KOBE BRYANT AT THE CROSSROADS
Written by Robert Littal for http://www.blacksportsonline.com
robertlittal@blacksportsonline.com

Darth Kobe has thrown down the gauntlet to the Los Angeles Lakers. He either wants Jerry West to be brought back as GM or he wants to be traded. Kobe has come to a crossroad of his career and has decided it is now or never to wield the power that many have felt that he has had from the time Shaq left the building. Kobe is the most polarizing figure in professional sports, more than Barry Bonds or T.O. His story is one of a Greek tragedy, his career has had so many severe peeks and valleys it is hard to believe he has not hit the age of 30. It is hard to feel sympathy for Bean considering he knew what he was getting into when he decided it was more important to be “Da Man” than sharing Alpha Dog status with Shaq. But on the flipside it hard to watch greatness suffer (see Kevin Garnett) even if he made the bed he is currently laying in. He, Shaq and Jerry Buss are equally responsible for breaking up the Lakers Dynasty, but Shaq by winning a ring in Miami has come out on top while Kobe has to be reconsidering if he made the right choice.

I was in agreement that either Kobe or Shaq had to leave the Lakers because it was obvious that it wasn’t going to work out between them especially after the snitching incident in Colorado (Kobe name dropped Shaq to the police as an explanation of how he should just pay off his rape accuser). The problem with Kobe and the Lakers started as soon as they traded Shaq to the Heat. No way to sugarcoat it, the Heat robbed the Lakers in that trade which propelled them to championship status and dropped the Lakers to the fringe playoff contenders.

You can’t blame Bean for front office incompetence, but he shouldn’t be surprised that he is in the situation he is in. I do believe that he mistakenly thought he could single handily take the Lakers to the NBA Finals even if his teammates were Moe, Larry, Curly and Schemp. Sometimes one of the failings of a supremely gifted athlete is they believe they don’t need help. They believe they can just will their teams to greatness, but that is a fallacy. All great athletes have to come to the understanding that in team sports 1 great athlete will never be able to beat 1 great team. I think Kobe has finally come to that realization, but the question begs is it too late?

Many people like to compare Kobe to MJ, but their career paths are actually opposite of each other. When MJ came into the league he was like Kobe is now. Someone who felt he had to do it all himself and dealing with teammates who didn’t share in his competitive obsession to be great. It took Jordan several years to come to the realization that Kobe has come to now that he needed help and a competent front office to get him that help. Kobe had the success that Jordan had pre 1st retirement almost immediately after getting into the league. He never had to deal with the hardships that Jordan did for the 1st seven years of his career, but he is experience it now and you can see the wheels turning in his mind because he doesn’t want his prime to be wasted.

Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the greatest players of all time, but for him to be a legendary player he has to win a title with Shaq. This is something that I have stated many times and it is not lost on the mind of Bean. This is why I do believe that he is throwing down this ultimatum to the Lakers because he knows his window for being a truly dominant player is only going to last 4-5 more years and he doesn’t want that wasted playing with the likes of Kwame Brown. He trusts Jerry West especially since West is one of the few people that he listens to and takes advice from. By all accounts West would come back if he has total control of personnel moves which is one of the reasons why he left in the first place. There isn’t a guarantee just because Kobe has demanded it that it will happen.

I don’t agree with Darth making his demands public because it will not take long for the Bias Mainstream Media to start trying to fudge the facts and put their own spin on it. Kobe should have kept this behind closed doors because now it will be a runaway freight train. As I said earlier it is hard to feel sorry for Kobe, but I do believe that promises were made to him by the Lakers that have not been fulfilled and he feels scorn.

We are currently looking at 3 scenarios to possibly play out before next NBA Season:

1-Jerry West comes back

Even if that happens there is no guarantee that it will increase the Lakers chances to win a championship. The West is loaded and that was before it was known that Kevin Durant and Greg Oden were coming to the conference. If Jerry West was to be put back in power simply put he needs to pair Bryant with a 2nd banana superstar. That appears to be impossible at this point, but West would have to figure out a way to make it happen.

2- Kobe gets traded

Bryant has a no trade clause which in essence means he can dictate where he wants to go. If he was smart he would get the hell out of the Western Conference. Teams such as the Knicks, Pacers, Nets and yes the Chicago Bulls would be great landing spots. If he were to stay in the West teams like the Mavericks, Clippers and even the Suns would be interested. A talent like Bryant doesn’t become available often, so there would be many teams interested. You know he wants to go to a team that is going to give him the best chance to get the NBA Finals within the next 1-3 years.

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