Tonight Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers will take on the Boston Celtics in the NBA finals. It is the first time the Lakers have been in the finals since 2004, which coincidentally was the last year the Lakers had both Shaq and Kobe.
Following that 2004 finals loss to the Detroit Pistons, both Kobe and Shaq were placing blame on each other. For Lakers General Manager, Jerry West, it was clear that someone had to go.
For West and the Lakers, they decided to let the big man walk away.
At the time, the move warranted a lot of criticisms as Shaq, still in his prime, led the Miami Heat straight to a championship. Bryant on the otherhand was still trying to shake the image of a self-centered and arrogant man who cheated on his wife.
Fast forward to today… On the Phoenix Suns, Shaq looks like a arthritis ridden great dane trying to play with a bunch of golden retievers. On the other hand, Kobe Bryant is 29-years-old and the arguement has been made by many in comparing him to Michael Jordan. As a team the Lakers have a bunch of young players that look prepped to go on a nice five year run of winning two or three championships.
So even though at the time, Jerry West looked crazy for holding on to a tainted Kobe Bryant - he is looking more and more like a genius everyday.
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