“What The F*ck Does That Mean, Kobe Bryant?” – Kanye West

Level 6 of the #KobeSystem – BEASTION

“You Can Be Like Me, Aziz Ansari” – Kobe Bryant

#KOBESYSTEM

“You can be like me, Aziz Ansari” – Kobe Bryant

“Really Kobe Bryant?” – Aziz Ansari

“No.” – Kobe Bryant

Vanessa Bryant WAS In The Gym With Kobe While He Was Shooting

Empty gym, Kobe getting shots up, and there she is – Vanessa Bryant sitting behind the hoop while her man was getting shots up. Don’t believe every rap lyric you guys here, people. Drake doesn’t always tell the truth…

Kobe Bryant Isn’t Changing His Game For Anyone

We’ve heard this story before, but with different players. Many said that Jordan shot too much, but he also has 6 championship rings to basically say “who gives a shit.” Did Iverson shoot a lot? Yes. But he was also forced into a role for most of his career that certainly didn’t help his chances of winning a title. He needed a true point guard to create shots for him. He wasn’t built to shoot 20+ times a night, while trying to hand out 10 assists consistently.

What about Kobe Bryant? You know, the man who reportedly slept with over 100 women behind his wife’s back in Los Angeles, who has 5 championship rings to go along with a career average of 19.4 shots per game (Remember, that’s just average). Now, turning 34 in August, Kobe’s aging. He has a bad knee, an arthritic finger on his shooting hand that in turn, altered his shooting style, and now has a torn ligament in his right wrist (an injury that would sideline most, but he’s Kobe).

Kobe is Jordan tough and has his work ethic, so what’s a wrist injury? You’re probably asking yourself, “what’s a wrist injury in basketball you moron?! It’s everything!” It might be everything to everyone else, but not Bean. His jumpers are still falling and that beautiful baseline fade is still fallin’, nothings changed except his dreadful 20 percent from 3s.

Yet, he continues to shoot those 23 shots a night this season:

“I shoot, I shoot,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wajnarowski. “ You’ve known that for 16 years. I’m not changing my game. If the defense is not doubling, I’m going to score. If I’ve got a good look, I’m going to score. My teammates know that. But I also give them the ball, too, and set them up.

“But at the end of the day, I’m a scorer first.”

Yes, he’s averaging the third-highest shot attempts of his career (23.5 in 2002-03, 27 in ’05-06) just to get his 27.6 points per game, but he’s still shooting 44 percent from the field.

Which, for Kobe, is just about right.

Other than Bryant and Gasol being the main focal points on offense, big man Andrew Bynum has finally come into his own. And, more importantly, he’s healthy (knock on wood). In his first six games back with the Lakers, Bynum’s averaging a phenomenal 18.8 points and 15.7 rebounds a night (11 defensive rebounds).

L.A. might have the best Big Three on paper right now in the league.

As Dime Mag’s own Sean Sweeney pointed out today, despite the Lakers having arguably the best trio in basketball right now, they’re still average offensively with their 94 points per contest. Their defensive could be better, too, with their allowance of over 100 points a night, which places them at 15th in the league.

L.A. missed out on their much needed point guard when the NBA decided to pull the plug on the Chris Paul trade. Hell, they couldn’t even get J.J. Barea. They’re slow, their perimeter defense is almost non-existent, and the exact same can be said for their “tough guy” Matt Barnes.

So what will the Lakers do before the March trade deadline to better their chances at advancing further in the playoffs? Dwight Howard, maybe? But would you really trade for him if Bynum’s playing this way? Because, as of right now, Bynum’s the best big man in the league. Could they maybe snatch up a guard from their neighbor’s down the street (Clippers)? Who knows.

But one thing’s for certain: “I’m going to do what I do,” Kobe Bryant said. “I’m not changing.”

Aziz Ansari Wants You To Wear The New Nike Kobe VII System

Both on and off the court and on and off the stand-up stage, the Kobe System works. It’s not only a basketball sneaker anymore, it’s a SYSTEM. Buy the new Nike Zoom Kobe VII and find out about it for yourself.

Players React To DeMarcus Cousins Trade Request

Cousins is a rare breed. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that I believe if he got his act together and played with patience and poise, DeMarcus Cousins would be the second-best center in the game behind Dwight Howard. That’s how talented this kid is. Having just turned 20 years of age back in August, Cousins is a 6-foot-11, 270 pound behemoth. That kind of size makes him one of the biggest middle men in the NBA, and he’s definitely one of the nastiest.

But his immaturity is what dropped him to No. 5 overall in the 2010 NBA draft.

Most are probably thinking, “5 is a great spot!” Yes, but not when you’re supposed to be the No. 1 pick overall, except your behavior both on and off the court keeps you from being just that.

According to ESPN’s J.A. Adande, Kings head coach Paul Westphal first released the statement that DeMarcus has decided to request a trade from the team this past weekend:

In the statement, Westphal said Cousins has “continually, aggressively” shown “he is unwilling/unable to embrace traveling in the same direction as his team.” Westphal said Cousins demanded a trade. Cousins’ agent told Sports Illustrated that the player did not demand a trade. Regardless of who initiated it, the Kings clearly want to move Cousins.

