Paul George refutes report he didn’t want to play with Kobe Bryant: ‘Media reaching again’
Oct 21, 2014, 9:30 PM EDT
Indiana Pacers v Los Angeles Clippers The largest sports media outlet in existence published two hit jobs on Kobe Bryant inside of the same week.
The first piece, which was in defense of placing Bryant at 40 in their individual player rankings, wasn’t worth responding to, mainly because of the bizarre, angry tone with which the screed was written. And, a line near the end stating that “the current version of Kobe is not much of an NBA player” essentially erased the entire argument, because if that were true (or at least if that was the true belief of those who compiled the rankings), he should have been much further down on the list.
The second piece, however, which claimed that Bryant is almost entirely to blame for the current state of the Lakers franchise, was different. It contained detailed reporting from numerous (anonymous) sources, some of which specifically called out players by name who refused to consider Los Angeles as a free agent destination while Kobe was still around.
One of those players has responded.
Now how crazy does that Kobe story sound to you ? #MediaReachingAgain
— Paul George (@Yg_Trece) October 20, 2014
That would be Paul George, who re-signed with the Pacers in 2013 because, at least according to this piece, he reportedly “was turned off by the thought that Bryant would police his efforts.”
The problem here — besides the player personally refuting the information — is that it wasn’t like George ever had a chance to sign with the Lakers. He would have been a restricted free agent this summer had the Pacers not offered him a five-year max contract in advance of the 2013 deadline to do so, and even if George decided that he wanted to leave to play in Los Angeles, it wouldn’t have been his decision because Indiana would have had the right to match any offer he would have received.
That’s just one of many issues in the piece, which was well-written but comes from a very one-sided perspective.
It’s disappointing to see such a prominent outlet continue to take shots at one of the game’s greatest players. It feels like we should be celebrating Bryant in the final years of his career, especially after seeing him hobble through only six games a season ago. But for some reason, this particular network seems to feel that tearing him down is the way to go instead, which is even more odd considering that it’s one of the league’s broadcast partners, and the Lakers (as usual) will be heavily featured this season during nationally televised contests.
But as the kids are saying these days, that’s none of my business.
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- worldbfree4me - Oct 21, 2014 at 9:50 PM
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If the Shoe fits!
“The true hero is flawed. The true test of a champion is not weather he can triumph, but weather he can overcome obstacles- preferably of his own making- in order to triumph” A hero without a flaw is of no interest to an audience or to the universe, which, after all, is based on conflict and opposition, the irresistible force meeting the unmovable object.
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- asimonetti88 - Oct 21, 2014 at 10:12 PM
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ESPN is taking shots at everyone the last few years… they no longer report news, they try to make it… they’ve become a joke… I stopped watching/reading after their racist opinions on Robert Griffin last year.
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- blogsk3tball - Oct 21, 2014 at 11:05 PM
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That’s exactly what my point was with my article. But people had shots at me for calling Henry Abbott a joke of a reporter after all the reaching and uncheckable quotes he used to try kick a guy when his down and almost out.
Can you give my article a read and give me some feedback?
http://blogsketball.com/mikes-take-henry-abbott-kobe-bryant/
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- tashkalucy - Oct 22, 2014 at 2:03 PM
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This just happened the last 2 years?
LOL
Been going on for decades. On radio as well as TV.
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- angulocarlos1 - Oct 21, 2014 at 10:20 PM
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There’s some substance of truth in the criticism of Kobe. He puts himself on a high horse and looks down on his teammates. While he’s probably better than them, no one likes a doushe which is why he had this perception and is why no superstars have decided to join LA.
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- stephenlin - Oct 22, 2014 at 5:18 AM
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Consider all the role players who have spoken glowingly about playing with and learning from Kobe over the years, some of whom were Lakers late-round draftees, and others of whom were free agents who improved their games after they arrived: Ron Artest, Shannon Brown, Trevor Ariza, Jodie Meeks, Josh Powell, Tony Gaffney, Luke Walton, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Darius Morris, Jordan Farmar, Steve Blake, Sasha Vujacic, etc.
Yet people continue to magnify something Smush Parker–a player once notorious for his lack of effort and focus–once said; or put words in the mouths of Paul George, Chris Paul, and other high-level free agents. It’s not complicated: Kobe has shown that if you show up and work hard, he will respect you. That’s not an undesirable quality when you’re playing professional sports.
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- primenumber19 - Oct 21, 2014 at 10:23 PM
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That is what I call a non denial denial.
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- jamesk2465 - Oct 21, 2014 at 10:46 PM
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I’m not even a laker fan but I could see PG playing in a Laker uniform down the road. Esp since Indiana’s title window is pre much closed after losing Lance Stephenson
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- bball242322 - Oct 22, 2014 at 1:18 PM
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Not gonna happen, PG will play for the Pacers his entire career. He loves it here, he’s said it many of times
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- lakerade - Oct 22, 2014 at 12:03 AM
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I stopped reading espn long ago, one of my best online decisions. Freedom! Still watch it bc they have the rights to the sports i like, but even sportscenter reeks of forcing news and opinions down my throat. There are so many other resources for sports news and info nowadays that just relying on espn is like just relying on usa today as a newspaper (remember newspapers?).
