• June 21, 2009 9:30 pm  |  43 Comments

    Kobe: I’m Coming Back


    by Ben Osborne

    Whether he opts out of his contract or not, the L.A. Times says your Finals MVP will be back in the purple and gold:

    “I’m not going anywhere,” he said Friday. “I know I ain’t going nowhere. It just wastes our breath just talking about it. Let’s talk about Trevor and Lamar and the importance of bringing them back.”

    Incidentally, those two are saying the right things about coming back. Phil, too. Not sure how excited the Buss Family will be to pay all these guys, but if they do all come back the Lakers will have every reason to make their third straight Finals trip.

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    • Ken Posted: Jun.21 at 9:31 pm
      Well, nobody else can pay him as much.

    • Tanny Posted: Jun.21 at 9:33 pm
      CSKA Moscow can.

    • Hubert Posted: Jun.21 at 9:42 pm
      Arrogant son of a b****!

    • Word of God Posted: Jun.21 at 10:05 pm
      I feel ya Kobe. Bask in the glow while you can.

    • Orlando Green Posted: Jun.21 at 10:11 pm
      REPEAT, THREEPEAT

    • Dacre Posted: Jun.21 at 10:18 pm
      This feels appropiate.

    • HushD Posted: Jun.21 at 10:40 pm
      Shhh….don’t tell.

    • Anton Posted: Jun.21 at 10:43 pm
      That’s what he told the white girl, but he never did.

    • Scott Posted: Jun.21 at 11:12 pm
      Glad its not gonna turn out like the Bulls after their ‘98 chip… These guys have got a strong future still ahead of them with this core group

    • The Cool Posted: Jun.21 at 11:45 pm
      Why would he not come back? Best team in the L, best chance of winning a championship next year, he’s the number 1 option on the team, he can’t get payed more by anybody else, there’s no reason to leave. Phil? It’s not like he will coach another team if he leaves, so Kobe will either have to play for a different coach, or retire if he didn’t want to play for another coach. And we know he’s not retiring.

    • tealish Posted: Jun.22 at 12:10 am
      Anton with the always appropriate humour!

    • blaze Posted: Jun.22 at 12:27 am
      so now I can hate the lakers for at least 3 more years.. does anybody outside of LA actually like those guys?

    • Joey E. Posted: Jun.22 at 2:17 am
      i’m surprised this story has been as big as it has. did anyone really think he was leaving? especially after he got another ring

    • tindore Posted: Jun.22 at 2:28 am
      this is non-news…in my opinion he should opt out take a few million less and take the max extension…Championship in LA ‘10….’11???

    • stokesey Posted: Jun.22 at 3:42 am
      Blaze, watch any road games the lakers play, theres always a contigant of laker fans

    • Yassi Posted: Jun.22 at 4:06 am
      i was hoping for retirement…..

    • blaze Posted: Jun.22 at 4:08 am
      band-wagoners. any team thats winning has em’. Not taking anything away from the Lakers, they had the BEST team in the L this year. just hard to like them.

    • lakers4life Posted: Jun.22 at 4:38 am
      yassi i think that’s a pretty good idea.retirement.because i dont think they will repeat.they can but i just dont think they will.
      what would happen if kobe, phil j, fisher and odom retire now?wouldnt that be weird?i hope it happens.this doesnt make a lot of sense does it?

    • Marco Posted: Jun.22 at 5:22 am
      doesn’t make a lot of sense, but your 2010-2011 lakers would have james in the lineup, with all the cap space that the retirements would create

    • analog_frog Posted: Jun.22 at 5:35 am
      He ain’t goin nowhere. Because the Clips’ are an LA team too.

    • Michael NZ Posted: Jun.22 at 6:17 am
      As long as we don’t EVER have to endure… Joey… Buss… speaking… again… I’ll be ok.

    • Gerard Himself Posted: Jun.22 at 7:33 am
      I’m not a Lakers fan, but i don’t find it hard at all to like them. They have the best player in the world (or second-best, you decide)in Kobe, I really like watching Ariza play, obviously Pau is great, and to me as a fan of the game, watching Lamar Odom whenever he gets hot is a fun thing too. Great team.

    • Sesa Posted: Jun.22 at 8:42 am
      @Blaze, I’m not from the US. I’m not in the Lakers’ bandwagon but I appreciate the greatness of Kobe

    • twahc Posted: Jun.22 at 8:59 am
      he wont leave man. it’s common sense, like Joey E. said. Let’s see if they are lucky next season.

