Bleacher Report - Articles by GM of the Year

One Thing Kobe Can Do That Mike Never Did...Grab the East

GM of the Year — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:29:00 -0400

Okay, so maybe MJ has done that already, but not in the way Kobe could...

Kobe Bryant has made it no secret, he wants to be (as the Gatorade ad would indicate...), "Like Mike." Come on, we all remember the jingle. "Like Mike, if I could be like Mike."

And come on, let's be honest, is there really a player in the NBA who doesn't want to be like his Airness? Kobe Bryant, however, has taken this desire and made it a craft of passion.

No one else in the NBA has patterned their entire game around MJ or their patterns of speech or mannerisms for that matter quite like Kobe has. Honestly the guy has done a great job at being as close to MJ as possible.

The most glaring difference is the championships—Mike with six and Kobe with three, currently just two games away from a forth.

But aside from the rings, what else is similar? Keep in mind Kobe still has a way to go in his career.

For all the comparisons that are made between Kobe and MJ, the difference between them is still worlds apart if you look at all the accolades. Then again, you'd be comparing a fully completed Pablo Picasso to unfinished Vincent Van Gogh.

Kobe may not ever catch MJ in the accolades department, but he has managed to carve out a place in NBA history for himself. However, there is one thing that Kobe can do that Mike never did, and will never be able to do now: play for New York.

Yes, under the bright lights of MSG, Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball as it's commonly referred to as. New York has little to offer Kobe, aside from its historic lure and a ton of cash. The two combined may be just enough.

You see, the Knicks have cleared all this cap space hoping that they can sign LeBron James in the 2010 offseason. But what if LeBron stays in Cleveland? The Cavs and James could get a deal in place by the time the kids are back in school...then what?

Then Kobe.

You make the play for the only player currently better than the one you want. Now this will be no easy task. Kobe has the opportunity to opt out after this year, but only at the expense of leaving $48 million in guaranteed money on the table.

If New York wants to be a serious player player in possibly luring Kobe to the Knicks it's going to take some serious jack.

Why would Kobe want to even leave La-La Land? He's loved and the West Coast is great. Well, the Western Conference is great to, not to mention stronger and getting younger.

Several Western Conference teams could have made a legit run at the title this year. Only a few from the East were even discussed. If Kobe were a Knick, they would only contend with James in Cleveland (if he re-signs) and Orlando.

The Celtics are aging and will not be a powerhouse, therefore they've been excluded from the conversation. Just imagine though, a LeBron and Kobe showdown in the Conference Finals every year.

David Stern loves the idea already. Especially after seeing just how difficult it is this year just to get the two together in the Finals when in separate conferences.

Seriously, this unlikely of happening. However, it would be a great way to restore Knick basketball, adjust the balance of power between the conferences, have a surefire way to see Kobe vs. LeBron and to have Kobe do something that MJ wanted to do but never did...

And besides, a snake like the Black Mamba belongs in the garden (MSG). Holla.

Kobe ONE Canobie...??? (ALL-STAR WARS)

GM of the Year — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:40:16 -0400

Last night while watching the Finals I couldn't help but to feel a certain presence—a massively large one, at that.

It's been looming over this entire series. What could it be?

It's not Optimus Prime from all the promos for Transformers 2—but similar to Optimus, it is a Diesel.

Shaq-Diesel to be exact. That's right, the big daddy.

The reasons are evident. He has donned the jersey of both franchises in this series. He took O-town to their first finals (and got swept). He, along with Kobe, took LA to a few NBA Finals and picked up three rings while he was at it. And still Kobe is searching for the light out from underneath the shadow the Diesel casts.

These are the current facts as of today. Shaq minus Kobe plus Wade equals championship. Kobe minus Shaq plus who anyone not Shaq equals zero championships. I know it's harsh, but it's true. However, this year could possibly change that.

With all those factors accounted for, what if the Lakers had traded Kobe instead of Shaq back then?

Now before you start to go off and tell me how great Kobe is—which he is—just consider what is important to you if you were a franchise owner. Is it the bottom line as far as dollars? Is it the future? Or is it the quantity of championship rings obtained on your watch? For me that's the only thing it's about.

Now if I were running the Lakers when the whole Shaq vs. Kobe thing exploded, I would have strongly considered trading Bryant over O'Neal for a few reasons.

I know that at the time what you had were two extremely talented individuals. One was coming into his own (Kobe) and the other (Shaq) was near the top of his game with decline sure to come.

I have always said great big men are a rarity. Especially in today's game, just look around—almost every team in the league needs a presence down low. Guards are everywhere. Granted, not all are like Kobe, but there are far more talented guards than centers.

I personally would have traded Bryant back then and gotten another highly-talented guard in return, possibly accompanied with another player as well or even another very high draft pick.

The Lakers could have easily traded Bryant away for a guy like Ray Allen. He is another highly-skilled guard who could shoot lights out. Coupled with Shaq, I strongly believe that they could have won another ring the year following the trade.

Ray Allen is not Kobe. Please don't think that is what I am insinuating. But at that time Kobe wasn't really Kobe. Well at least not the Kobe we know today. He was Shaq's Kobe. You know, little brother—the exact moniker that Kobe has been trying to shake for years now. Ray Allen was expected to be the man for both franchises he played for at that time (the Bucks and the Sonics). On the Lakers, that would not have been the case.

