DENVER -- Do as I say and not as I do.Or, at least not what Kobe Bryant once did.
While bound for free agency in the summer of 2004, the Lakers star openly spoke about teams he might consider. But Bryant now says Cleveland star LeBron James is making the right decision by deciding earlier this week to stop talking about his impending free agency.
"He doesn't need to,'' Bryant said in an interview with FanHouse while in Denver for Friday's 105-79 loss to the Nuggets. "He did the right thing by not talking about it. I mean, what can you say?''
"Yeah, but I ain't talking about it now, am I? he said.
Bryant can opt out of his deal next summer and become a free agent. The Lakers have offered him a contract extension for maximum money, and he has until June 30 to decide whether to accept it.
"I don't feel like that,'' Bryant said of his decision to not talk about his current contract situation. "We got a team here that just won a championship. We're a young team. We don't need that kind of (junk). There's no purpose to it.''
So why did Bryant talk about it leading up to the summer of 2004?
"Then it was different circumstances,'' said Bryant, looking back at the 2003-04 season, when Bryant was facing a sexual assault charge in Colorado that was eventually dropped and when Bryant and center Shaquille O'Neal feuded, with O'Neal eventually being traded in the summer of 2004 to Miami. "We had a lot of things going on so that circumstances was a little different ... We had a lot of (junk) going on. It made us actually easier to focus on the game.'''
Bryant said when he sees James the two "joke around'' but don't speak about his free agency.
"You just don't want to have it be a distraction to the season,'' Bryant said of believing James has made the right decision to stop talking. "Just people speculating, speculating. Just keep your mouth shut ... Who wants to deal with that? You've got to still be focusing on the (team) that you're with.''
But while James has curtailed his talk about free agency, he's addressing plenty of other things. One is the belief by James, who wears No. 23, that No. 23 should be retired by all NBA teams in honor of Michael Jordan.
"It's tough to argue with anything that pertains to Michael Jordan. It's tough to argue that,'' Bryant said. "I wouldn't be against it.''
James said he likely will change to No. 6. Bryant changed from No. 8 to No. 24 prior to the 2006-07 season.
Bryant was asked if his change resulted in a lot more money being made in jersey sales.
"It didn't go to me,'' he said with a laugh.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-14-2009 @ 4:55AM
Giles said...
So it isn`t Kobe trying to domineer or be hypocritical. It is Kobe try to support LeBron`s decision, which is the same decision Kobe has reached this time, too. The economic depression has undercut salary caps, and undercut free agents. LeBron will probably stay with Cleveland, unless Coach having snuck up behind him, and kissed him in public, without his consent, without his even knowing what gender person was kissing him, causes him to leave, as Terry Mills left Detroit years ago, after Coach Collins kissed him in public. Odds are Shaq and El Zyd will not be back. So management may have to supply at least one quality center, at least to alternate with Varajao, before LeBron will sign. If LeBron leaves his homestate, he will likely hope Orlando and San Antonio can keep their 4 all stars and still clear a max salry for him. If that happens, he`ll probably sing with Orlando. But lousy/great winter whether doesn`t mean as much to the athletes as if does to their families. The athletes have to travel, regardless. The families have to live with the home team weather full time. As for Kobe`s adultery, he obviously shouldn`t have done it. A total stranger tried to seduce him. He shouldn`t have been the least interested. He`s lucky he isn`t already dead of STDs. He knew nothing about the woman, she could have been a minor not the barely adult woman she turned out to be. She could have had a jealous girl friend and/or boy friend with a gun. Possibly losing his wife, he managed to keep, apparently wasn`t a worry either. But HALF the nation has the SAME lousy judgement, and never matures. Let`s try to hope he`s matured.
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11-15-2009 @ 1:31PM
uah44 said...
NO STUPID. Maybe Kobe don't want his friend to fall into the same situation he was in when he was talking about it.
11-16-2009 @ 4:31PM
reddog said...
i would be nic if everybudy stayed out of koby's personal life and let him get on with his lifas an nba star GO KOBY AND JAMES
11-14-2009 @ 4:14PM
joshslater0001 said...
Does everything come down to men kissing men with you? "Hey Giles, What do you think of Healthcare reform?" "What do I think? Well if Coach Brown can kiss Lebron James then anything is possible." "Hey Giles, do you think we should pursue Bin Laden into Afghanistan?" "Forget about that clown, we've got bigger fish to fry here in our own borders. I mean who knows when Pat Riley, infamous man-kisser, will strike again?"
How in the hell can Orlando or SAS clear enough cap space to sign a max player? Do you expect Tim Duncan, TP, and Ginobli to all renegotiate for the league minimum? Or maybe Dwight Howard will only play for the free tacos they'll get if they break a hundred? I know, Miami will pay his salary, but let Lebron wear a Magic uniform. They're in the same state, right? So why not? Oh yeah, this is the NBA. A league where salary cap restrictions prevent ridiculous things like that from happening. But even though national news outlets have never mentioned these obviously legitimate destinations that must mean you have a direct pipeline to the King himnself, eh? Did he also say he wishes Mike Brown would chew on a tic-tac before they make out at center court after the Eastern Conference Finals?
Honestly, HALF of the nation has the SAME lousy judgement? One let's try to keep the caps lock under control. And two, I'd like to know how many censuses you have been a part of? On top of being an extraordinary investigative journalist and a successful Prosecuting Attorney you are also the coordinator of nation-wide marital surveys that not only recieve consistent and ample answers, but also honesty without margin for error. You sir have a very full day. Or maybe you don't. Maybe you just speak in generalities, blurt out whatever relevant sounding statistic that pops into your skull, and call it a night listening to Billy O'Reily and MIchael Savage until you doze off.
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