    • riggs Posted: Jun.22 at 11:14 am
      he wont leave until they start losing again.

    • Zee! Posted: Jun.22 at 11:50 am
      They’ll get one more ring in the next couple years, provided they bring everyone back.

    • bulldog Posted: Jun.22 at 11:59 am
      REPEAT- REPEAT- REPEAT!! This really pains me to say this, but, Fish- you are the class act off the league- a role model and the heart and soul of the Lakers…why not retire now while you are on top? This could be a story book ending on top of a story book ending. Life isn’t perfect and it’s very selfish to put you on a pedestal- but you already put yourself there with your charm, charisma, leadership, style and class.(I can’t believe we are STILL underestimating you..) If you choose to return- we will welcome you back with open arms. Of course.

    • cassie Posted: Jun.22 at 2:38 pm
      yea its funny how he says that now but like three, four years ago he was opting for a trade like his life depended on it bcuz the lakes were losing and he was tslking trash about andrew bynum… kobe is ridiculous but he is a one of the best players in the nba right now so…he has that leeway but if lebron was to do that everybody would be on his balls

    • la huey Posted: Jun.22 at 7:19 pm
      hope they can re-sign odom and ariza and make a smooth transition from fish to farmar/brown at point. this team is young enough to be dominant for years and it’ll be fun to watch up-and-coming teams try to take the crown.

    • blaze Posted: Jun.22 at 7:52 pm
      Kobe is great, Pau is solid, Fisher is a winner, and Odom is multi talented, but they seem to play dirty sometimes. Fisher laying out Scola, Ariza’s flagrent on Rudy Fernandez during regular season (game Portland won), and other b.s. they’ve been getting away with since the days of Shaq getting whatever he wanted in the paint. And Pau has the nerve to say Dwight is too physical? geez.

    • HushD Posted: Jun.22 at 10:50 pm
      Even if Jerry doesn’t want to pay for both Ariza and Odom…what consolation it must be to Lakers fans to know that your other Jerry, east of the Mississippi will gift you something for nothing. Who will it be next? The Gasol brothers reunited? Maybe the Lakers will just get the #2 pick so they can decide who fits best from the draft. Blaze, I feel your pain.

    • blaze Posted: Jun.22 at 10:59 pm
      thank you hush. I hate to hate but they get alot of calls other teams just dont get.

    • HighYE Posted: Jun.22 at 11:00 pm
      One factor to seal Kobe’s Greatness is for him to stay a Laker for life. The haters will have a field day once he leaves the purple and gold. Mercenary.

    • blaze Posted: Jun.22 at 11:01 pm
      Arenas for Iverson and Stucky on thursday?

    • nate the great Posted: Jun.23 at 12:38 am
      on 2k9 i picked the lakers, and traded kobe, gasol, odem, and ariza, and used Dj mbenga. he is my favorite laker, fu(k the rest of them. haha.
      oh and i also extended phil jacksons contract, and he is coaching still in 2015 haha.
      his stats go down.
      but i mean he should be wearing a shirt saying
      Check my stats on the front, and have two hands full of rings on the back haha.

    • Harrell Posted: Jun.23 at 1:27 am
      This is Pointless and Painful

    • Harrell Posted: Jun.23 at 1:35 am
      Also how does leavin the lakers bring hate

    • Chendaddy Posted: Jun.23 at 11:16 am
      Blah blah blah, whatever Kobe. Bring Ariza to Cleveland, Danny Ferry! Actually, scratch that. Leave Danny Ferry in a ditch on I-77, then get us somebody who can bring Ariza to Cleveland!

    • Jackie Moon Posted: Jun.23 at 11:56 am
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqBHYBCoM84 Funny clip of interview of Kobe with Peter Mehlman, one of the former writers and producers of Seinfeld.

    • lalo macias Posted: Jun.23 at 8:00 pm
      hi, kobe is the #1 player in da world and they will probably even threepeat with gasol farmar odom and others inda lineup. Yeah…. lebron sucks a$s.. hope he never wins a championship ever ever!!!

    • Yung Posted: Jun.24 at 1:11 am
      IM FROM BALTIMORE N I LOVE MY LAKERS!!!! THAT’S KOBE’S TEAM UNTIL…………………

    • dashizz357 Posted: Jun.24 at 9:45 am
      Kobe aka Lord of the Rings! Add Artist to the list and it’s back to back baby! 4sho!

    • Isaac Jeff Posted: Jul.17 at 11:36 am
      Kobe is the man, U are great bro, LAKERS is the team. Lets gooo there…….

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