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moonriver24
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 Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:31 am Post subject: Kobe almost a Clipper in 2004? |
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Woah... The clippers said they got a verbal agreement from Kobe.
I dont remember if Kobe was a UFA or not at the time but we knew hevwanted to leave as a result of the feud with Shaq.
It would have been the biggest steal for the neighbor...
And I am not sure if Shaq could have won without much motivation ... and getting older supporting casts while Kobe should have had better supporting casts?
With his super years after splitting with Shaq... surely Kobe would stillhave a better chsnce of winning more rings.
https://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-rumors-clippers-thought-they-had-verbal-agreement-from-kobe-bryant-in-2004-nba-free-agency/2019/07/25/
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Last edited by moonriver24 on Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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dont_be_a_wuss
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:37 am Post subject: |
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| Almost is hard to measure, ‘cause almost ain’t (bleep). |
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moonriver24
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JUST-MING
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:48 am Post subject: |
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Clippers had a young squad. 24-year old Elton Brand, Corey Maggette; 23-year old Keyon Dooling, Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons; 21-year old Chris Kaman, Chris Wilcox; 25-year old Marco Jaric, Melvin Ely; a lottery pick used to draft 19-year old Shaun Livingston. He was close friends with the Duke players, lobbied for Coach K to be the head coach, and even play games closer to his home. It probably only got that far out of his respect for Elgin Baylor, general manager at the time. He probably would have won more titles with the Clippers, but he chose loyalty to the Lakers over an easy path to the finals...
Last edited by JUST-MING on Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:07 am; edited 3 times in total |
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ocho
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:54 am Post subject: |
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I've heard interviews with Kobe where he mentioned the Clippers and others, like this one, where he says it was the Bulls. I think it was all noise to ensure Shaq's departure. He wasn't going anywhere.
| Quote: | Reports centered on Bryant, then a free agent, starting over with the Clippers, but he said he and wife were looking for homes and researching schools in the Chicago area. O’Neal had heard the rumors, but didn’t believe it at the time.
“Oh yeah, we were looking for places in Chicago, man,” Bryant said. “We were flying up there to meet with (Jerry) Reinsdorf and (John) Paxson.”
O’Neal chimed in, “You would leave sunny California to go to cold-ass Chicago?”
“Vanessa signed off,” Bryant said. “We were moving out to Lake Forest, I think it was. Chicago. And went on vacation in Italy, I got a phone call. (Then-agent) Rob Pelinka called and he said, ‘Shaq just requested a trade.’ I was like, ‘Well there goes Chicago.’ There’s no way the Lakers are going to lose me and Shaq in the same year.“ |
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Pureshot77
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
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Halflife
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Joined: 15 Aug 2015
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| dont_be_a_wuss wrote: | | Almost is hard to measure, ‘cause almost ain’t (bleep). |
i almost won the lottery only 4 numbers away. |
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activeverb
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:40 am Post subject: |
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| Pureshot77 wrote: | | Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
Kobe has said for years he came close to signing with the Clippers. What's new is Ralph Lawler gave an interview in which he said Kobe gave a verbal agreement he would become a Clipper, which had never been reported before. |
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venturalakersfan
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:42 am Post subject: |
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| ocho wrote: | I've heard interviews with Kobe where he mentioned the Clippers and others, like this one, where he says it was the Bulls. I think it was all noise to ensure Shaq's departure. He wasn't going anywhere.
| Quote: | Reports centered on Bryant, then a free agent, starting over with the Clippers, but he said he and wife were looking for homes and researching schools in the Chicago area. O’Neal had heard the rumors, but didn’t believe it at the time.
“Oh yeah, we were looking for places in Chicago, man,” Bryant said. “We were flying up there to meet with (Jerry) Reinsdorf and (John) Paxson.”
O’Neal chimed in, “You would leave sunny California to go to cold-ass Chicago?”
“Vanessa signed off,” Bryant said. “We were moving out to Lake Forest, I think it was. Chicago. And went on vacation in Italy, I got a phone call. (Then-agent) Rob Pelinka called and he said, ‘Shaq just requested a trade.’ I was like, ‘Well there goes Chicago.’ There’s no way the Lakers are going to lose me and Shaq in the same year.“ |
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If Shaq has signed the extension that the Lakers offered then he would have been here for 3 more seasons.
