Kobe Bryant Fans!

While the uncertainty with Kobe Bryant and Lakers continues (does Kobe still want the Lakers to trade him? Does Kobe want to stay with the Lakers? Will Kobe only accept a trade to the Chicago Bulls?), Eric Pincus has written an article about the recent happenings (Kobe’s ESPN interview, Kobe’s Jimmy Kimmel appearance, etc).

Lakers: The Powder Keg
By Eric Pincus
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Aug 20, 2007, 01:48

As Team USA preps for the Olympic qualifier in Las Vegas, the microscope once again focuses on Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.

While it was only a couple of months ago he was demanding a trade on national radio, he had since retreated from the spotlight. While his message hadn’t changed, he did stop publicly discussing his future with the team.

A recent television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! focused more on housework than the prospect of Bryant refusing to report to training camp.

While one ESPN reporter close to the Laker All-Star has suggested such a possibility, Bryant himself suggested otherwise to the Los Angeles Times.

To the question of whether or not he’ll be at training camp, Bryant replied “I have no reason not to be.”

Bryant also spoke to ESPN this past week about the tumultuous summer:

I think a lot of people misinterpreted it. But that’s water under the bridge to me, because going forward we’re handling our situation between ourselves, meaning the Lakers organization and myself. If things, if things were to be different, we both would have handled the situation a little differently.

What made the summer so difficult for the Lakers was the public nature of Bryant’s request.

Making trades in the NBA is all about leverage. With 29 teams knowing the seriousness of the Laker problems, LA was left with none.
One NBA executive described the Lakers as a powder keg. It’s not clear when it’s going to blow, but when it does teams will be circling looking to get a superstar for pennies on the dollar.

In turn, no team is willing to offer the Lakers with a way out . . . not without asking for unfair value in return.

While Bryant’s aim may have been an attempt to prod the team into action, it only contributed to organizational paralysis.

To be fair, from Bryant’s perspective years of inactivity and poor decisions may have given him the perception that the team was already paralyzed. What move can the team boast about since Jerry West left as General Manager?

Perhaps LA was waiting and waiting and waiting for that perfect moment . . .

Maybe that perfect moment was squashed by the Celtic fraternity.

Maybe someone should have thought that through before “getting Kevin Garnett” flamed out the same way the 2007 cap space plan died when LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire and Yao Ming all signed extensions.

While Bryant’s frustrations match those of the fans . . . his media campaign trying to force the team to “do something” only gave them less chance to do anything.

So they managed to replace Smush Parker with Derek Fisher. They re-signed Luke Walton and Chris Mihm. They drafted a nice prospect in Javaris Crittenton.

Have they improved? Marginally.

If Bryant does play through the season without his unhappiness impacting his effort, the Lakers will make the playoffs and may even get out of the first round if they land a favorable match up.

They may explore trading Kwame Brown’s expiring contract along with some young players. They may even consider trading a higher profile player like Lamar Odom.

Based on track record . . . not much will come of it.

If teams still see the Lakers as desperate to make a move lest they lose their star, they’ll endlessly hold out for unreasonable deals.

The Lakers will be faced with the prospect of overpaying, which may be something they’ll have to do in the end.

Then again if the move isn’t enough to please Bryant, why should the team give up its future to salvage an untenable present?

Does that mean the only answer is to trade Bryant?

Perhaps, but since he can’t opt out until 2009, it appears the Lakers are willing to wait and see if the opportunity to salvage the relationship comes well before then.

Will they wait too long, getting less than they should when they are finally forced to trade Bryant? Will he eventually just opt out and walk away with the Lakers getting nothing in return?

Ultimately there are no concrete answers to any of these difficult questions. If the Lakers had a move available to make, they would make it in an instant.

At this point the solution simply hasn’t presented itself. Perhaps that’s lack of opportunity . . . or even worse, lack of vision.

Maybe Bynum and Crittenton are the real deal. Maybe staying the course was always the right decision. Fair or not, Laker fans expect more from the organization.

They simply aren’t given the chance to build slowly.

Forget that it took Jerry West 12 years between the final Showtime title in 1988 to the first Shaquille O’Neal/Kobe Bryant ring in 2000. The Lakers have one of the league’s best players on the roster . . . the public won’t wait 12 years.

And neither will Bryant.

Source: Hoopsworld