Our ass. Kobe's not going anywhere. And you know why Kobe's not going anywhere? It's LA. Hollywood. We live there, so we like to think we have a handle on the place, if not our pocketbook. LA is about stars, something the Lakers have one of. Take Kobe away from the Lakers and you have a 25-win team whose most marketable player is a still-maturing center, the very same player that cost the Lake Show Jason Kidd earlier this year. Kobe can tell Stephen A. Smith that the Lakers lied to him about rebuilding. He can prattle on about how he "could've" signed with the Bulls or the Clippers. Shaq can even confirm that it wasn't Kobe's idea to trade the Big Fella (though does anyone honestly believe he didn't play some role?).
In the end, none of it matters. Kobe's staying put. He was never going to sign with the Clippers or the Bulls because A.) He's not playing in his former team's shadow, in the same building, in front of Billy Crystal instead of Jack Nicholson and B.) No one, no matter how great, is ever going to eclipse Michael Jordan. Kobe's fine in LA, and he knows it. He's pulling a Tom Brady, bitching about the front office in the media and calling their bluff. Granted, he's taking it a step further - Brady never asked to be traded - but the impact will be the same.
Expect a shakeup in the Lakers roster this offseason, just not one that involves Kobe.
Kobe fuming, demanding trade from Lakers [ESPN]
Shaq: "I believe Kobe 100 percent" [Real GM]
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