What the Broncos should have learned from the Lakers...

by Andrew Feinstein on Apr 3, 2009 1:01 AM MDT

Tell me if this sounds familiar...

At the end of a frustrating season a young, petulant, immature and yet supremely talented All-Star, the anchor of one of sports greatest franchises, feels like he was wronged by the organization. But rather than keep the issue in house, he whines and complains to to a few reporters demanding a trade. A media frenzy ensues, engulfing an entire city in a "should they or shouldn't they trade him?" debate. Even the owner of the team tries to take a break from his off-season to personally reach out to the player, but is unable to convince the player to relinquish his trade demands.

Denver Broncos/Jay Cutler fans have become all too familiar with this unfortunate, unnecessary story, except I'm not talking about the Broncos and Cutler.

I'm talking about the Los Angeles Lakers and their one time frustrated star, Kobe Bryant. In 2007, the Lakers went through a very similar ordeal that the Broncos have just undergone. As all Nuggets fans will remember, in the summer of 2007 Bryant demanded a trade, the media went nuts, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, general manager Mitch Kupchak and head coach Phil Jackson reached out to Bryant, and nothing changed. But rather than capitulate and trade their prized commodity, Buss, Kupchak and Jackson called Bryant's bluff and essentially dared their star player not to show up for training camp. Knowing that wanting to avoid an intensely negative PR storm, the loss of several paychecks and his own competitive pride would eventually bring Bryant into camp, Buss, Kupchak and Jackson did nothing except bring Lakers legend Magic Johnson in behind the scenes to help broker the peace between Bryant and the organization.

When training camp arrived, Bryant was there on time, was forced to answer a lot of awkward questions about his trade demands and he went about his business. When Bryant was introduced to Lakers fans at Staples Center on opening night against the Rockets, he was booed. But when the Lakers won the game 95-93, thanks to a furious fourth quarter scoring run by Bryant, Bryant was cheered and never got booed in Los Angeles again. And we all know what happened after that. The Lakers went on to win 57 games, made it to the NBA Finals and Bryant was awarded with the NBA's MVP trophy.

Buss, Kupchak and Jackson were rewarded for their foresight and patience, and it's most unfortunate that neither Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, new general manager Brian Xanders nor rookie head coach Josh McDaniels possessed any foresight or patience in dealing with Cutler. Is Jay Cutler a whiny jackass? Of course he is. But he's a talented, whiny jackass, and franchise quarterbacks don't grow on trees (just as NBA MVPs don't grow on trees). All Bowlen had to do was copy the Jerry Buss playbook, stop talking to the media and dare Cutler not to show up at training camp. So Cutler might have missed a few optional off-season workouts. Big deal. At the end of the day, Cutler would have showed up at camp and perhaps he and McDaniels would even have gotten along.

Had Bowlen and his team learned from the Lakers situation with Bryant, Broncos fans wouldn't have gotten screwed into what will most likely be another failed season of NFL football in Denver.

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Comments

Andrew,

This is a great article you have written. You're right.

by write-on on Apr 2, 2009 8:29 PM MDT reply actions

I agree. Right on.

Too bad, the lesson was not learned he is a Bear.

Wow I imagine that the Bear are going to be so good. They did well with a crappy QB.

by Anonymous on Apr 3, 2009 12:12 AM MDT reply actions

Spot. On.

At least something happened sooner rather than later so we didn't have more drama queen QB overexposure a la Favre

by Sports Tsar on Apr 3, 2009 12:43 AM MDT reply actions

sorry but i don't buy the comparison of cutler vs Kobe. sure both are stars, with kobe beeing much higher on talent and ability to win, but kobe plays a sport that only 12 men play and they play both sides of the game, Jay sport that he plays one side and 54 other players on the team with you, so his importance is no where as near. Don't get me wrong here i loved Jay, i've been picking him up every year for my FF. But do we honestly think next year we were going to be any better than 8-8 season? Cutler was not going to be a great performer in his first season under new head coach off coach, new system. This was going to reduce his value, his value is at the highest it's ever been. The Broncos have so many holes that needs to be filled in the next two years before they can even make use of a good QB, this way MCD has 2 years to fill in the holes with time to bring up simms, orton or someone he drafts late in the rounds (what he likes to do).
I wish cutler best of luck in chicago as they are my second favorit team but i really don't mind if he doesn't click with his only wr (3rd string anywhere else) Hester and we get another 10-18th 1st round pick out of this.

