Vote: Who deserves MOST of the blame for the Lakers fall from glory?

iml84myd8s · Starting Rotation Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 598

Everyone on the radio today was blaming someone for the Lakers fall from glory. Who do you blame?

Vote: Who deserves MOST of the blame for the Lakers fall from Champion and or Championship Contender to Lottery Team and or .500 Ball Club?

Vlade · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:40 pm Post subject:

There's a lot of blame to go around. Phil, Kobe and Shaq all failed to keep a championship team together. Mitch had to trade Shaq, but he should should have gotten more!
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raffi · LG Contributor Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 9987

Smel Counts · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 3:48 pm Post subject:

Buss did his job by shelling out the $ for Phil. Phil was hired to keep Shat in line and instead he gave the Big Fatty the keys to the kingdom while he was screwing the bosses daughter and believing his press clippings.
IMO .51% Phil and .49% Shat.

bounty · Star Player Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Posts: 3946

It has to be the GM. What makes Great GM's is there ability to communicate with players on NON_BASKETBALL issues. West was a master at that. Trading Shaq if it was in fact necessary was a ridiculous exchange of talent. Not that you get Shaq back but he gathered possibly the worst cast of players to surround Kobe.

Vision Kup does not appear to have one. Maybe he does, but today, Nada.
Foolish maybe but the thought of Jim Buss running things doesnt seem so bad. IN LA is kind of known as a STAR F%$^#r (not literally). He likes stars. thats not such a bad thing. if hes willing to gather the names Im sure PJ wouldnt mind coaching them
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Aussiesuede · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 10964

I Blame that guy who sits in section 102 seat #41. That guy was always in the ear of all the players and they always seemed to respond to him. Every since he croaked, the Lakers haven't been the same. Well in that case I suppose an equal blame goes to his doctor since he didn't catch the cancer in time. But before I can blame the doctor I guess I have to blame his professors since they didn't teach him better. Then again I guess his elementary and high school teachers have to share blame too, since if they'd prepared him better then he would have gotten into a better college with better profs. But ultimately I guess that's his parents fault, because if they would have had better genes then they would have produced a smarter and more resilient kid. Hmmmm but then shouldn't the grandparents have to share in the blame? They are the ones who let his parents get together in the first place and they should have known they'd produce a dumb kid. Maybe if the gardener had been smarter it might have rubbed off. And let's not forget Suzie at the grocery store. If she hadn't been so cute then maybe he would have studied more. Ahhh...I've got it. It's the bartender down at Dukes. That bastard should have never served him a drop. Maybe Mr. Whipple s the deveil after all. Maybe soft toilet paper softens a man up too much. Yeah...It's definitely Mr. Whipple. I blame Mr, Whipple, Colonel Sanders, Osama, and the tooth fairy for not keeping up with inflation.....
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iml84myd8s · Starting Rotation Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 598

Obviously, all of them were at fault to some degree. However, after hearing everyone's opinion on the radio today and they were all across the board, I was curious who everyone thought deserved the MOST blame.

Personally, I think Jerry Buss deserves the MOST blame since the buck starts and stops with him. Jerry Buss approves all moves once Mitch or (now) Jim brings him a move to approve.

If Riley was able to work out a reasonable contract with Shaq, there is no reason Jerry could not have done the same or better. That was the first domino to fall.

Serious NBA Fan · Star Player Joined: 07 Jun 2005 Posts: 2429

I think the poll has it about right. First Buss, then Shaq.

Mitch is just a little pawn

LakerFan4L · Starting Rotation Joined: 03 Nov 2005 Posts: 972

Phil Jackson, PERIOD.

He sat back and did a damn diary about the Fab 4 team, instead of taking control of what was a tense locker room. He gave way too much freedom to Kobe and Shaq and simply let these guys lose respect for one another. There are plenty of teammates in the league who do not like each other.. but I guarantee you they respect one another. Once that respect is lost, the relationship is down the gutter.[/b]
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Aussiesuede · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 10964

pawn · Starting Rotation Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 729

iml84myd8s · Starting Rotation Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 598

Big Game James · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:25 pm Post subject:

This is a no-brainer. Everyone knows it was both Shaq AND Kobe's fault. Do you really think that if they just got along that we would be where we are at now?

:roll:

Aussiesuede · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 10964

Legacy · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2006 5:08 pm Post subject:

iml84myd8s · Starting Rotation Joined: 06 Aug 2005 Posts: 598

Aussiesuede · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 10964

postandpivot · Retired Number Joined: 16 Sep 2003 Posts: 36822

Aussiesuede · Franchise Player Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 10964

Lionel The Laker · Star Player Joined: 29 Mar 2004 Posts: 2660

Who voted for Kobe?

raffi · LG Contributor Joined: 24 Jun 2005 Posts: 9987

Mark_in_Tulsa · Franchise Player Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 12977

This is stupid. Every team falls from glory. There is no one to blame.

When a team loses one of the greatest players of all time, (Shaq) you can't expect the team to stay on top.

Get it through your heads. We didn't fall from glory because of team mistakes. We fell from glory because our team was old.

We are rebuilding. Get over it. Making quick fixes to make us a 5 seed instead of a 8 seed and ruining our chances of our solid future is stupid.
That's what stupid GM do. They just make quick fixes, and don't have the patience for the real deal.

Now I'm sure if something comes along that could really put us over the top, Mitch will do it. But those chances are slim that something will come up. But until then, lets be happy that we have a GM that has the balls to make a plan and stick to it.

lakersfan4life69 · Star Player Joined: 21 Nov 2003 Posts: 2327

The Lakers are where they are because of one man, Mitch Kupchak. Plain and simple. I have no clue why one would argue otherwise. In almost two years, we have Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown and no cap space for at least two more years to show for Shaquille O'neal. I'd rather have the cap space and no players. Whatever. Then the clown goes out and signs Vlade Divac/Aaron McKie in two respective summers with the MLE. Wouldn't surprise me of Mitchell signed Anfernee Hardaway or Alan Houston this summer. Last, he drafts players like Andrew Bynum, Sasha Vujacic, and Von Wafer who are years away from being contributory. If he could, he'd pick a 15 year old this spring. When you add those things up, is it a shock that this team is 60-74 over the last two years? Think about that, 60-74.

Krispy Kreme · Franchise Player Joined: 30 Mar 2003 Posts: 12252

A combination of all of the above. Shaq AND kobe not getting along(not just a one way street here), Phil's poor coaching at times, and Mitch's lack of moves to help improve the team(except in 04).

Money$hot! · Star Player Joined: 18 Dec 2002 Posts: 5911

The blame for any organization's success or lack of falls on it's leadership. For the Lakers it is and can only be Dr. Jerry Buss. If you're employees are pending an implosion you address the issue early and often till it's fixed. If executive or middle management is proving inept you replace them. Dr. Buss made the decision to allow Kobe/Shaq to get out of hand, to let West go, to allow Phil to press the Kobe/Shaq issue and pressure West in a way that made him want out which inevitably led to Mitch and his numbskull son taking the reigns before they were ready. Dr. Buss is a marketer and a gambler... make the right move and you're a hero, the wrong and your busted. In this case the Laker organization is in shambles from top to bottom and it's Dr. Buss who allowed the situation to become what it has. He needs to step in and fix it.