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That Lakers team is not going to be NBA Finals material with that roster, ever. Lamar Odom was good in Miami last year because its the East, and that is the only reason. Brian Grant is far from young, and far from good, especially back in the West. Luke Walton is a good passer but will never match up at all with the better big men. Caron Butler and Kareem Rush are just going to be playing behind Kobe, and Rush will be able to start on most teams in a few years, so he's gone. Gary Payton running the point, thats not taking them anywhere.
The Lakers have had so much success not because of Kobe and Shaq, but because of their role players. Of course take Kobe and Shaq away and they win nothing, but put Kobe and Shaq with the Atlanta Hawks and they are barely over 500. Its so evident just watching, they won games because of Derek Fisher, Kareem Rush, Robert Horry, Deavan George, and Rick Fox. Those guys did their jobs and didn't miss shots in the big games, and that is why Kobe and Shaq were so successful together. The Lakers are better than the Kings because the Kings don't have the role players who do what the Lakers' did, same goes for the Wolves.
Kobe Bryant will not win a game unless he is on a team with five good starters like the Kings and Wolves or unless Odom becomes good and the rest of the guys fill their roles as well as the past guys.
There is no player in the league, not Duncan not Garnett, that you could have put in Shaqs place, what he did is something nobody else can do. Its going to be different in LA now.
I really wanted Kobe to go to the Clippers, but I would have felt real bad for the GM if he didn't come back, because all the blame for the Lakers would have just been put on him, when it was really the owners fault.
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