It's Kobe-time, '04 and on

Kobe may be all the things said in this article, but if he were to seek out a new home in JVG's Houston next season, I'd say -- bring him on!

I suspect Kobe would have enjoyed being on a Rudy-Rocket squad, tho.

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~29583~1716667,00.html

Krikorian: No tear if Kobe leaves
Bryant sniffs arrogant nose at Lakers

Since that fateful June evening in Colorado that inalterably would change his life when he cheated on his wife in having either consensual sex with a 19- year-old resort hotel employee, as he claims, or forced sex, as the alleged victim claims, Kobe Bryant has received loyal support from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Privately, there are those in the Lakers' organization who initially were seething at Bryant for going to Eagle County to have knee surgery without letting anyone in management know about it.

All the harrowing problems he's now enduring and the tarnishing of his once squeaky clean reputation with that felony sexual assault charge might well have been averted had only he remained in Los Angeles and used the Lakers' medical staff.

Still, the Lakers' hierarchy, owner Jerry Buss, general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach Phil Jackson, has been united in its firm backing of Bryant, and the team's adept public relations boss, John Black, has put in place a protective media curtain that shields Bryant from having to answer questions about his legal struggles.

You would think Kobe Bryant would be appreciative of such support in his time of distress. You would think he would be displaying at least a superficial show of humility toward his employers. You would think the absolutely last tack he would take would be to engage in contract hardball with the Lakers.

But, at a juncture when his PR image is in desperate need of enhancement, Kobe Bryant haughtily is sniffing his arrogant nose at the Lakers, not to mention those followers of the team who have remained stoutly in his corner, by saying he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

It's been well-documented that Kobe Bryant is an egocentric fellow who long has been unpopular with teammates, as well as other players around the NBA.

While it's indisputable that Bryant is an extraordinary performer who has been reminiscent of Michael Jordan, it's also indisputable that he's had periods sometimes long periods when his selfishness on the court has been disruptive and even has resulted in Phil Jackson benching him and Shaquille O'Neal publicly berating him.

But, considering the miseries that now swirl in his orbit, he's taken ungratefulness to dizzying new heights with his decision to become an unrestricted free agent and continue to decline a four-year contract extension offer from the Lakers that would be in the $74 million range.

It's known that Bryant, ever the egoist, is intrigued by the prospect of going to a team where he would be the major attraction and no longer be upstaged by Shaquille O'Neal, or at least have to share the limelight with him.

There is the distinct possibility that he would be willing to play elsewhere for less money so he no longer would have to gear down his game to fit in with O'Neal, with whom he's won three world titles with the Lakers.

"In sports, everything comes to an end,' he was quoted as saying when he was asked if the Lakers would look dramatically different next season.

Kobe Bryant's strange decision to test the free agent market strange because the Lakers can pay him more money because of the league's collective bargaining agreement and because he's had such success with the team gives you telltale insights into his character.

Obviously, this is a self- centered man who's more concerned about his statistics than he is about winning, since no matter where he winds up he won't be playing with a player of Shaquille O'Neal's caliber.

But Kobe Bryant doesn't care.

He glides through life to his own insensible beat, a spoiled man-child who's been coddled shamelessly and hasn't the faintest comprehension of social conventions.

I mean, is there anything more insufferably gauche, especially in an era of high unemployment when so many Americans are in debt, than blowing $4 million on something so needlessly trivial as a diamond ring, as Bryant so wantonly did for his wife to demonstrate his contrition for his marital infidelity?

Listen, I'm a free-market advocate who believes in our capitalistic system, and we all can squander our earnings on anything we so choose, but there are proprietary boundaries, especially for a high profile athlete enmeshed in a sex scandal.

If Kobe Bryant wanted to show his beloved Vanessa how pure of heart he's become, he could have donated that $4 million to one of those charitable foundations working to find a cure for catastrophic illnesses.

Kobe Bryant might be a great basketball player, but he's also a damned fool who's never grown up. I, for one, won't shed a tear if he decides to depart the local scene.

The McDonnell-Douglas Show, featuring Press-Telegram columnist Doug Krikorian and radio personality Joe McDonnell, can be heard Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on ESPN radio, KSPN 710 AM.

 

How did I manage to Post this Thread in this Forum? Man, I'm ... bright? Not.