Shaq would have still been the man, Ray would have played his role to a tee. He would have undoubtedly flourished into a bigger star than he is now. Playing in LA will kind of do that for a player. He also would have been able to put on a championship ring a lot sooner than he did.

In the end, it's all just a big what if. However I do believe if it had happened, LA would have at least two championships more than what they have right now. That's not to say that Allen is better than Kobe it just would have been a better choice for a Laker GM at that time given those circumstances.

Again, please don't forget that Shaq was not the Shaq you know today. He was the Diesel. In their last Finals appearance together, vs. Detroit, Shaq averaged 26 and 10. Kobe only averaged 22 points a game in that Finals.

The next three years after that would see the Spurs, the Heat, and the Spurs again claim the title. The Heat would not have won that if Shaq wasn't there. He wasn't the man there but he was huge at opening it up for Wade's game to blossom. And that year they beat the Mavs. If Shaq were in LA with Allen, I feel they would have taken the Mavs in the Conference Finals that year.

As for the two San Antonio championships, I feel that LA, with Shaq and Allen, could have beaten the Spurs in at least one of those two conference championships and went on to defeat at least one of the two teams that the Spurs beat (either the Pistons in 2005 or the Cavs in 2007).

In the end, as a GM, it's all about how many banners you hang up while the team is on your watch. I'm simply saying that two is more than one—and at that time I think that a Shaq and Allen combo would have yielded two banners as opposed to the one that Kobe is likely to hang up this year.

Will There Ever Be Another...

GM of the Year — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:49:17 -0400

Many times when we hear a question start with "will there ever be another..." we know the common names that usually follow that question, right?

Will there ever be another MJ, Ali, Ruth, Montana...you know the usual suspects.

However last night it dawned upon me...I wanted to know when we were ever going to be privileged enough to see another truly amazing specimen in the world of sports who could not only be great at one sport, but two...as the question I propose is, will there ever be another Bo Jackson?

"Bo Knows."

That was the simplistic genius behind the Nike add campaign that endorsed Bo Jackson. In fact I would venture to say that if Bo never suffered that career-ending hip injury in football...the "Bo Knows" campaign for Nike could have been as big as the Air Jordan campaign.

Call me crazy, but I sincerely believe that. Especially if Bo were to be able to capture a championship in either sport he played, football (Raiders) or baseball (Royals, Angels & White Sox).

(Please check out my site http://hollahommie.synthasite.com/ for more of my work and insight...thanks.)

Bo was the first two-sport athlete to garnish All-Star honors in both sports.

People, do you understand the significance of that? No? OK how about this then, after collecting a Heisman trophy on the way out of college, the guy steps into the NFL combine and records a 4.12 in the 40 yard dash. That's only the fastest time ever recorded at the combine, no biggie...

In 1982 this kid was drafted by the Yankees in round two but elected to attend college instead. Imagine that!

Hey Bo, the FREAKING YANKEES just drafted your ass to play for them... Bo: "Nah, I'm good...I'm going to Auburn"...WHAT??? Bananas...that's how freaking special this kid was.

In the MLB he was an All-Star and even captured an All-Star MVP. Personally, my favorite Bo Jackson memories is when Bo would strike out and he'd take the bat and break in half over his thigh...that was the coolest thing to me back then.

In the NFL, during over three and half seasons with the Raiders, he recorded 2,782 yards. You don't think that's a lot do you? Well get this, he did that as a BACK UP.

Who, you ask, would be playing in front of this phenom?. Only the great Marcus Allen.

Bo still holds the Monday Night Football single game rushing record with 221 yards.

The football injury robbed the world of one the greatest athletes ever. That same injury ended his time in the NFL and almost killed his baseball dreams.

However, when he returned to baseball, the speed was gone but the power remained. In his first at bat after returning to the game, Bo homered...HOLLA for Bo Jackson which there may never be another like him...

(Please check out my site http://hollahommie.synthasite.com/ for more of my work and insight... Thanks.)

Of Course Jameer Nelson Is Better...

GM of the Year — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:06:50 -0400

The Orlando Magic have given their All-Star point guard, Jameer Nelson, the green light to play in this year's NBA Finals.

Nelson went down back on Feb. 2 with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He later got the "season ending" surgical procedure which was to take up to another two months of rehabilitation before he would be completely healthy.

Low and behold, the Magic make it to the Finals and, wouldn't you know it...all better.

Not exactly. This rehab was to take up to another two months before he would be well again. Two months.

If the Magic put this guy on the floor, they're making a huge mistake.

First of all, the Magic don't need him. They're not at a point where the point guard spot is the biggest glaring weakness on the team.

If that were the case, then maybe it would be worth considering, however that is far from the truth. Rafer Alston has filled in quite nicely and has even led the team on occasion. In fact I would say that Magic GM Otis Smith potentially saved the season with his Alston acquisition.

The Magic have come this far without the guy and the chemistry is fine right now. It is too late in the season to have to be dealing with a chemistry issue, especially when your guy is trying to come back a full two months ahead of schedule.

He means too much to the future of this franchise to put him at risk for a few back up minutes.

“I’m not saying I’m any tougher or stronger than anybody, but I’ve been known to do some amazing things sometimes,” Nelson pleaded as he practically begged for some playing time.

You've been known to do some pretty amazing things? Like what? Exactly.

You know who has actually been known to do some pretty amazing things? Kobe Bryant.

And regardless if Nelson plays or not, the Lakers should still be hoisting up the title by next week.

Visit my blog for more un-edited action... Holla.