by AN now back in DENVER on Apr 3, 2009 12:47 AM MDT reply actions

Well Andrew you know I don't often disagree with you but when I do I let you know and in this case I really disagree. First off, Kobe and Jay Culter are on totally different levels, one is a guaranteed first ballot HOFer and is already considered 2nd best at his position and the other has a losing record (I don't care about the "he never had a good defense" argument) during his career as a starter and no playoff appearances to go along with what is obviously one of the worst attitudes in all of sports. I honestly hate Jay Cutler, I never liked him and his whiny ways and I never will like him and I really can't understand how people do like him. Anyways, back to the point. This all has to start with Bowlen making the decision to fire one of the best coaches (if no the best) in the league and hiring, yet again, another Hoodman understudy (we have all seen this story before, i.e. Mangini, Crennel, ect.) who has already came in and tried too hard to do things the Belichek way. He totally f*ed up our org already but the real problem started when Cutler decided he was going to sh*t and piss himself for 2 months straight after he heard he was considered in a trade, that is where the problems started. Once this happened things never got the same again. Eventually we got to where we are today and if you look at it you are looking at a blessing in disguise. We got rid of a loser, who won us nothing and had a bad attitude and was cocky, and replaced him with a guy who is a leader, and who is well respected by his teammates. That is not a bad start, but add on the 2 first round draft picks and a 3rd rounder and you already solved the 2nd biggest problem this team had which was terrible defense, and better than getting old washed up guys we get to do it via the draft where nearly 1/3 of all first rounders make the Pro Bowl. That means we have about a 40% chance to land 2 Pro Bowl defenders and who knows, maybe a couple other solid guys as well. And when you look at all this we are actually in a better spot than when we started. We now have the opportunity to create one of the best defenses in the league and have a solid, not stud, but solid QB who can at least get us wins. Look at Orton's record as a starter compared to Cutler's, it is quite shocking. But bottom line to all this rambling, the NFL is a team sport, AND IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE! Look at all the recent successful teams the past few years who have been shaky at the QB position but still did damage because they had a great defense. All I am saying is I am glad this happened because now we all know what type of guy Cutler truly was and he isn't on our team anymore. I am very happy that we got rid of this guy and not only that but have a great chance at fixing our main problem which is defense all in a few months time. We will have to see how the draft pans out but things are looking good right now.

by Goldennugget on Apr 3, 2009 2:42 AM MDT reply actions

Has Jay Cutler ever won a playoff game? Kobe is a top tier star and had been for years, with 3 titles. Jay Cutler had one good statistical year in a more team oriented game (11v11 compared to 5v5). The broncos did the right thing. they got two 1st round picks, which matter more in football, and they got a mediocre QB that the players actually respect and like.

by Ari on Apr 3, 2009 7:48 AM MDT reply actions

You make a good point, but look at the instability of the franchise. Whereas you had Phil Jackson in L.A., a guy who knows success in his league, you have greenhorn J McD in Denver and I really think the trigger got pulled because Bowlen sided with McDaniels and when he saw the team star trying to get away with things in the McDaniels era that wouldn't dare be tried in the Shanahan Era Bowlen had to show that the team caters to the ideals of the team and not one individual.

by Stoneafoam on Apr 3, 2009 8:30 AM MDT reply actions

Hi Guys,

I rarely jump into my own debate because most of my points are covered in the original column and encourage anyone to disagree with me. But I think some of you missed my larger point. I wasn't saying that Cutler is as good as Kobe. I'm sure he never will be. I was simply drawing the comparison between the two organizations by saying that IF Bowlen really wanted to keep the anchor of his franchise - Cutler - he should have treated the situation the way the Buss did with Kobe. Additionally, just because you get first round picks doesn't mean you use them right. Broncos fans unfortunately know this all too well.

On a side note, how about those Nuggets, eh?!!

All best,

Andrew

by Andrew on Apr 3, 2009 8:53 AM MDT reply actions

Goldennugget where do you get your stats regarding 1/3rd of all 1st rounders making the ProBowl? And while I agree that most winning teams start with good defense, the AZ Cardinals last year basically made it to the Super Bowl with comparably bad #'s on defense to the Broncos.

