Fans, coach could lure Bryant to town
稍微看了一下，不過現在暫時沒空翻譯(筆者按：而且以我的英文程度....@@)
希望有興趣的人能幫忙翻一下，要不然就看我這幾天有沒有空了....
不過呢，基本上我看到這種新聞也只能一笑置之啦....
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The Arizona Republic
Feb. 23, 2004 12:00 AM
It is 90 minutes before tip-off, and the media is putting full-court
pressure on Kobe Bryant in the locker room.
Do you like Phoenix? Would you come here? Will you leave Los Angeles?
"I like Phoenix," Bryant said Sunday before scoring 40 points to
beat the Suns 104-92 at America West Arena. "It's peaceful. Relaxing.
Whenever I've come here, everybody's been great."
Fans here like you, want you out here, a reporter says.
(筆者按：Are you sure....?)
"Really?" Bryant said. "Really? That means a lot to me."
No statement Sunday was more telling than that one. The Lakers guard
is a man who craves both loyalty and appreciation, which is why talk of
Bryant playing for the Suns next season is gaining some legs.
The Suns can't say there's interest, but there's interest. Bryant, 25,
is a player you build a franchise around, and he would be a mind-boggling
complement to Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. The team has been
dumping salary, and after trading Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway,
Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo acknowledged it was to put the team
in position to be a player in the free-agent market.
The fit would make sense for a variety of reasons. Bryant, who has had
a strained relationship with Lakers coach Phil Jackson, would welcome
playing for Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, whom Bryant once referred to as
"my man, one of my first basketball heroes."
When Bryant lived in Italy as a youth - his father, Joe, played there
- D'Antoni was a popular standout guard for Philips Milan.
Joe Bryant has told some in the Suns' organization that he would like
his son to play in Phoenix.
Kobe Bryant, meanwhile, continues to send mixed messages. Within minutes
of saying he wants to be a Laker for life, he says he wants to explore
free agency.
Lakers owner Jerry Buss said on ESPN Sunday that he believes 100 percent
that Bryant will be on the team next season. When told of Buss' comments
after the game, Bryant's response was appropriate but sounded forced.
"That's great," he said, a smile glued on his face. "He's the boss."
If Bryant does leave, only a few teams will be able to afford him.
If the salary cap hits $46 million as projected, the Suns should be
about $11 million under. Keep in mind the team will have a first-round
draft pick to sign, which will take up some of that space. To sign Bryant,
the team would need to maneuver some more.
If that sounds complicated, that's nothing compared to the problems
Bryant's trial could pose.
Even if he's found not guilty, that answer may not come until the summer.
July 1 is the first day teams can begin negotiating with free agents, and
July 14 is the first day they can sign them. Do you frame your off-season
strategy around a player whose availability is still up in the air? And
if you're Bryant, do you go with the team that shows the earliest loyalty?
It's a mess. But if Bryant is found not guilty, it's a mess worth pursuing.
Did you see him Sunday? The pump fakes? The fadeaways? The driving layups?
The genius of his game?
"Kobe is unbelievable," D'Antoni said afterward.
Yes, he is.
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我的媽呀....-_-
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