=DaMAN:</div><div class="quote_post">As for GP and the Mailman i think they are both gone becuase it doesn't look like they will win a title this year(by far am i counting they Lakers out they still have a chance). But Karl was here only becuase he wanted a ring and GP hates the offense becuase he isn't getting the shots he wants. So they are going to leave Karl plays two years and retires Gps has three left and he gone.</div> I believe Payton will leave. All that talk he said about winning a championship and playing for the Lakers in his second year is just words coming out of his ass. He can't stand being a role player on this team, he can't stand only taking a limited number of shots a night, and he hates the triangle offense because it doesn't allow him to play his game. Plus, he has been a non-factor throughout this playoff, and it doesn't look to get any better anytime soon. To spare the embarrassment and humilation, it'll be better fitting for him to go to another city. As for Malone, it's 50-50. I really believe the death in his family will really put a hold on whether he'll retire or not. And plus, he's 40 years old and that wear and tear has been showing signs this season. He's way too fragile and if he returns for another year, he could easily injure himself and ruin his career. The Lakers must go younger this season. No if's or buts about it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> believe Payton will leave. All that talk he said about winning a championship and playing for the Lakers in his second year is just words coming out of his ass. He can't stand being a role player on this team, he can't stand only taking a limited number of shots a night, and he hates the triangle offense because it doesn't allow him to play his game. Plus, he has been a non-factor throughout this playoff, and it doesn't look to get any better anytime soon. To spare the embarrassment and humilation, it'll be better fitting for him to go to another city. As for Malone, it's 50-50. I really believe the death in his family will really put a hold on whether he'll retire or not. And plus, he's 40 years old and that wear and tear has been showing signs this season. He's way too fragile and if he returns for another year, he could easily injure himself and ruin his career.</div> GP hasn't been a good offense preformer for about 4 years now. Ever since Kemp left Seattle he hasn't been the same. He had a couple good year after but he wasn't the same. Yes he has lost alot of steps in the past years on O and D but even if he leaves and goes to a different team he won't a good starter and he definatly isn't a number 1 option on any team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kobe=DaMAN:</div><div class="quote_post">GP hasn't been a good offense preformer for about 4 years now. Ever since Kemp left Seattle he hasn't been the same. He had a couple good year after but he wasn't the same. Yes he has lost alot of steps in the past years on O and D but even if he leaves and goes to a different team he won't a good starter and he definatly isn't a number 1 option on any team.</div> He was averaging nearly 20ppg until he became a Laker, so I disagree to him not being a good offensive performer. In the triangle he isn't able to do much roaming, which is what sets him up for his style of play. Early in the season Phil was not so focused on using the triangle, and we were getting many more fast break points out of Gary and Karl. As the year went on with all the injuries Jackson stopped going away from the triangle, and therefore Gary and Karl have a much tougher time scoring. If Jackson does resign for a couple of more years I don't expect Gary to be back, but if he does come back I expect him to demand for Jackson to run a couple of more plays a game where they use normal offense.