My bottom line (and I'd heard the Kobe comparo on the radio yesterday quite a bit) is that you don't give up on franchise caliber players capable of being a guy on a championship team, regardless of what's offered. Kobe is for sure that guy on the Lakers, and Cutler is definitely a talent at least worthy of respecting enough to say to yourself "if this Defense came around, I could totally see the Broncos win it all again". NFL teams can spend an eternity searching for this type of QB and once you find one, you simply don't relinquish it - but hey, the Donks just did!

I think it was on Sirius NFL radio yesterday on my way home from Colo Springs in which a caller tried to debate the "untradeable" nature of an elite QB (and like it or not, you can't name 9 better QB's in the NFL, thus making him a 'top 10 QB')

The caller said "what if the Lions offered their first 3 picks this year, their #1 next year, AND Calvin Johnson to Indy for Peyton?" and the answer from Solly and Shine that I agreed with is: NO THANKS. Ricky Williams deals don't make any sense for anyone anymore either considering the cost of the picks vs. the bust potential.

You just don't trade franchise QB's period... and like it or not we might be searching for merely another top 10 QB for the next decade, much less the next Elway.

Screw Josh McDaniels. He's like a spoiled rich kid who just got handed the keys to a toy store... what's the name of that Richard Pryor movie? Toy? Yeah, he's that little pissy kid in that movie to me.

by Eric K on Apr 3, 2009 9:52 AM MDT reply actions

Oh Jesus Christ, stick to being wrong about basketball. I didn't think the hole could get any deeper.

It's a SYSTEM. Your are some sort of adult cartoonist and Josh McDaniels could probably turn you into a Quarterback.

TWO FIRSTS AND A THIRD?? In this day and age?? It was highway robbery, and I'm freaking excited as a Broncos season ticket holder.

Jay Cutler is an egotistical douche bag. Orton or any other fill-in-the-blank QB will do wonders in this Patriot system, and they now have the picks to start rebuilding the real problem.. the DEFENSE.

by Anonymous on Apr 3, 2009 10:40 AM MDT reply actions

Here's the only comparison to Kobe Bryant: The Bears got RAPED.

by My name is Luke. on Apr 3, 2009 11:25 AM MDT reply actions

my sentiments exactly. cutler is no kobe, but still...

by effrom on Apr 3, 2009 12:03 PM MDT reply actions

Andrew, I understand you were just trying to make a comparison but Cutler's personality and actions were so much worse than Kobe's it really left the Bronco's no other choice but to trade him. Keeping him around was not an option in my opinion because I think the situation would have just got worse and worse. I think maybe a comparison between Kobe and Shaq and McDaniels and Cutler may have been a better one. But I did enjoy the read, I am not trying to discredit you or anything. This is just my opinion.

by Goldennugget on Apr 3, 2009 12:43 PM MDT reply actions

Anonymous, you are a douche bag, if not for your comments, simply for being anonymous. Say something without hiding why don't you?

So what if Andrew is a cartoonist? I see no shame in that and it's better than punching a clock (which I also don't have to do either). What do you do? And do you think that all the cartoons of the world were created, produced, etc by "child cartoonists" as opposed to "adult cartoonists"? You're pretty much a fag for talking shit about how someone chooses to go about making a living, and I don't care if you're a CEO, Sandy's arrogant/ignorant ass from 104.3 or a burger flipper, I don't get your beef.

And we'll see how the Hoodie family tree works out here in Denver. Hopefully better than Chuck Weis, Chromeo, and Mangina... you seem to think that McDaniels is a sure fire success story in the making here. Hopefully he does better than Weis who was the last "guru" of offense to come from that tree. But he sure is off to an amazing start!

by Eric K on Apr 3, 2009 12:45 PM MDT reply actions

Do you guys think Cutler could handle being booed by Broncos fans? He couldn't even handle being laughed at by Philip Rivers.

