Kobe on Melo Drama, and disses a former NBA Player!

[theyhateme45]

Reporter: Thoughts on some of the Nuggets fans booing Carmelo.

Kobe: It’s hard to trade him, so maybe he won’t be traded, who knows. But you’ve got to show support. He’s still playing hard. Put yourself in his shoes. If you’re teeter-tottering about going somewhere, you’d be more inclined to go somewhere where they’ll cheer you.

Reporter: What about Denver-born, Denver-raised fans – if your favorite player doesn’t want to be on your team anymore …

Kobe: Oh please. Don’t give me that (expletive). My first game back when I demanded a trade, they booed the first game and didn’t boo the rest of the way.

Reporter: Why did they stop?

Kobe: Fans understood that I was going to play hard and compete every single night. They expressed their feelings in the first game and didn’t here it again.

Reporter: When you look at Melo’s situation – he likes the city of Denver, but knows that going to a bigger market could benefit him …

Kobe: It has nothing to do with a bigger market. It’s about winning. If you want to keep a player here, make the right decisions. Make the right choices with personnel, get a team around a guy to help you win, and there would be no problems.

Reporter: They have cap space this summer, so one could argue that if he wants to be in a situation to win, then Denver would be one of the best situations.

Kobe: Then Denver will make the right decisions, bring in the right personnel and he’ll stick around. It’s not rocket science. …. I know for me, it’s all about winning. In my situation, we weren’t spending the money to get players – they had me playing around with Smush Parker. Until they decided they wanted to make the necessary sacrifices financially to get a team that’s competitive, I didn’t want to be (with the Lakers). It’s as simple as that.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/nuggets/2011/01/20/kobe-bryant-on-carmelo-anthony-nuggets-fans-free-agency/

[Jackofalltrades]

And?

[theyhateme45]

I was not making a point at all actually. Just found it interesting.

[Chaos]

The guy is an arrogant ass, that's a known fact, but he's one hell of a clutch scorer with plenty of rings. I guess he can get away with saying this stuff.

[rico6]

He's keeping it real. When he saw that his organization wasn't willing to give him pieces to make the team better, he had let it known, and now he has 2-Rings from it. If Denver wants to keep Melo they're going to have to cater to him. That's just how it is nowadays.

It's actually been going on for years, but that's how it is. A player of Carmelo's calibre can only take losing in the first round so much.

[Kevin Greene]

OK, I watched a lot of Smush with the Lakers.

He sucked, Kobe is right.

[cdandi1]

IF kobe's theory is right, then paul and melo should have agreed to play in charlotte this summer....so i guess he's wrong.

[MrBubba]

Its different Melo wants to go home and play for Knicks. You know that team with the recent history of winning.

[cdandi1]

the knicks have been worse than the cats until this year. Secondly, the only reason he wants to go to NY is becuase his wife works there.

[Hawk]

is this a desperate attempt for Kobe haters or something?

I see nothing in what Kobe said to be negative to anything or anyone! Yes, basketball is a team sport and nobody wants to play for a team that isn't willing to do what it takes to win.

[Panthers128]

lol, keeping it real? won three championships, ran everyone out of town with his ego, then bitched after a couple bad seasons?

if being a fine young male is keeping it real, then kobe is definitely keeping it real

[Porn Shop Clerk]

He just wanted to win so badly that he menstruated all over the Fakers for 3 years like a woman.

[SOJA]

surprisingly i have no strong feelings for Kobe either way, I respect his game and the fact that he doesn't sugar coat things, but I don't really like or dislike him

[cbarrier90]

is this a desperate attempt for Kobe haters or something?

I see nothing in what Kobe said to be negative to anything or anyone! Yes, basketball is a team sport and nobody wants to play for a team that isn't willing to do what it takes to win.

Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the Charlotte Hornets drafted him in 1996 and at 17 years old, he said he didn't want to play here. The Hornets traded him to the Lakers for Vlade freakin' Divac and won just over 50 games that season. They also were in the midst of an 800-game or so consecutive sellout streak at the Coliseum. Who knows what would have happened had Kobe played here? Heck, the Hornets franchise might still be in Charlotte for all we know...

Kobe is downright lying if he says making these free-agent decisions are only about winning. If Melo really wants to win, there are teams out there with much better chances of making it happen than the Knicks or Nets.