Tuesday, February 01, 2005
I'm Back and Rudy's Leaving
I'm not sure if either of you noticed, but I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been pretty busy at work, but that hasn't really been the reason for my absence. Believe it or not, I haven't had anything I wanted to write about. It's been sort of a slow week for sports, at least as far as blog-worthy controversy goes. Since our policy here at SBS is not to step onto the soapbox unless we have something to say, I haven't stepped up. Until now...thanks to the espn.com report that Rudy Tomjanovich is going to resign from his position as head coach of the Lakers after tonight's game versus Portland.
Why on earth would Rudy T resign just three months into a five-year contract? According to Ric Bucher, it's because of health reasons and his dissatisfaction with the way the Lakers are playing. Since the Lakers are currently a playoff team and his only known ailments amount to little more than a cold and flu, it's logical to go fishing for the "real reason."
Gee, I wonder who they're going to blame? The certainty of the blame falling on Kobe is sufficient enough to make a drinking game out of this whole thing. From now on, I do a shot every time I hear or read someone blaming something on Kobe Bryant without a shred of evidence. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts I'm either dead or in rehab by Valentine's Day. I understand why Kobe will be blamed for Rudy T pulling a Rick Majerus on the team. He has a firmly established reputation of having friction with teammates and coaches. Phil stated plainly in his book that he refused to coach Kobe in the 04/05 season. So it has to be Kobe's fault, right? He must be the fuel that's driving all the good coaches away from one of the greatest basketball franchises in history.
I beg to differ (please let me differ, please let me differ!). First of all, there's no way Rudy T didn't know what he was getting himself into with Kobe when he took the job. After Shaq and Phil making a summer hobby out of publicly trashing their franchise player, I find it very hard to believe that the Lakers, as business people, would not make absolutely certain that their next coach get along with Kobe before he is even hired. They knew exactly what the issues between Phil and Kobe were so, of course, they would ensure that these issues would not rub Rudy T the wrong way. This is just common sense.
Secondly, why would it come to a head now when Kobe is barely involved with the team, not even practicing much less playing? A clever smokescreen to make an excuse more believable? I doubt it. They'd have to be keen enough by now to know that the media pitbulls would not chase that red herring. No, if this were about Kobe, it would have followed some sort of heated exchange, the kind that could only come after a game or practice in which Kobe was directly involved.
Also, has anyone heard a negative peep about Kobe from a Laker this season? Are you going to tell me the team is under some sort of gag order? Please, even if that were true, it wouldn't matter. Reporters don't need quotes to write these stories anymore. Lead with an observation of Odom slumping his shoulders after talking with Kobe, insert a few paragraphs and quotes about the situations last year and you've got a firestarter fit to print. If the current Laker coaches and players had any problems like last season's crew did, we would know it long before it got to the point of forcing Rudy T to step down.
It's all too easy to blame Kobe Bryant these days, and maybe that's why everyone seems to do it so quickly. I am not a Kobe loyalist. If you'll recall, I had no qualms about calling Kobe out after the Karl Malone incident. I'm just trying to consider things fairly and rationally. There are three sides to every story, and it seems to me that a lot of people just go with the first side they see on TV. Kobe is to blame for his sexual assault trial. Kobe is partially to blame for Phil and Shaq skipping town. He is not, however, to blame for Rudy T resigning. The haters are gonna come out of the (hard) woodwork and I wouldn't be surprised if they're blaming Emmitt Smith's retirement on him before this is all said and done, but they will be wrong to pin this one on Number 8.
Even if Rudy T and Kobe did butt heads, you cannot blame Kobe for this. Rudy T should have known as well as any of us what he was getting himself into with Kobe. His successor wrote a memo about it and left it for Rudy T to read at every Barnes & Noble Bookseller across the country.
The fact is Rudy T is quitting on the team, plain and simple. If he has serious health problems, that's one thing, but all I've heard of as of now is a sinus infection and a stomach flu. Take two aspirin and call me at the All-Star Break. If it is simply dissatisfaction with the way the team is playing, that's just inexcusable. This is a young, wildly inconsistent team, but there is talent there and it's a coach's job to guide them to their greatest potential, not to bail out because they haven't figured everything out before the season's even halfway through. What kind of message does that send? What kind of a general abandons his soldiers before every battle has been fought?