by Anonymous on Apr 3, 2009 1:44 PM MDT reply actions

Look, now in hindsight we can all say oh i never really liked Cutler, he's a douche, which he is. BUT the very second we all watched him roll out on Arizona two years ago and effortlessly toss the ball 60 yards so that it dropped perfectly into Javon Walkers hands for the TD, we were in love. Anyone who says the Broncos are better today then they were when the season ended is a fucking idiot. Kyle Orton is no Jay Cutler, you people who say Orton will be good in McD's system, well then Cutler would have been absolutely phenomenal in McD's system. Cutler will win at least one superbowl in Chicago. he'll most likely win one before we have found his replacement. I still think Cutler is the one to blame for this mess, and I fucking hate him for it, but its like a break up in a bad relationship. Yes things got so bad that they had to end, but god damn i'm going to miss the pussy. Denver HAD one major problem which was the defense, that I agree with. However, if you look at it now, the only spots where I feel this team is solid is WR and OL. Our DL and LB's need tons of work, our secondary is better now but still far from excellent, we have some prospects and a bunch of journeyman at RB but no clearcut stud and now Kyle freakin Orton playing QB...My first prediction for the next season....5-11....this really makes me depressed....FUCK CUTLER...

by Zachm219 on Apr 3, 2009 1:53 PM MDT reply actions

oh yeah and the countdown begins, in three seasons Jay has to come to Denver

by Zachm219 on Apr 3, 2009 1:53 PM MDT reply actions

Zach, you're right on about the troubles the Broncos face, but I disagree that Cutler started all this. He didn't go placing or fielding calls about shipping him out of town. It's that inexperienced whack job McDaniels that could have handled this much better right from the rip.

5-11 might be pushing it.

by Eric K on Apr 3, 2009 2:27 PM MDT reply actions

I agree with you Eric, McD totally dropped the ball from the get go, Cutler's name should never have been brought up in trade talks unless it was for Peyton Manning, but it was Cutler, not McD who brought the situation to this point, and I hate him for it, because he took away the best thing we had going. On the upside, with BJ Raji's failed drug test, he could fall to us and if he keeps his act clean that would be a huge addition to our d-line

by Zachm219 on Apr 3, 2009 3:53 PM MDT reply actions

Less talk about the joke that is the Broncos and more about the current best franchise in Denver. Peace.

by Marmatard on Apr 3, 2009 6:09 PM MDT reply actions

""Mr. B has a couple of Super Bowl Rings, and I believe Coach McDaniels does, too - and neither Jay or me have any rings, so I'm gonna take the lead of the guys who have the rings...just believe in Coach McDaniels and the direction he's leading us in, and we'll be fine...it means nothing to throw for 4,500 yards, 25 touchdowns and you don't win. Kyle's a proven winner."

Brandon Marshall gives Rich Eisen his take on the trade."

Brandon Marshall > Adult Cartoon Drawer

by Anonymous on Apr 4, 2009 4:14 PM MDT reply actions

Wow, just wow... Anonymous citing the uber-educated Brandon Marshall is as good as you can come up with?

Tell Marshall thanks for taking time away from slapping his fiance around to give us a few nuggets of wisdom.

Charlie Weis has a couple rings too but how's he doing now? Crennel? Mangini?

by Eric K on Apr 5, 2009 11:20 AM MDT reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

STIFF LIST (as of 4/26 by Andrew Feinstein)

1. METTA WORLD PEACE

Metta resorted back to Ron Ron last Sunday by clubbing James Hardenwith an "inadvertent celebratory elbow", landing him a 7-game suspension. Apparently, changing his name didn't prevent NBA commissioner David Stern from overlooking Metta's past behavior problems.

2. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS

The 'Cats are on the verge of securing the worst winning percentage in NBA history. Given that the guy who runs the team - Michael Jordan - had previously drafted Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison, should this really be a shock?

3. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
The team that was supposedly built to overcome the lockout-shortened season managed to lose 7 of its last 14 games, ceding the Western Conference's 1-seed to the Spurs in the process. Their reward might be a first round matchup with defending champion Dallas.

4. BILLY HUNTER AND DEREK FISHER

With report after report coming out about NBPA union head Hunter's shady, nepotistic dealings and questions arising about Fisher's own role in dealing with NBA owners behind Hunter's back during the lockout, this off-the-court scandal could prove to be more exciting than the playoffs themselves!

5. STEVE NASH AND THE PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns are on this list for squandering the last few great seasons from Nash. Nash is on this list for his stupidly stubborn loyalty to a franchise as awful as the Suns.