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non-player zealot
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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| activeverb wrote: | | Pureshot77 wrote: | | Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
Kobe has said for years he came close to signing with the Clippers. What's new is Ralph Lawler gave an interview in which he said Kobe gave a verbal agreement he would become a Clipper, which had never been reported before. |
I listened to Baylor on the Joe McDonnell show back then (2004) and he said the same. He very explicitly explained that the Clippers had verbal commitment, but Kobe changed his mind at the zero hour. I'm pretty sure this was before Shaq was even officially dealt, but Kobe probably knew he was gone and yet he still did that. Not surprising after his blowup in 2007/08.
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Huey Lewis & The News
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Location: So what's the uh...topic of discussion?
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lakersken80
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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| non-player zealot wrote: | | activeverb wrote: | | Pureshot77 wrote: | | Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
Kobe has said for years he came close to signing with the Clippers. What's new is Ralph Lawler gave an interview in which he said Kobe gave a verbal agreement he would become a Clipper, which had never been reported before. |
I listened to Baylor on the Joe McDonnell show back then (2004) and he said the same. He very explicitly explained that the Clippers had verbal commitment, but Kobe changed his mind at the zero hour. I'm pretty sure this was before Shaq was even officially dealt, but Kobe probably knew he was gone and yet he still did that. Not surprising after his blowup in 2007/08. |
I remember Shaq had left so if Kobe had decided to bail it would've been disastrous for the organization. It was a relief to Laker fans that he stayed but we knew they had a long way to be contending for titles. |
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danzag
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Huey Lewis & The News wrote: | | KOBE |
KOBE |
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moonriver24
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Joined: 21 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| JUST-MING wrote: | | Clippers had a young squad. 24-year old Elton Brand, Corey Maggette; 23-year old Keyon Dooling, Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons; 21-year old Chris Kaman, Chris Wilcox; 25-year old Marco Jaric, Melvin Ely; a lottery pick used to draft 19-year old Shaun Livingston. He was close friends with the Duke players, lobbied for Coach K to be the head coach, and even play games closer to his home. It probably only got that far out of his respect for Elgin Baylor, general manager at the time. He probably would have won more titles with the Clippers, but he chose loyalty to the Lakers over an easy path to the finals... |
Woah... Kobe almost threepeated in 2008-10 with gasol et al. With the young Clips at the time and the super prime Kobe from 2005 ... Clips would have been a dynasty themselves with Kobe. Lucky that the late owner could envision Kobe years to come.
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LakersFanESS
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 8:54 pm Post subject: |
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Kobe almost left for the Clippers in '04 and asked for a trade to Chicago or Pluto or anywhere in '07. Both times I think Kobe was using his leverage to assure that Shaq would be gone and to wake up the Lakers into getting him a supporting cast that didn't include guys named Smush. It worked both times  |
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Halflife
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Joined: 15 Aug 2015
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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| moonriver24 wrote: | | JUST-MING wrote: | | Clippers had a young squad. 24-year old Elton Brand, Corey Maggette; 23-year old Keyon Dooling, Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons; 21-year old Chris Kaman, Chris Wilcox; 25-year old Marco Jaric, Melvin Ely; a lottery pick used to draft 19-year old Shaun Livingston. He was close friends with the Duke players, lobbied for Coach K to be the head coach, and even play games closer to his home. It probably only got that far out of his respect for Elgin Baylor, general manager at the time. He probably would have won more titles with the Clippers, but he chose loyalty to the Lakers over an easy path to the finals... |
Woah... Kobe almost threepeated in 2008-10 with gasol et al. With the young Clips at the time and the super prime Kobe from 2005 ... Clips would have been a dynasty themselves with Kobe. Lucky that the late owner could envision Kobe years to come. |
Who was the coach |
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Halflife
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| Posted: Sat Jul 27, 2019 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| moonriver24 wrote: | | JUST-MING wrote: | | Clippers had a young squad. 24-year old Elton Brand, Corey Maggette; 23-year old Keyon Dooling, Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons; 21-year old Chris Kaman, Chris Wilcox; 25-year old Marco Jaric, Melvin Ely; a lottery pick used to draft 19-year old Shaun Livingston. He was close friends with the Duke players, lobbied for Coach K to be the head coach, and even play games closer to his home. It probably only got that far out of his respect for Elgin Baylor, general manager at the time. He probably would have won more titles with the Clippers, but he chose loyalty to the Lakers over an easy path to the finals... |
Woah... Kobe almost threepeated in 2008-10 with gasol et al. With the young Clips at the time and the super prime Kobe from 2005 ... Clips would have been a dynasty themselves with Kobe. Lucky that the late owner could envision Kobe years to come. |
Who was the coach |
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Judah
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:09 am Post subject: |
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| Pureshot77 wrote: | | Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
Probably just an attempt to put another dent (in their minds) in the Lakers armor. They stole Kawhi from us, and sort of stole the George from us in a second hand way as well (I guess), since he was supposed to end up on the Lakers. To them, it promotes their brand to be able to say that they almost stole Kobe from the Lakers.
