CNNSI on Kobe's Options

[Reep]

CNNSI

I'm sure Kobe will remain a Laker, given his solid supporting cast, but it appears there may be only one contender in the NBA.

If Bryant were determined to sign elsewhere, he would face a limited market. . . . . only a handful of teams will have the cap space to make Bryant a realistic offer. . . .

• Oklahoma City: No chance. . . .

• Portland: Intriguing but doubtful. To be sure, adding Bryant to an up-and-coming team built around Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy is exciting to consider. But the Trail Blazers have made a commitment to Roy, the 2007 Rookie of the Year, at shooting guard, and though they could conceivably shift him to either point guard or small forward, it's not something they are eager to do.

Moreover, a sizable chunk of the Blazers' cap space depends on the future of Darius Miles, . . .

• Memphis: See Oklahoma City.

• Europe: . . . . a $30 million net [after taxes] salary for one season, that's the same as a $60 million contract in the U.S. . . .

 

[maxiep]

The idea of even considering Kobe for this team makes me sick to my stomach. With this group, we're building the anti-Kobe team. With the Mile High Rapist, it's all about him. With this group of Blazers it's about the team.

 

[huevonkiller]

The idea of even considering Kobe for this team makes me sick to my stomach. With this group, we're building the anti-Kobe team. With the Mile High Rapist, it's all about him. With this group of Blazers it's about the team.

Yeah, when the accuser dropped her charges it made me think Kobe was definitely guilty....

:[

 

[DaRizzle]

Kobe Bryant plays basketball better than most...yeah, I went there

 

[Reep]

It is really moot, because Kobe will never play for a small market team. He would lose more in his endorsement deals and would be out of the spot light. Not to mention the Lakers could offer him more. He might go to Europe, but he isn't coming to Portland.

 

[DaRizzle]

Im telling you guys....he's gonna get traded for Lebron after this season. Sign and trade. Kobe and his ego gets to another decent team in the east. Lebron goes to a big market and doesnt have to take a pay cut. CLE still gets to have a superstar on their team....its gonna happen (hopefully)

If Kobe wants the max its something like 6yr-150mil....fuck that..Hes not gonna (shouldnt) get that type of money when he is 36

 

[Ed O]

Im telling you guys....he's gonna get traded for Lebron after this season. Sign and trade. Kobe and his ego gets to another decent team in the east. Lebron goes to a big market and doesnt have to take a pay cut. CLE still gets to have a superstar on their team....its gonna happen (hopefully)

I think Cleveland would have to throw a lot of salary in to match up, right?

And I have a hard time believing that Kobe would agree to go to Cleveland... take LeBron from that team and it's shit.

Ed O.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Maybe only the cap experts at Blazer management level can answer this, but how does Miles contract (assuming he plays 10 games) affect the cap space for this summer?

I don't think it does because Blazers made the Zbo trade and explained it gives the Blazer cap flexibility for the summer of '09 . . . and that was while Miles was still part of the team.

Players that could come off the books this summer(?):

Raef
Frye
Webster
Outlaw
Blake
Diogu
Sergio

 

[maxiep]

Yeah, when the accuser dropped her charges it made me think Kobe was definitely guilty....

:[

Yep, I'm certain her new house in Avon had nothing to do with it. That house is at least seven figures. I don't think the Cordillera pays that well.

 

[maxiep]

Maybe only the cap experts at Blazer management level can answer this, but how does Miles contract (assuming he plays 10 games) affect the cap space for this summer?

I don't think it does because Blazers made the Zbo trade and explained it gives the Blazer cap flexibility for the summer of '09 . . . and that was while Miles was still part of the team.

Players that could come off the books this summer(?):

Raef
Frye
Webster
Outlaw
Blake
Diogu
Sergio

You shouldn't believe everything you hear from the Blazers. Without Miles going away, we have to decline the options on several players and our exceptions to get appreciably below the salary cap.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

If I was accused of raping someone and being prosecuted. . . whether I did it or not, I would try to buy the victim off.

 

[huevonkiller]

Yep, I'm certain her new house in Avon had nothing to do with it. That house is at least seven figures. I don't think the Cordillera pays that well.

So she was in it for the money from the start then?

 

[Minstrel]

I thought the figures were something like $15 million under the cap with Miles, $22 million under the cap without Miles. But, as maxiep notes, that's with Portland renouncing rights to Webster, Frye and Diogu.

