I really have to stop myself from starting off every post with some version of “The NBA is a total mess right now.” The problem, however, is the NBA is just an utter, unmitigated mess at the moment, that it affects just about every bit of business being done.
The Chris Paul to the Lakers deal falling apart led to the Lakers trading Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a trade exception obtained by the Knicks sign-and-trade acquisition of Tyson Chandler. And Kobe Bryant is no fan of the move.
“You’re talking about the sixth man of the year last year,” said Kobe when I asked how much LO hasgrown over their seven seasons as teammates. “I mean, he played lights out. I don’t understand the criticism of reality shows and this, that and the other. I don’t get it. I don’t understand it. He had his best season last season. It clearly wasn’t a distraction. He played his ass off. I don’t get where that comes from.
“Now I’m getting pissed off.”
I’m sure new coach Mike Brown, who is trying to install a new system in a matter of a couple of weeks will love dealing with a pissed off Kobe Bryant.
And Kobe has a point. Why was Odom shipped off to Dallas? Was he that much of a disruption after the rumored deal to New Orleans that he had to be traded away in an effort to preserve team unity? Would Kobe have allowed that to happen?
Unless this leads to a bigger move to acquire Dwight Howard, the Odom trade smacks of a knee-jerk reaction to Odom’s Twitter rantings. If that’s all the Lakers do, then it’s a mind-boggling mis-management of a key bench player for seemingly no reason at all. The Lakers will, of course, pursue Dwight Howard, but what if that doesn’t pan out? In this climate, nothing is guaranteed.
The Lakers had better have a plan, or they’re going to have to deal with a pretty short fuse on Kobe Bryant this season.
