Gorman: Contract Extension Amount 'Tells You Something' About Kobe Bryant
BOSTON (CBS) - Celtics TV announcer Mike Gorman joined Toucher and Rich Wednesday morning to talk Celtics, but couldn't help but weigh in on the Kobe Bryant contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The aging star hasn't played a game this season and is coming off a major Achilles injury, yet forced the Lakers hand to the tune of $48.5 million over 2 years.
Mike Gorman is of the mind that Kobe Bryant was selfish during this recent negotiation.
"Someone told me Kobe Bryant's net worth is somewhere around $200 - $300 million. If that's the case, I would think maybe the drive to win would allow him to sacrifice a little short-term money here now to win another championship."
"It's easy to talk about somebody else's money, but when you get to a point of being worth hundreds of millions of dollars you would think your decision wouldn't be based on being the highest paid player in the game."
"Tim Duncan gave up money, LeBron gave up money - a lot of guys gave up money around the league to win. I think it just tells you something about Kobe."
"I'd be pissed off [if I were a Lakers fan]," said Gorman.
With that out of the way, basketball talk of items related to on the court resumed, like the disparity between the Eastern and Western Conference.
"In the West you can be better than .500 and if the playoffs started tomorrow one or two teams wouldn't make it. In the East, if you're better than .500 you get homecourt advantage. Everyone says it's cyclical, and that they play a different style of basketball in the West."
"I don't have a good explanation for that [disparity]," said Gorman, who added," Other than Miami and Indiana the dropoff is precipitous [in the Eastern Conference]."
Robb: Anticipation Building As Rondo Nears Return
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo is nearly ten months removed from suffering an ACL tear in his right knee, which occurred during an overtime loss against the Atlanta Hawks last January.
He underwent surgery to repair the injury a couple weeks later in February, and is now just weeks away from making his season debut.
"Rondo, as with all these guys, it's more a mental thing ultimately when they come back than a physical thing. With that said, Rondo goes very hard in these workouts. I'm encouraged in terms of when he will be back, just watching him workout before games because he works up a real sweat and plays hard."
Adam Jones: Jared Sullinger Talks Second-Year Jump
Lastly, Rich complimented the Celtics undersized power forward Jared Sullinger, who at 6'9" can hold his own against some of the NBA's best big men.
Sullinger has a big fan in Mike Gorman.
"I love Sully. I'm a big Sullinger fan on and off the court. It's trite and it's cliche, but he just knows how to play. He knows how to use his body."
Listen below for the full interview:
Gorman Talks Bryant Extension, Celtics
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