The Kings had high-hopes of both Cousins and Tyreke Evans being the future of the team, but unfortunately Boogie isn’t cutout for a young team, he needs to be surrounded by veterans. Not only his attitude, but his production on the court have become a problem: He’s averaging 18 shots per game (13 points), but has a true-shooting percentage of 41%, which is awful compared to his near 49% during his rookie campaign (via Basketball-Reference).

There’s no reason he should be taking 18 shots a game and only average 13 points (Dwight, on average, shoots the ball 11 times a night and averages 18.2 points per game for his career). His rebounding (8.6 to 11.3) and shot-blocking (0.8 to 1.5) are both up, but that doesn’t makeup for how he acts. As previously stated, a veteran team is what this kid needs and a team like the Detroit Pistons could prove worthy, although there’s no telling how he will handle not winning a bunch of games because they’re basically in rebuilding mode.

Having a guy like Ben Wallace on team (excuse his recent D.U.I.) could prove wonders for Cousins. He’s a 4-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner and he has an NBA championship under his belt, things like that are what Cousins needs. Not to mention that Wallace isn’t the kind of guy who would put up with his immaturity, he might knock him on his ass.

I gave my two cents, but Adande has a few players around the league’s as well:

This is a business,” is what Kurt Thomas said he would tell Cousins. “You’re not playing for just one team, you’re playing for the 29 other teams. You’ve got to keep playing, keep your head. A lot of guys think it’s all show. You’ve got to keep your head.”

“He has too much talent to be doing all of that [stuff],” Kobe (Bryant) said. “Just play, man.”

Those are both long-time players of the league, also with one of the Top 10 players of all-time telling you, DeMarcus, that you’re too talented to be acting out like a 10-year-old kid after your sister ate the last pudding cup in the refrigerator. You’re a 20-year-old millionaire — I’m 23, and struggling — who is living his long-fulfilled dream of becoming a professional basketball player.

But can team’s trust you?

I know Detroit will take a chance on you, but what if they back-out? What if they’re afraid of how you will act if they start losing? What about if you end up on a championship contending team and coming off the bench? Will you complain about not getting your starters numbers and minutes? These are questions that we all need to know, these are questions that all need answers.

And fast…

Could Russell Westbrook End Up In Golden State?

Not all good things stay together, or great for that matter. Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won 6 NBA championships during their partnership (could have been 8 had he not retired twice and left basketball for a mind-boggling baseball decision), as well as Kobe and Shaq winning 3 rings together as a duo in Los Angeles. And now, sadly, those kind of conversations are now starting to include arguably the best, and youngest duo in the league: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

They’ve been best friends since the beginning, they’ve been All-Stars together and they’re both the go-to guys on the Oklahoma City Thunder (although the word “go-to” should only describe Durant in crunch-time, not Westbrook. He’s a point-guard.), but there’s something in the middle. Something that just isn’t quite right, and that’s Westbrook.

I’m not saying that Russ was a bad fit from the start, I’m saying that he’s slowly grown into that category the last two seasons. He’s never been a great shooter, 3-point shooter and ball handler for that matter, and that’s coming back to his UCLA days. He’s a shooting-guard playing a point-guard role in OKC (which doesn’t end well when you have a franchise player in Durant who averages nearly 30 points a night).

Remember a guy by the name of Allen Iverson? He’s a Hall of Fame player and the best that ever played the game under 6-foot, but he was forced to play the point guard role throughout his career when he couldn’t. He’s naturally a shooter. That’s why teams gave him a bad reputation that he’s a ball-hog and won’t help your team win a championship because he’ll always need it in his hands. It’s an addiction.

During the ’08-09 season, Westbrook averaged 14 shots a night (41.8 percent) for 16 points, 8 assists and 3.3 turnovers. In 2010-11, he averaged 21.9 points (17 shots, 44 percent), 8 assists and 3.9 turnovers. This season? 15.3 points (17 shots, 31 percent), 6 assists and 6 turnovers.

For a point guard, that’s not a good look.

As for shots, he should be somewhere between the 9 and 11 range while shooting in the high 40s from the field. Prior to this season, his 8 assists were excellent but they could a tad higher (10?), but his turnovers are atrocious. Westbrook has been so focused on scoring the basketball for so long in his life that for the most part, his decision making is where it should be. Where it needs to be is a whole ‘nother story. He needs to slow the pace down and make smarter passes, take smarter shots, ect. if he plans on manning the ship for the Thunder.

They’re built to play that way.

When trade rumors arose during the lockout that a possible trade between OKC and the Boston Celtics could take place — with Boston trading Rajon Rondo to Oklahoma City while the Celtics received Westbrook in return — most said it was crazy, but the truth is, having Rondo control the Thunder’ offense would take them to a championship a lot quicker than it will with Westbrook.

When the “Argument Heard Around The World” went viral Wednesday night — detailed by The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry — where Westbrook was overheard yelling at Thabo Sefolosha for passing up an open shot and when Durant tried to calm him down, Westbrook snapped at Durant (Something to make a report about, and talk about it for 24 hours on ESPN? No, not at all. It happens, teammates argue all the time. Friends, family, whatever, arguments happen).

