Those Friendly Lakers on Everybody’s Mind

Rape allegations. Carpetbaggers. Feuds. Even if the Lakers win the championship this season, their rings will be as tarnished as the one Kobe gave Vanessa.

Volney E. Hyde

Van Nuys

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With Kobe’s pending charges and trial, I was afraid that it would break up the rhythm of the team we’ve known and loved over the last four years.

I’m so relieved to see Shaq and Kobe bickering again.

Looks like everything’s back to normal.

David Zemanek

El Cerrito

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Whose Lakers are these?

My Lakers don’t whine. My Lakers don’t bicker. My Lakers don’t have court cases in Colorado. My Lakers haven’t worn jerseys that say “Jazz,” “Sonics” or “Bucks.” My Lakers aren’t greedy or selfish.

My Lakers are classy. My Lakers respect each other.

I don’t know whose Lakers these are, but the big fella can have ‘em.

Alex Reichline

Santa Cruz

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Last weekend was not a good one for Laker fans. Some of us lost our homes to wildfires. Some of us were facing death in Iraq. Some of us were on strike over health benefits. And some of us were dealing with unemployment, sickness or countless other difficulties that life brings us.

Meanwhile, two multimillionaire Laker superstars were whining to us about not getting along with each other. It was definitely not a good weekend.

George Bentley

La Puente

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Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. I have loved the Lakers for 20 years, and even with a great team like the current one, I am finding it difficult to love this team. I can’t figure out if Shaq and Kobe are stubborn or stupid. Both, probably.

Peter Everett

Danbury, Conn.

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It is about time Kobe came out and spoke the truth. I and every person I discuss this with agrees with Kobe. Shaq is a serious problem child. If I were Jerry Buss, I’d roll the dice on Kobe’s innocence with respect to his trial and trade Shaq.

Eric Broida

Malibu

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Leaders don’t create dissension, they create team unity. Leaders don’t broach problems through the media, they confront them face to face. Leaders don’t yell at the owner during a game while running down the court. And leaders don’t use the first 20 games of the season to get in shape.

I’m not saying that Kobe acted appropriately. He should have taken the high road. Nonetheless, I think he’s right.

Jim Sproat

San Diego

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Why not trade Kobe to the Denver Nuggets (for Carmelo Anthony)? It will cut down on his travel time.

Gregory Morales

Los Angeles

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After eight seasons of this, the secret is really out -- our two supposed NBA stars are really just a couple of pimply faced, popularity-seeking, insecure adolescents in disguise.

Shaq’s the class clown. He craves attention and so has to act out to get it.

And Kobe? He’s your kid -- the one who keeps screwing things up because he can’t seem to look beyond the next hour in his decision-making. He might have spoken a portion of the truth about Shaq, but it’s certainly overshadowed by his inability to remember the one truth of pro sports: Opinions in the paper mean nothing next to the actions in the field of play.

These so-called stars are no role models. We knew this stuff all along and we just pretended it wasn’t there because we decided the bright lights and trophies were more important than things like responsibility, honesty or integrity. Shame on us.

Michael S. Murashige

Los Angeles

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A piece of advice to Kobe: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Shaq is dead-on right about this whole situation. Kobe has never been a team player. He has always been about fulfilling his own goals and becoming the greatest player who ever lived (at least in his own mind). The Lakers will be better without him.

Craig P. Fagan

San Diego

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It apparently is obvious to everyone but The Times that Laker management is orchestrating the latest Kobe-Shaq feud to detract attention from the fact that one of their star players recently cheated on his wife and may have raped the woman as well.

Shame on you for falling for this stunt and allowing the Lakers and Kobe Bryant to get away with this circus sideshow. Jerry Buss and other Laker brass are no doubt laughing at how they have succeeded in fooling The Times, causing you to send reporter after reporter to write meaningless articles about an imaginary disagreement.

Leah Warren

Northridge

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Jerry West knew what he was doing when he left a lot of distance between himself and these two bickering children.

Bryan Taw

Los Angeles

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Is it a coincidence that Shaq and Kobe have taken their running feud to new depths at the same time their career trajectories are set to clash? I think not.

