Shaq left LA because Kobe acted like an arrogant douche

[JohnMax]

Shaq left LA because Kobe acted like an arrogant douche and bad mouthed him in the media which pissed him off and made him demand more money then Buss was willing to pay.

Buss made the decision that he could only afford to keep one of the two and made the obviously more intelligent choice to keep the young player instead of the old one.

Kobe also told Buss after the 04 Finalz that he wouldn't resign with LA if they kept Shaq essentially ending any possibility of them working it out.

The whole feud was started because Kobe was dumb enough not to give Shaq his 15-20 touches consistently after the 2002 season and wanted to have the 0ffense ran through himself at that point.
When Shaq complained about it Kobe fired back by publicly attacking him in the media which furthered the feud to huge proportions.

This came to a head in 04 where Kobe tried to carry the team in the Finalz like Shaq had done in previous years and failed miserably.

[Marlo_Stanfield]

everyone knows kobe is a bitch, a bad teammate and a rapist. also a snitch.
complete sociopath.
that he has any fans is a complete mystery

[T_L_P]

Didn't Phil Jackson leave too because they resigned Kobe? Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Im Still Ballin]

Old news chow

[Marlo_Stanfield]

Didn't Phil Jackson leave too because they resigned Kobe? Correct me if I'm wrong.

yeah
then kobrick didnt win shit before Pjax returned

[Ne 1]

Nope. Shaq left on his own free will, had nothing to do with Kobe. Kobe was actually ready to sign with the Clippers. Shaq did not leave because of Kobe, the Lakers traded Shaq because he was 32 years old, going into his 13th season, his talent was declining, he was showing up to training camp out of shape and unmotivated, but still demanded max money and Buss refused, and during an exhibition game Shaq called out Buss and pointed and yelled at him "pay me motherf*cker."

Fact is simple. Shaq demanded to be traded from the Lakers, while Kobe opted out of his contract and was no longer a Laker. It was basically confirmed that Kobe was going to be a Clipper prior to Shaq being traded. Nobody forced Shaq out, since he had an offer on the table, it was 100% his choice. Had Shaq decided to stay a Laker and accepted the offer from Jerry Buss, he'd be a Laker still in 2005. Kobe actually had already decided to sign with the Clippers, but Buss made a last-ditch effort to Bryant because he knew how disasterous it would be from a public relations standpoint for the Lakers to lose both of their star players in one offseason. Bryant has admitted he talked to Jerry West and West advised him to stay with the Lakers. Buss and Kupchak convinced him they'd rebuild the franchise and bring in top talent. So, he re-signed with the Lakers.

Too long didn't read; Kobe could not have "forced" Shaq out, since Shaq DEMANDED a trade. All Shaq had to do was accept the offer. No team would have been able to trade for him without his consent, so it was 100% in his power to stay. He chose to leave, therefore you can't blame Kobe Bryant for what HE demanded.

[Beastmode88]

Nope. Shaq left on his own free will, had nothing to do with Kobe. Kobe was actually ready to sign with the Clippers. Shaq did not leave because of Kobe, the Lakers traded Shaq because he was 32 years old, going into his 13th season, his talent was declining, he was showing up to training camp out of shape and unmotivated, but still demanded max money and Buss refused, and during an exhibition game Shaq called out Buss and pointed and yelled at him "pay me motherf*cker."

Fact is simple. Shaq demanded to be traded from the Lakers, while Kobe opted out of his contract and was no longer a Laker. It was basically confirmed that Kobe was going to be a Clipper prior to Shaq being traded. Nobody forced Shaq out, since he had an offer on the table, it was 100% his choice. Had Shaq decided to stay a Laker and accepted the offer from Jerry Buss, he'd be a Laker still in 2005. Kobe actually had already decided to sign with the Clippers, but Buss made a last-ditch effort to Bryant because he knew how disasterous it would be from a public relations standpoint for the Lakers to lose both of their star players in one offseason. Bryant has admitted he talked to Jerry West and West advised him to stay with the Lakers. Buss and Kupchak convinced him they'd rebuild the franchise and bring in top talent. So, he re-signed with the Lakers.

Too long didn't read; Kobe could not have "forced" Shaq out, since Shaq DEMANDED a trade. All Shaq had to do was accept the offer. No team would have been able to trade for him without his consent, so it was 100% in his power to stay. He chose to leave, therefore you can't blame Kobe Bryant for what HE demanded.

Shaq won another ring before kobe.