24 hours later, ESPN beat writer J.A. Adande wrote an interesting piece on why Westbrook won’t work in OKC for not only the long-run, but financially as well:

The Rose Rule already bumped Durant’s paycheck by an extra $2.5 million a year, and Westbrook could be living in that same $18 million-a-season neighborhood. Depending on what other moves the Thunder make, a huge boost to Westbrook’s salary could put Oklahoma City in luxury tax territory next season and beyond. Starting in 2013-14 the tax will be progressively more punitive than the simple dollar-for-dollar surcharge in place now, and there are additional penalties for repeat tax “offenders.” In addition tax teams have restrictions on their abilities to make trades and sign players to the full mid-level exception.

To sum it up, Adande is stating that by the Thunder locking up Westbrook to a huge deal will ultimately hurt them in the long run when it comes to re-signing other key attributes and going after other appealing talent in free agency. One thing, though, that was really brought to my attention (it’s actually the reason why I’m writing this in the first place) is when J.A. threw out a trade idea that would send Westbrook to Golden State in exchange for Steph Curry (very interesting):

Curry is still on his rookie contract through 2012-13 (when he’ll make $4 million) so he would almost guarantee the Thunder stay below the tax threshold for another year, and he probably won’t be eligible for the Rose Rule pay boost, which would keep his maximum salary 5 percent lower than what Westbrook’s might be when it’s time to re-sign him.

Curry would also give the Thunder more scoring punch from the starting 2-guard spot than they currently have from Sefolosha. From Golden State’s perspective, Westbrook is a better defender than Curry, and that should count a lot for the new-look Warriors. (Believe it or not, Mark Jackson’s squad is among the top 10 defenses for fewest opponent points allowed so far.) And Westbrook is more likely to cause sprained ankles than suffer as many as Curry has.

Interesting enough, Curry was a fan favorite in OKC during the ’09 NBA Draft when the volume shooter was coming out of Davidson (many wanted him over James Harden). Although it’s an intriguing idea, Adande failed to mention one thing: Monta Ellis.

Trading Ellis for Westbrook makes a lot more sense for Golden State than it does by shipping Curry out the door, but it’s almost an identical swap. On paper it seems that Westbrook would help the Warriors out more than Ellis already does, but it’s somewhat misleading.

Golden State would still have the same problems defensively that they do now, and they’d still have the same turnover issues that Ellis provides and the out-of-control shooting outbursts throughout the night.

This what happens when you put a shooter at a facilitators position.

Lets say for a minute that Westbrook does end up in Golden State at some point between this season and the next (this isn’t a rumor, this is just a discussion), what’s the guarantee that he would automatically turn into a facilitator on a team built for running? As for Curry, yes, he’s had issues with his ankle, but at the end of the day he has the higher basketball IQ, and that includes his shooting, passing skills, and the ability to spread the floor substantially better than Russ.

If the Warriors are in a “win now” situation — which I don’t believe they are since they just hired a brand new coach in Mark Jackson — and if the front office believes Curry is going to be an injury-prone player from here on out, I could see them offering this kind of trade. Other than that, no. It doesn’t make enough sense because at this point I’d rather pay Curry $3 million less to run my offense like a point guard should, than pay Westbrook $3 million more to run it like a shooter.

Video: Woman Checks Out Kobe, Shows Major Interest

When your wife divorces you for half of your career earnings after finding out you’ve slept with over 100 other women the last decade you’ve been together, more than likely women are going to come after you based on reputation. And after seeing this video, having the name ‘Bryant’ on the back of your jersey will certainly cure your fear of “hate sleeping alone.” No offense, Drake.

This Is What Nike Basketball x Jordan Brand Rocked On Christmas Day

Above (from l-r): Carmelo Anthony wore his Jordan Melo M8 Christmas Day kicks in a win against the C’s, Chris Paul wore his Jordan CP3.V XMas day kicks in his debut with the Clippers, and D-Wade rocked his Jordan Fly Wade 2 XMas day kicks in the Heat’s blowout over the Mavericks.

Below (from l-r): KD rocked the Nike Zoom KD IV “Coppers” against the Magic, LeBron put on the XMas Day LeBron 9′s, Kobe laced up Nike Zoom Kobe VII “Cheetahs” in a loss against the Bulls, and Amare wore his special XMas colored Air Max Sweep Thrus.

All of the shoes are in stores now!

Kobe Bryant Discusses The New Zoom Kobe VII Shoe System

You’ve probably seen the new Nike Kobe 7′s and were wondering what the inserts and everything was all about. Well check out this interview with Nike sneaker creative director Eric Avar where they go over everything that has to do with the Kobe VII System Supreme.

Nike pulls the curtain back on the making of the Nike Kobe VII System Supreme with a detailed discussion with Kobe Bryant and Nike creative director Eric Avar. Topics range from good design balancing science and art, performance versatility in footwear, the creative process and the evolution of Kobe’s signature line.

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