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Sam Smith of Bulls.com states:
"Well, at least I'm fairly sure now where LeBron James is going to be playing next season.
Say what?
I would hazard a guess and state that the one destination that we can safely say LeBron will not end up is LA Lakers. Smith's pretty detailed with his reasoning, as one would expect.
"The big reason I believe this could occur and work is because James is an unusual superstar. Jordan never would do it, and I doubt Kobe would. But you watched James in the Olympics and he seemed to embrace the supporting role, rebounding and moving the ball. He's always said he wants to play with those Olympic teammates, and it doesn't seem like the Cavs payroll can accommodate that."
Really?
Reports had James as very competitive with "whose team is this?" - and EVERYONE on the team wanted to "play with those Olympic teammates".
LeBron James just won an MVP, wants to be seen as one of the greatest to ever play the game, and Smith can see him taking on... no, wait embracing a supporting role? The guy who wore the "MVP/LBJ" t-shirt? "Check my stats"? Ummm... no.
Equally so with Kobe. Sure, Kobe may have kicked up one helluva tantrum to get a good team around him, but sharing it with LeBron James wasn't part of the idea, I'm sure. Gasol, Odom, Bynum, and even Artest - fine. But the man who would be King is on a completely different level of "share".
Kobe and LeBron as they are now couldn't co-exist on the same team, not for a whole season. Simply put, there's not enough ball - nor enough limelight for them both in the same team. LeBron's an awesome player - and with a bit of luck will be counted as one of the all-time greats.
I believe history will put that same epithet on Kobe.
It's not a criticism to state that LeBron's ego is too big for him to take a backseat to Kobe. Why should he? As it stands at the moment, he's probably the better player. It's not a denunciation to believe that Kobe wouldn't play second-fiddle to LeBron either - and why should he? He's the more accomplished player.
No... no single team's big enough for LeBron and Kobe.
And that's as it should be. Having both of them on the one team would make the NBA a much smaller place, and we'd be poorer for it.
From a Lakers fan - I'm fine with LA having Kobe, someone else can have LBJ.
Sam, stick to making the inane comments about the Bulls.
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