[gts]

Didn't Phil Jackson leave too because they resigned Kobe? Correct me if I'm wrong.

that might carry some weight except Phil came back, Kobe obviously was still there...

Phil left because he was burned out.. Took a year off traveled the world and came back a year later ready to roll

Gotta love the Kobe haters and their revisionist history nonsense they spew

[Ne 1]

Didn't Phil Jackson leave too because they resigned Kobe? Correct me if I'm wrong.

Phil also left on his own free will, he had a contract offer outstanding from the Lakers, but he had not acted on it. Phil, Kobe and Buss all denied this rumor and Jackson even said himself before it wasn't anything like that and that it was a decision he made upon talks with Buss.

[PJR]

Phil also left on his own free will, he had a contract offer outstanding from the Lakers, but he had not acted on it. Phil, Kobe and Buss all denied this rumor and Jackson even said himself before it wasn't anything like that and that it was a decision he made upon talks with Buss.

O rly?

Quote from Phil's book, "The Last Season"

“Earlier this week at El Segundo there was an incident at practice. On the way to the court, I asked Kobe, still nursing a sore shoulder, if he was up to doing a little running. Sure, he responded, as soon as he finished his treatment. Almost an hour went by, and there was no Kobe sighting. Finally, with an ice pack on his shoulder, he took a seat on the sideline. It began to dawn on me that contrary to what he had told me, Kobe had no intention of running. After practice I followed Kobe to the training room, asking him why he lied to me. He was being sarcastic, he said. Wrong answer. I told him that he needed to treat me with respect, not sarcasm. I turned and walked away, heading to the coaches’ locker room. A minute later I heard him cursing in the training room in front of the players, though I couldn’t make out the exact words….Now I was the one who was angry. I went upstairs to see Mitch in his office. Wasting no time, I went off on a tirade about the need to deal Kobe before the trading deadline in mid-February. “I won’t coach this team next year if he is still here,” I said emphatically. “He won’t listen to anyone. I’ve had it with this kid.” My monologue-Mitch barely said a word at first-reminded me of similar eruption in the middle of my first year when I presented what I thought was a very logical argument for trading Kobe at that time. “Everyone says what a mature person this kid is,” I said. “He’s not mature at all.” The deal I had in mind was Kobe to Phoenix for Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion.”

[JellyBean]

Dang this was like.....10 years ago..idk. Why bring this up? Oh never mind I know why.

[moe94]

But Shaq is an arrogant douche.

[Doctor Rivers]

Shaq left LA because Kobe acted like an arrogant douche and bad mouthed him in the media which pissed him off and made him demand more money then Buss was willing to pay.

Buss made the decision that he could only afford to keep one of the two and made the obviously more intelligent choice to keep the young player instead of the old one.

Kobe also told Buss after the 04 Finalz that he wouldn't resign with LA if they kept Shaq essentially ending any possibility of them working it out.

The whole feud was started because Kobe was dumb enough not to give Shaq his 15-20 touches consistently after the 2002 season and wanted to have the 0ffense ran through himself at that point.
When Shaq complained about it Kobe fired back by publicly attacking him in the media which furthered the feud to huge proportions.

This came to a head in 04 where Kobe tried to carry the team in the Finalz like Shaq had done in previous years and failed miserably.

lolz

[Kiddlovesnets]

We all know that Kobe was the reason why Shaq left, theres little need to discuss the obvious truth. Both Shaq and Kobe have gotten their rings without each other, lets just give them a break.

[Ne 1]

O rly?

Quote from Phil's book, "The Last Season"

Haven't seen that quote before, but regardless the bottom line is this: Both Phil AND Shaq had offers on the table for them. The Lakers put forth very generous offers to both Shaq and Phil. Both Phil and Shaq turned those offers down flat. Kobe didn't make them say no. Kobe couldn't make them say no. They CHOSE to say no. They wanted more, which is fine. But how is that on Kobe? And finally, and this is just my point of view, but it sounds like it was actually Shaq and Phil who were trying to push Kobe out, not Kobe trying to push Shaq or Phil out. Shaq was in the first year of a 3-year $88 MILLION extension, and he's trying to twist Dr. Buss arm for another $100 million over 3 years. A good teammate would have said, 'Hey, take care of Kobe first. He's the guy that's actually gonna be a free agent.' Both he and Phil could have stood down and waited until the Lakers took care of Kobe. But they didn't, and that was on purpose because they wanted their money, and they wanted Kobe to walk.