| Be Careful What You Wish For Authored by Jason M. Williams - April 26, 2007 - 3:37 pm
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A double-take, a wipe of the eyes, and a “Honey, is this legit?” to his wife later, he realized that what he was reading was true: Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. While winning three NBA Championships from 2000-2002, Shaq and Kobe were as happy as Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, excitedly traveling across the country from Providence, Rhode Island, to Aspen, Colorado, in search of happiness and the one he desired most.
Once they reached their destination and located Mary Swanson, they had achieved their ultimate goal. There were no more obstacles to overcome, no more hills to climb. Or was there? It was becoming evident that Harry was stealing the spotlight from Lloyd when he began secretly seeing Mary without Lloyd’s consent. Soon after, Dunne was sabotaged by Lloyd and eventually their entire relationship hit rock bottom.
Similar to the story of Dumb & Dumber, both Kobe and Shaq teamed together to reach the pinnacle of professional basketball by winning three titles. However, it was Shaq who was “the man” of the franchise, and it was Shaq who won three consecutive NBA Finals MVPs. This soured the taste of victory in Kobe Christmas’ mouth and it was he, who planted the seed in owner Jerry Buss’ coffee that damaged the Laker foundation and forced the exodus of The Big Fella.
General Manager Mitch Kupchak’s $136M offer to Bryant remained on the table for a month while his 25 year-old superstar shooting guard flirted with the cross-town Clippers. Realizing this marriage between O’Neal and Bryant wouldn’t work, it was becoming obvious that the city of Los Angeles was just not big enough for the two of them. With Shaq being seven years older, it was believed that building the future of the franchise would be better fixated on the egocentric and ruthless Kobe.
So Bryant got his wish. Shaq was on his way to South Beach in exchange for Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Caron Butler, and a 2006 first round pick (who turned out to be Jordan Farmar). Kobe became “the man” for the Lakers. Unlike Lloyd and Harry, the dynamic Laker duo never reconciled their petty disputes and remained publicly at ends for years. Since the breakup, the two have traveled very different paths.
After the trade, Shaq and the Heat went on to reach the Eastern Conference Finals in his first season and win the NBA title in his second year in Miami. The turnaround of the Heat franchise was rapid and remarkable, and 3000 miles away, Kobe was watching in disgust from his living room.
With Kobe as the unquestioned leader of the team, the Lakers struggled. For much of the season, his every move was dissected and criticized. His reputation had taken a big hit not only for his sour relationship with O’Neal, but also for the comments made in then-former head coach Phil Jackson’s book, The Last Season: A Team in Search of Soul. There, Jackson labeled Kobe as “uncoachable,” and the Lakers' on-court performance declined. Despite Bryant leading the NBA in scoring, the team never gelled, and they fell out of the playoff race. The purebred Laker had never experienced a first-round exit in the postseason while O’Neal patrolled the paint in gold and purple, but in 2004-05, not only did Bryant fail to reach the second round of the playoffs, he missed the playoffs entirely.
The following season Phil Jackson returned and saw Kobe break out and lead the league in scoring with an incredible 35.4 points per game, the highest scoring average since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 back in 1986-87. Number 8 also scored 81 points on January 22, 2006, versus the Toronto Raptors, which was good for the second highest point total for a single game in NBA history. However, it was his sudden change from dominant scorer to team leader and distributor that led the Lakers into the playoffs and to a three-games-to-one lead over the heavily favored Phoenix Suns in the first round.
With Bryant’s maturity reaching an all-time high, analysts began to think this could be the defining moment of Kobe’s career. Finally escaping the shadow of The Diesel, Kobe was creating shots for his teammates, making game winning buckets, and elevating the play of every Laker around him. Unfortunately, the Suns battled back behind some clutch shooting of their own, and the Lakers were unable to close out the series, falling in the desert in Game 7.
This season, the Lakers came out with renewed confidence in their newfound leader. Coming off the best year of his career, Kobe brought the same swagger and approach to the court that he proudly emanated when he left the scene of the 2006 NBA playoffs. Sporting new jersey number 24, he maintained that he was committed to the team 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and set out to bring the Lakers back into the upper echelon of the league.
The Lakers got off to a hot 26-13 start despite battling injuries all season to key players, including Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Vladamir Radmanovic, and Kwame Brown. However, the injuries eventually caught up with the Lakers, and they cooled in the second half. Despite their struggles, they held onto the seventh seed and qualified for the Western Conference playoffs, where again they drew the heavily favored Phoenix Suns.
They currently trail the Phoenix Suns two games to none, and it appears the Lakers are again on their way home early. Bryant’s facial expression following the 126-98 Game 2 annihilation by the Suns was a depressing and embarrassing moment not only for the Lakers franchise, but also for Kobe Bryant himself. It was he who wanted the pressure and the limelight of being the leading man in the city of Los Angeles. He wanted to be the focal point of the team on the court and throughout the organization. He wanted to represent one of sports’ most storied franchises as the ambassador for its future. He dreamt not only of delivering her briefcase across country back to her, but also of being with Mary Swanson forever.
Unfortunately, neither Lloyd Christmas nor Kobe Bryant was able to make his dream come true. Lloyd ended up hitchhiking his way back to the East Coast with Harry, while Kobe is on the verge of packing up his locker for another long off season. At age 28, Bryant still has plenty of time to win more titles. But as of now, he trails The Big Daddy by one.
While Shaq’s Lakers never failed to reach at least the second round of the postseason, it’s beginning to look a lot like Kobe’s Lakers are about to extend their streak to three consecutive seasons without winning a single playoff series. Now that Kobe has what he has always wanted, perhaps he’s starting to realize that maybe he should have been more careful when Jerry Buss was granting his wishes.
Can Kobe lead the Lakers back to the top of the NBA? Feel free to contact Jason M. Williams with your thoughts. He can be reached at Jason.Williams@RealGM.com for comments or questions. |