Look at the facts: Shaq is eligible for a huge extension and Kobe can opt out of his contract at season’s end and demand a new deal. They’re both competing for the same piece of the limited financial pie, and the writing’s on the wall that Jerry Buss can’t afford to max out both players.

Call Shaq and Kobe what you will -- immature, petty, egotistical -- but when it comes to money, both players have never been anything less than calculating.

Jonathan Stewart

Newbury Park

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I can’t help wondering what Karl Malone must be thinking. He came from an unselfish team where he and John Stockton perfected the “give and go.” Now, he’s on a selfish team where Shaq and Kobe are perfecting the “give or go!”

Mark Matsuno

Glendale

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Can we just send the Lakers back to Minnesota and get a team with some class in here? Maybe the Tim Duncan-led Spurs? I’m sure they’d love to be in a city like L.A. Too bad the Lakers don’t.

Tony Berardinelli

North Hollywood

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OK, who stole the real Kobe Bryant? The one we’ve got now is clearly part of some kind of dastardly Snidely Whiplash switcheroo. The old Kobe, the good Kobe, is surely bound to a chair in a broom closet down in the depths of Staples Center.

Jim Mallon

San Luis Obispo

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Once again, Shaq has shown the world that he is a big man with a little insecurity problem. Would someone tell him we all think he’s a fine player who could be a better leader if he knew how to handle himself? One can’t take the reins of a team after splintering it apart with ill-timed, self-serving comments.

He is trying to rise but instead shoots himself and everyone else down by targeting Kobe Bryant at a time when Bryant is most vulnerable and when the team is perhaps most vulnerable too.

Message to Shaq: Shut up and play. If you have a problem, settle it quietly, like a man, not like a selfish egotist with the emotional maturity of a 2-year-old. You don’t deserve the support of your fans with this behavior.

Betsy Marro

San Diego

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The last time I looked, the Lakers weren’t Shaq’s team. They’re Jerry Buss’.

Naila Currie

Walnut

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It is amazing that Shaq has shown more loyalty for his two new buddies than for a guy who has fought alongside him for three championships. It is amazing that Shaq has chosen to attack a teammate who is, possibly, facing a serious false accusation that has him defending his life.

If one of these guys has to go, it should be Shaq. Mitch Kupchak should trade him before he takes away a good person and great player from the adoring fans. Kobe Bryant is the Lakers’ bright future and if Shaq can’t appreciate that, then he should become a part of their past.

Dara Sheik

San Francisco

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How can someone so young get such an inflated ego that he thinks he can do anything to anyone and say anything about anybody publicly with no repercussions? Do we blame it on Kobe Bryant’s lack of formal education? Can he be as stupidly arrogant as he appears or is he another in the long line of rich, coddled athletes believing they are bulletproof? This spoiled brat is nothing but a distraction and the Lakers should dump him quickly. Shaq, Mailman and Gary have more than enough talent and heart to bring the NBA championship back to the City of Angels this season.

Steve Thorwald

La Verne

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Shaq should remember that Kobe has been offered a full contract extension and he has not. Maybe the Lakers know whose team it is.

J. Francisco Alvarez

South Pasadena

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Let’s call the Lakers “Gary’s team.” Payton can run the show. If Shaq is too slow up and down the court, then Payton can run the offense without him. If Kobe becomes a black hole on offense, Payton can decline to pass him the ball.

Payton and Malone, plus selfless players like Fisher and Fox, can get the job done without the Big Ego or the Little Ego getting in the way.

Phil Brimble

Los Angeles

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The solution to the Kobe-Shaq feud and the Lakers’ winning a championship would be to trade Bill Plaschke. I’m sure the New York Post or National Enquirer would give equal value; say, a franchise gossip columnist and a first-round mudslinger.

Oh, scratch that idea; we will need old Bill around to dig up a story on Glen Rice’s wife in case the Clippers make the Finals this year.

Terry Gilkeson

Claremont

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Trade Kobe Bryant? Well, I guess Laker fans can at least rest assured that Bill Plaschke will never be offered a job in the team’s front office. Unfortunately, this fact doesn’t make his inane opinions and general ineptitude any easier for us to endure.

Paul Grammatico

Torrance

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Shaq and Kobe have finally done the impossible. They’ve turned me into a Clipper fan.

John Humble

Santa Monica