So, even if Miles gets added back to Portland's cap, if there's someone worth a max deal (starting at $15 million in the first year, it can go significantly higher over the lifetime of the deal with the standard per-year increases), Portland should be able to afford it, at the cost of non-core players Webster, Frye and Diogu.

 

[Reep]

None of us will ever know if Kobe did it or not. You have to appreciate that the girl was looking at a long criminal trial, going up against one of the most powerful men in America, with a huge legal team--aimed at tearing her and credibility down. If I where in her shoes, I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same thing. If she put all the time in for the criminal trial and lost because Kobe had a great defense team, it would have destroyed her life. I'm sure she just wanted it to end quickly so she could get on with her life.

Just because she bought someting nice with the money from the settlement doesn't mean she was in it for the money. Would it have been better if she put it in the bank and used it later? Why?

 

[huevonkiller]

None of us will ever know if Kobe did it or not. You have to appreciate that the girl was looking at a long criminal trial, going up against one of the most powerful men in America, with a huge legal team--aimed at tearing her and credibility down. If I where in her shoes, I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same thing. If she put all the time in for the criminal trial and lost because Kobe had a great defense team, it would have destroyed her life. I'm sure she just wanted it to end quickly so she could get on with her life.

Just because she bought someting nice with the money from the settlement doesn't mean she was in it for the money. Would it have been better if she put it in the bank and used it later? Why?

Did she not have intercourse with another man 24 hours after incident? At the hospital they found other males' DNA on her IIRC. Sorry if I'm a little skeptical. She wasn't the most stable person either according to her friends.

 

[maxiep]

So she was in it for the money from the start then?

I'm certain that she was faced with one of two choices:

1. Continue to press the issue, have her personal and professional life trashed, end up blackballed from working in any of the ski resorts and still run the risk that he escapes justice.

or

2. Take a check that is a multiple of what she could earn in two lifetimes.

On the flip side, why would Kobe have offered the money if he were innocent?

 

[huevonkiller]

I'm certain that she was faced with one of two choices:

1. Continue to press the issue, have her personal and professional life trashed, end up blackballed from working in any of the ski resorts and still run the risk that he escapes justice.

or

2. Take a check that is a multiple of what she could earn in two lifetimes.

On the flip side, why would Kobe have offered the money if he were innocent?

And Kobe's personal life wasn't going to get trashed (there's also a gag order on this because of the civil deal, meaning no 20/20 interviews)? I asked some other questions too.

 

[maxiep]

Did she not have intercourse with another man 24 hours after incident? At the hospital they found other males' DNA on her IIRC. Sorry if I'm a little skeptical. She wasn't the most stable person either according to her friends.

So only the morally virtuous can be raped? So what if she had sex with someone else?

As for her "friends", she's pretty well known around Avon, and those people were outliers who wanted to grab onto a little bit of fame. By all accounts, she's a pretty nice, although naive, mountain girl.

By the way you speak, you must spend a lot of time in the Vail Valley.

 

[huevonkiller]

So only the morally virtuous can be raped? So what if she had sex with someone else?

As for her "friends", she's pretty well known around Avon, and those people were outliers who wanted to grab onto a little bit of fame. By all accounts, she's a pretty nice, although naive, mountain girl.

By the way you speak, you must spend a lot of time in the Vail Valley.

By the way you speak, you must be pretty psychic yourself. I'm just reporting the news to you man.

 

[maxiep]

And Kobe's personal life wasn't going to get trashed (there's also a gag order on this because of the civil deal, meaning no 20/20 interviews)? I asked some other questions too.

First, he's a public personality. This girl didn't ask for the spotlight.

Second, he admitted to cheating on his wife.

Third, his side pushed for the release of her personal details. In fact, the Valley was covered with people investigating this woman. It's not like she hired private eyes to investigate his life.

 

[huevonkiller]

First, he's a public personality. This girl didn't ask for the spotlight.

Second, he admitted to cheating on his wife.

Third, his side pushed for the release of her personal details. In fact, the Valley was covered with people investigating this woman. It's not like she hired private eyes to investigate his life.

So only morally virtuous people are innocent on rape charges?

Yeah I'm sure if someone falsely accused you of rape you wouldn't get pissed or try to investigate further.

 

[Jurassic]

1. Continue to press the issue, have her personal and professional life trashed, end up blackballed from working in any of the ski resorts and still run the risk that he escapes justice.

You can't really phrase it like that: "Run the risk that he escapes justice". That's assuming that he was guilty. I personally believe that he was innocent, and offered her money so that it would be over with. Technically, had he continued the trial he could have been taking the chance of NOT receiving justice, assuming he was innocent.