Where do the Lakers go from here, I wonder. Without proven leadership, will they crumble or will they rise to the occasion and rally against a huge challenge, making Rudy T a martyr in the process? Who will coach in Rudy T's place, Frank Hamblen or will they swoop in somebody with a higher profile? Right now, this report poses more questions than answers, but there are two truths that are already evident here, Rudy T is acting like a quitter and you can't blame that on Kobe.
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Why on earth would Rudy T resign just three months into a five-year contract? According to Ric Bucher, it's because of health reasons and his dissatisfaction with the way the Lakers are playing. Since the Lakers are currently a playoff team and his only known ailments amount to little more than a cold and flu, it's logical to go fishing for the "real reason."
Gee, I wonder who they're going to blame? The certainty of the blame falling on Kobe is sufficient enough to make a drinking game out of this whole thing. From now on, I do a shot every time I hear or read someone blaming something on Kobe Bryant without a shred of evidence. I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts I'm either dead or in rehab by Valentine's Day. I understand why Kobe will be blamed for Rudy T pulling a Rick Majerus on the team. He has a firmly established reputation of having friction with teammates and coaches. Phil stated plainly in his book that he refused to coach Kobe in the 04/05 season. So it has to be Kobe's fault, right? He must be the fuel that's driving all the good coaches away from one of the greatest basketball franchises in history.
I beg to differ (please let me differ, please let me differ!). First of all, there's no way Rudy T didn't know what he was getting himself into with Kobe when he took the job. After Shaq and Phil making a summer hobby out of publicly trashing their franchise player, I find it very hard to believe that the Lakers, as business people, would not make absolutely certain that their next coach get along with Kobe before he is even hired. They knew exactly what the issues between Phil and Kobe were so, of course, they would ensure that these issues would not rub Rudy T the wrong way. This is just common sense.
Secondly, why would it come to a head now when Kobe is barely involved with the team, not even practicing much less playing? A clever smokescreen to make an excuse more believable? I doubt it. They'd have to be keen enough by now to know that the media pitbulls would not chase that red herring. No, if this were about Kobe, it would have followed some sort of heated exchange, the kind that could only come after a game or practice in which Kobe was directly involved.
Also, has anyone heard a negative peep about Kobe from a Laker this season? Are you going to tell me the team is under some sort of gag order? Please, even if that were true, it wouldn't matter. Reporters don't need quotes to write these stories anymore. Lead with an observation of Odom slumping his shoulders after talking with Kobe, insert a few paragraphs and quotes about the situations last year and you've got a firestarter fit to print. If the current Laker coaches and players had any problems like last season's crew did, we would know it long before it got to the point of forcing Rudy T to step down.
It's all too easy to blame Kobe Bryant these days, and maybe that's why everyone seems to do it so quickly. I am not a Kobe loyalist. If you'll recall, I had no qualms about calling Kobe out after the Karl Malone incident. I'm just trying to consider things fairly and rationally. There are three sides to every story, and it seems to me that a lot of people just go with the first side they see on TV. Kobe is to blame for his sexual assault trial. Kobe is partially to blame for Phil and Shaq skipping town. He is not, however, to blame for Rudy T resigning. The haters are gonna come out of the (hard) woodwork and I wouldn't be surprised if they're blaming Emmitt Smith's retirement on him before this is all said and done, but they will be wrong to pin this one on Number 8.
Even if Rudy T and Kobe did butt heads, you cannot blame Kobe for this. Rudy T should have known as well as any of us what he was getting himself into with Kobe. His successor wrote a memo about it and left it for Rudy T to read at every Barnes & Noble Bookseller across the country.
The fact is Rudy T is quitting on the team, plain and simple. If he has serious health problems, that's one thing, but all I've heard of as of now is a sinus infection and a stomach flu. Take two aspirin and call me at the All-Star Break. If it is simply dissatisfaction with the way the team is playing, that's just inexcusable. This is a young, wildly inconsistent team, but there is talent there and it's a coach's job to guide them to their greatest potential, not to bail out because they haven't figured everything out before the season's even halfway through. What kind of message does that send? What kind of a general abandons his soldiers before every battle has been fought?
Where do the Lakers go from here, I wonder. Without proven leadership, will they crumble or will they rise to the occasion and rally against a huge challenge, making Rudy T a martyr in the process? Who will coach in Rudy T's place, Frank Hamblen or will they swoop in somebody with a higher profile? Right now, this report poses more questions than answers, but there are two truths that are already evident here, Rudy T is acting like a quitter and you can't blame that on Kobe.
# posted by j.h.k. @ 6:41 PM 
