Will you continue to support the Lakers with the same fervour as when Kobe played for us? Honestly, I don't know. I pretty much became a basketball fan right around the time Kobe was drafted. He was my favorite player then, and he's my favorite player now. With him leaving so discontent and mistreated, I'm not sure I can support the Lakers with the same intensity as before, though of course they'll remain my favorite team. It's also a bit disconcerting to see a front office that has traditionally made pretty good decisions to screw up like this. So yeah, I dunno. I think I'll be rooting for the Lakers through and through, but I wouldn't be too upset to see Kobe torch us. I think I'd like to see him do well whereever he goes.
I'll be watching the team from afar, cheering for their wins but not actively rooting for them 24/7. I'm siding with Kobe, and in a way, I feel betrayed by the Lakers management as well. I will be closely following the team Kobe gets traded for, and I only wish him and that team the best of luck. I'll be rooting for them to win it all, and I sure hope they will have the capability to do so. I kinda feel that whoever the Lakers get in return for Kobe, it will not make them a force in the west. My predictions is that they will be a lottery team for a few years forward, and rightfully so. My hope is that the Lakers realize this, and go for youth development, building a roster of young players that could get good in a few years. With Kobe gone, I guess Bynum is the guy on the current roster that will play a big part of the future. Like many other people, I'm not sure about his development potential, but he has shown some signs that he could be at least a good, fundamental player. Another thing that I have been saying for a while, and this might be sort of an alternative to going young (because this one needs some older players), is going european. I really believe that a team with fundamental, pass-willing, team working players could succeed in the NBA. Europe has players that wants to play in the NBA, but signing them just seems to risky for NBA team. I do believe though, that the Lakers have nothing to lose on going that way (since they have already pretty much lost everything).