I could be wrong, but this is the best I can come up with to make sense of the timing of this from their perspective 
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kikanga
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:15 am Post subject: |
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So tired of seeing Clippers threads in the Lounge. This offseason can't end soon enough
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Judah
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:27 am Post subject: |
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| LakersFanESS wrote: | | Kobe almost left for the Clippers in '04 and asked for a trade to Chicago or Pluto or anywhere in '07. Both times I think Kobe was using his leverage to assure that Shaq would be gone and to wake up the Lakers into getting him a supporting cast that didn't include guys named Smush. It worked both times |
Doubt it, especially on the second one. Bear in mind that the 2007-2008 Lakers was mostly the same group of guys. The two big differences were Fisher coming back and that huge jump Bynum made in his development that year. The Gasol trade happened, but they were already at the top of the West prior to Bynum's injury. It was him being out that caused them to plummet in the standings.
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“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there."
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Last edited by Judah on Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:41 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Judah
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 4:29 am Post subject: |
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| Halflife wrote: | | moonriver24 wrote: | | JUST-MING wrote: | | Clippers had a young squad. 24-year old Elton Brand, Corey Maggette; 23-year old Keyon Dooling, Quinton Richardson, Bobby Simmons; 21-year old Chris Kaman, Chris Wilcox; 25-year old Marco Jaric, Melvin Ely; a lottery pick used to draft 19-year old Shaun Livingston. He was close friends with the Duke players, lobbied for Coach K to be the head coach, and even play games closer to his home. It probably only got that far out of his respect for Elgin Baylor, general manager at the time. He probably would have won more titles with the Clippers, but he chose loyalty to the Lakers over an easy path to the finals... |
Woah... Kobe almost threepeated in 2008-10 with gasol et al. With the young Clips at the time and the super prime Kobe from 2005 ... Clips would have been a dynasty themselves with Kobe. Lucky that the late owner could envision Kobe years to come. |
Who was the coach |
Dunleavy of course.
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“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there."
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RI Laker
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| Pureshot77 wrote: | | Why is this old news being rehashed now by the Clippers? It's like putting a job you interviewed for but didn't get on your resume. |
We are and will always be in the Clippers head. Ballmer can do, say, and spend what he wants. He can never change the fact that the Clippers will always be the Lakers bastard child. He should just move the team to Anchorage and do a reboot. |
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oaktown_dimond
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:40 am Post subject: |
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Has the clippers arena broken ground yet? It seriously can not be built soon enough!
Just go away already! |
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Chronicle
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:55 am Post subject: |
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| danzag wrote: | | Huey Lewis & The News wrote: | | KOBE |
KOBE |
kobe
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LonzoLegend2
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| Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 11:56 am Post subject: |
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| oaktown_dimond wrote: | Has the clippers arena broken ground yet? It seriously can not be built soon enough!
Just go away already! |
Just to add to the fact that Dolan and MSG will NOT let Ballz build in such close proximity to the Forum and you have a nomadic team no one wants.
Anaheim, Seattle, or LV is there only play for once there lease at Staples expires in 5 years....lol. |
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