| It wasn't the money that drove Shaq away. It was the contract year for Kobe and he made it clear that if Shaq was there, he'd leave. Jerry Buss had to make a decision to keep one and he chose Kobe, which pissed Shaq off even more.
Phil came back because he felt bad for Kobe, as he himself said in various interviews. (That one year after the team was disbanned, the Lakers didn't make the playoff)
You can say top players need to be selfish with the ball to win championships, like Jordan wanting the ball in the crucial moments. But, there were no selfinishness in the bulls locker room. In fact, Jordan didn't draw a lot of salary initially until he won a few championships. He was getting enough money through endorsements, he rather have the team spend the money getting good players. Only after he won few championships, he was getting his worth.
So, no comparison between Jordan/Bulls and Kobe/Shaq/Lakers. |