Some would argue that the story of the first half of the NBA season has not been Kobe’s quest to match Jordan, the Miami Heat experiment or the Boston Celtics’ hope for a final run. Instead, much of the average NBA fan’s attention has been focused on the swirling trade rumors involving Denver Nuggets’ star forward Carmelo Anthony.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYpKLPdGCDI
Months of speculation over the potential trade has taken over the media wire, taking away much of the attention from what’s actually happening on the court. Rumors involving talks of contract extensions, buyouts for other players and third teams involved in a deal that has Melo on his way out of Denver, seem to occur every day.
The news of Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov ending his pursuit of Anthony has done nothing but add fuel to the fire of trade rumors. Now in addition to the Knicks’ pursuit of Anthony, reports of several other teams looking to acquire Melo have been running wild. With the latest rumor having Lakers acquiring the superstar in exchange for Andrew Bynum.
With that being said, the Lakers’ 107-97 victory at Denver on Jan. 21 may have been the last time the Lakers play against Carmelo in a Nuggets uniform. Of course, Lakers’ fans know what the Nuggets are going through, as it was not too long ago that similar trade rumors were surrounding our franchise cornerstone, Kobe Bryant. Oh, how three consecutive Finals appearances and back-to-back championships can make us forget?
Next: Kobe’s similar situation
In what seems to be a distant memory – not only for Lakers fans, but for NBA fans in general, Kobe was in a similar situation as Carmelo not too long ago. Following the Lakers’ second straight first round defeat at the hands of the Suns, Kobe vented his frustration in 2007.
“Do something and do it now,” Bryant famously said when asked what management should do to bring the Lakers back to elite status.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li52iOIFA6M
Bryant’s frustrations were understandable, as he was playing some of the best basketball of his career. Yet, the pressure to win his first championship without Shaq continued to mount. Although Bryant was, and still is, the best player in the game, no player in the history of the NBA could lead a team to a championship with Kwame Brown and Smush Parker in the starting lineup. Bryant had tasted victory three times before and he was desperate to taste it again.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXCE2TwoiHo&feature=related
Much to the dismay of Kobe and Lakers fans, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak stood pat for the most part, despite rumors of the Lakers acquiring former all star Jermaine O’Neal or even Kevin Garnett.
Bryant’s frustration then mounted; so much, that he went a step further in telling Stephen A. Smith that he would like to be traded. Kobe flip-flopped on the issue a couple of times, but never seemed sold on staying in Los Angeles that summer. Kobe also had a couple of interesting comments, such as the infamous fan made video of Kobe criticizing Andrew Bynum and Kobe making it clear that Jerry Buss made the decision to trade Shaquille O’Neal due to financial reasons, rather than to appease Kobe. Bryant made it apparent that he wanted to be in just about any uniform, except for a Lakers’ one.
Similar to the Carmelo Anthony saga going on now, rumors about where Kobe’s home would be for the 2007-2008 campaign spread like wild fire. The main rumor involved a package with the Bulls in which the Lakers would receive Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and other young players.
The rumors continued until training camp and Bryant was still mum on whether he wanted to be a Laker or not. When the regular season came around Bryant was even booed by the Staples Center crowed, although MVP chants soon followed after another 40-point performance by Bryant.
Next: How the Lakers kept Kobe and built another dynasty.
In a season in which most Lakers fans felt would end in another early exit at best, Kobe and his supporting cast was ready for the challenge. Nearly every supporting player rose to the occasion, especially Andrew Bynum, who was playing at an all-star level before suffering his first knee injury.
Kupchak pushed all the right buttons, making a key trade that landed the Lakers Trevor Ariza and the heist in Memphis that sent Pau Gasol to the City of Angels for virtually nothing.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-_x_AshiwY&feature=related
With talent finally around him for the first time since Shaq was traded, the “Black Mamba” took his game to a whole new level through balancing his lethal scoring ability with a newfound trust in his teammates. Kobe finally won his long overdue MVP award and became arguably the best leader in the league – in addition to his title of best player. The Lakers took control of the Western Conference and haven’t looked back since.
Of course, unlike the Anthony situation, Kobe was not slated to become a free agent for another two years when he wanted out of Los Angeles. However, credit still has to be given to Kupchak for not panicking and doing what the Nuggets are seemingly about to do–which is trade away the face of their franchise for likely pennies-on-the-dollar.
While the Gasol trade will be recognized as Kupchak’s greatest move, perhaps his smartest moves were his decisions not to sway from his plan by electing not to trade either Kobe Bryant or Andrew Bynum for immediate help. After all, I think we can all agree that we would take Kobe over Gordon and Deng and Bynum over Jason Kidd or Jermaine O’Neal.
Next: The end of a rivalry or just the beginning?
There seems to be a strong chance that the Jan. 21 Lakers-Nuggets game was the end of the two team’s mini-rivalry, which was highlighted by their matchup in the 2009 Western Conference finals. The Lakers-Nuggets rivalry will turn into an even more lopsided one without one of the best players in the game in Anthony.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc1FeVkS8l0
Of course, if the Lakers were to make the rumored mega deal for Melo the rivalry would be intensified for a brief time, especially when Melo makes his first return to Denver to a course of boos. The rivalry would be lopsided however (think Cleveland-Miami). Whether the Lakers should pull the trigger on the swap is an entirely different debate and seems to be a long shot at this point. But the fact remains that this has the potential to add another chapter to this rivalry.
Whether it be to the Lakers or another team, the Nuggets will likely move Anthony in fear of being the victim of having their star leave for nothing in return (case in point Cleveland). This is probably their only possible move, considering Anthony seems destined to become a Knick at some point. Perhaps this could have been avoided though this summer. Rather than panicking, the Nuggets should have taken a page from the Lakers’ book and attempt to build a championship team around their star in order to appease him.
While Lakers’ fans definitely won’t have much sympathy for Nuggets’ fans, we actually understand what they are going through while they serenade Anthony with the boo birds. Fortunately for the Lakers, everything fell into place, and Kobe is going to be a Laker for life and will likely go down in history as the greatest Laker of all time.