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- 00maltliquor - Oct 22, 2014 at 1:33 AM
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What are those? Prehistoric relics? I may have to Google what these “newspapers” are of which you speak of.
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- elcapitanfiscal - Oct 22, 2014 at 1:13 AM
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Pretty sure everyone thinks ESPN is a joke nowadays, they’re worse than FOX “News” right now.
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- skids003 - Oct 22, 2014 at 7:58 AM
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No, they are actually worse than MSNBC. And that’s bad.
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- stl333 - Oct 22, 2014 at 1:26 AM
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Of course he didn’t want to play with Kobe, they play the same position. George could play the 3 but I mean, why change when you don’t have to, even for a bigger market.
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- divan22 - Oct 22, 2014 at 6:23 AM
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Look, you don’t have to like ESPN or agree with the premise of that article, but you’re choosing to be blind if you simply ignore the quotes from LAKERS SOURCES complaining about Kobe’s selfishness.
The article wasn’t even necessary. Anyone who’s paid attention already knows that no superstar wants to play with the guy. The proof is in their pathetic roster, despite having had boatloads of cap space.
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- skids003 - Oct 22, 2014 at 7:59 AM
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The only last years of his career they’ll “celebrate” are when he’s gone. Biggest gunner and ball hog of all time.
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- tashkalucy - Oct 22, 2014 at 2:07 PM
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Not like that Jordan fella that was always passing the ball and being nice to his teammates……
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- marksp18 - Oct 22, 2014 at 8:28 AM
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It is an interesting piece by ESPN which could lead one to wonder if Abbott has a personal beef with Kobe. But it seems like he was just trying to come up with reasons for the Lakers current state of affairs. Unfortunately it was lazy in a sense. If he had just obtained some quotes supporting Kobe then it may have carried more weight.
The simple fact is that Kobe’s is a hard arse. He is a task master. He puts in countless hours himself usually the first one to the arena on game days. He is often on the court 3 hours before the game putting up shots. Meanwhile, some of his teammates do not show up until 90 minutes before the game or so.
He wants to win championships and knows what kind of work he put in to do it. So he wants the same from this teammates who often are less accomplished. Seems to me the dudes that do not care about working hard are probably the ones who complain on or off the record the most. And they are likely the ones to shrink away in crunch time moments of games too.
In the end, Kobe is who he should be. He is not going to change. He has earned his position in basketball and on the Lakers. He should continue to ride players’ arse’s so that he could possibly convey some of his work habits onto these players.
Kobe has played through countless injuries as well.
He just wants to win and wants his teammates to work as hard as he does. I really cannot see a problem with that.
I remember that MJ was a hard arse too and demanded a lot from his teammates. Kobe is not MJ but he is probably the closest player to him.
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- express34texas - Oct 22, 2014 at 10:48 AM
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The piece isn’t interesting or surprising. Anybody with even a little knowledge of Abbott’s work knows he’s incompetent about pretty much everything basketball related, especially regarding Kobe.
That’s the thing about Kobe, he works his butt off and just wants to win. Why can’t every player be like that? Instead, most people rip him for this and draw strange conclusions to tear him down. Kobe’s main beef with any of his teammates are their work ethics. Shaq couldn’t handle this because he was lazy and because Kobe had surpassed him. Plus, Buss wouldn’t pay him max money, that’s why Shaq left.
What people forget is that Jordan was even more of a hard arse to his teammates. Instead, he is thought of as being perfect, and Kobe as the red-headed stepchild for this reason alone. How come nobody wanted to play with Jordan in Washington? Same thing. They’re older, org.’s a mess, and they won’t be that good right away.
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- tashkalucy - Oct 22, 2014 at 2:10 PM
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You have the last few generations of Americans that all believe they’re celebrities and are not going to put in any more work then then need to…..but they expect to be catered to. Especially in pro sports.
Have you see how the coaches suck up to their own players? Heaven forbid they should challenge them.
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- claymatthewshairplugs - Oct 22, 2014 at 12:30 PM
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Kobe is a bit of a jerk and I can see why some players wouldn’t want to play with him (Howard in particular) but ESPN has become a joke and we all know they play their favorites. Peyton Manning, Lebron, Jeter for example and just seem to hate/dislike strongly certain players: Kobe, Rodgers just because those guys don’t seem to bow at the feet of the almighty ESPN.
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- tashkalucy - Oct 22, 2014 at 2:13 PM
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When was Kobe “a bit of a jerk” with you?
I can see where Dwight Howard would have trouble playing with him. I could see where Dwight would have trouble playing with any teammate or coach that was dedicated to winning.In fact, that seems to be trend in Dwight’s whole career. He wants to laugh and play around.