Also with the money that he paid her she had to agree that she could not go out and do a bunch of interviews and/or write books about the situation, so in that sense it was to his benefit to settle out of court even if he was innocent.

 

[Minstrel]

On the flip side, why would Kobe have offered the money if he were innocent?

Because trials are unpredictable. Even if you are innocent, you can lose the case. For someone like Bryant, who has plenty of money, even if he were innocent the lump sum of money is surely worth not taking the risk on things going badly for him in a trial about a violent crime (which can carry pretty enormous consequences).

I'm not saying he's guilty or innocent, but I think there's perfectly rational explanation for why he'd pay her off even if he were innocent. I'd do the same, if I were in that predicament and innocent. Sure, it looks bad, but it's worth not risking a fluke bad judgment.

 

[maxiep]

By the way you speak, you must be pretty psychic yourself. I'm just reporting the news to you man.

No, you're reporting what you want to hear.

Well, I spend half the year in Colorado. I own a place in the Vail Valley. This girl used to work for the same company my wife did. It's a pretty small place, and the year 'round locals are a pretty tight group.

Bottom line, you don't execute the strategies Kobe did if you were innocent.

 

[maxiep]

You can't really phrase it like that: "Run the risk that he escapes justice". That's assuming that he was guilty. I personally believe that he was innocent, and offered her money so that it would be over with. Technically, had he continued the trial he could have been taking the chance of NOT receiving justice, assuming he was innocent.

Also with the money that he paid her she had to agree that she could not go out and do a bunch of interviews and/or write books about the situation, so in that sense it was to his benefit to settle out of court even if he was innocent.

Then why don't you knock on his door at the Cordillera and ask for him to cut a check? Why do you take it to the cops? If you're after money, the threat is that you go to the police.

 

[huevonkiller]

No, you're reporting what you want to hear.

Well, I spend half the year in Colorado. I own a place in the Vail Valley. This girl used to work for the same company my wife did. It's a pretty small place, and the year 'round locals are a pretty tight group.

Bottom line, you don't execute the strategies Kobe did if you were innocent.

I've never heard of a girl having sex that quickly after getting raped. There are plenty of people that would make that deal to stop her from going on Oprah and talking about the incident.

And you're clearly avoiding my points, so what if your wife knows her? She dropped the charges and Kobe also has a personal life that he never asked the media to shine light on.

 

[huevonkiller]

Then why don't you knock on his door at the Cordillera and ask for him to cut a check? Why do you take it to the cops? If you're after money, the threat is that you go to the police.

Kwame Brown was falsely accused, and the charges were also dropped. Women are not emotional?

 

[Jurassic]

Then why don't you knock on his door at the Cordillera and ask for him to cut a check? Why do you take it to the cops? If you're after money, the threat is that you go to the police.

Brilliant.

Think about what you are saying.

 

[maxiep]

I've never heard of a girl having sex that quickly after getting raped. There are plenty of people that would make that deal to stop her from going on Oprah and talking about the incident.

Do you know a lot of girls that get raped? Neither do I. If you don't, it would be worth doing a little research to find what the normal range of reaction to getting raped is. I bothered to take that step, and intercourse with someone else isn't unusual.

And you're clearly avoiding my points, so what if your wife knows her? She dropped the charges and Kobe also has a personal life that he never asked the media to shine light on.

I'm not avoiding your points, I just happen to think they're silly. My wife doesn't know her. My wife knows friends of hers. So, Kobe has never embraced the life of a celebrity? He and his wife have never invited the media into their house? They've never sold the media pictures of their personal life? Hmmm, the more I read your posts, the more I'm convinced you're this guy...

[video=youtube;LWSjUe0FyxQ]

 

[huevonkiller]

Do you know a lot of girls that get raped? Neither do I. If you don't, it would be worth doing a little research to find what the normal range of reaction to getting raped is. I bothered to take that step, and intercourse with someone else isn't unusual.

Oh that's right, most raped girls do have sex immediately after the incident. My mistake, lack of common sense.

I'm not avoiding your points, I just happen to think they're silly. My wife doesn't know her. My wife knows friends of hers. So, Kobe has never embraced the life of a celebrity? He and his wife have never invited the media into their house? They've never sold the media pictures of their personal life? Hmmm, the more I read your posts, the more I'm convinced you're this guy...

What the hell does this have to do with the thread?