Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
Obviously the Bulls had good players other than MJ, but they did not have the marquee roster that L.A. tends to field every year.
Now this year, L.A.'s superstars are hurt and getting old. Horace Grant is out, Malone might as well be, Payton is 35 and past his prime but still very good, so that leaves them with Shaq, Kobe, Payton and scrubs for depth.
Robert Horry, their 3 point killer in the past, is also gone.
But the bottom line is, Malone and Grant are still very effective players when healthy, so when they have a full team, the Lakers, man for man, are a much more talented team than the old Bulls. (other than MJ)
Grant-Rodman=a wash..Grant is probably more useful, since he can score.
Malone-Kukoc=Malone is still better even now...probably better to swap Malone and Grant in the comparison here, but they'd both still be better.
Shaq-Any Bulls center ever...duh
Payton-Harper=I'll take The Glove.
That leaves...
MJ-Kobe....who would you pick to lead either team?
Now obviously, that is the Laker's team they intended to have, not the one they ended up with after injuries...that can't be helped....any playoff teams' starters are going to be better than another team's backups, so I'm not comparing Luke Walton to Kukoc, etc.
BTW, that is only the team from the Bull's last 3 titles. The first 3 had a much different team, other than MJ and Pippen.
So, I say, take MJ from any point in his championship run, replace Kobe with him and the Lakers would be unstoppable, even with the players they have right now.
My Lord, Jordan and Shaq on the same team? You wouldn't need much of a supporting cast.
The big difference is, Jordan's understanding of the game is above genius level, and Kobe's is somewhere between elementary and middle school.
Until Kobe gets rid of that 10 cent head that's sitting on that million dollar physique, he'll never be anywhere near Jordan's level, no how much he tries to act like Mike.
