End of the Line

"You don't have to worry about me."

Then again, if it's Kobe Bryant & the current state of his relationship with the LA Lakers, you have to worry. A lot. No, a whole lot.

Things are going downhill fast & the only way to end this round of sour gripes, this enmity between Bryant & the rest of the Lakers in general (teammates, coaches, GMs, etc.) is to send his antics elsewhere. He didn't just want to be the Lakers' marquee player; he wanted to be the Lakers all by his lonesome. And he senses that his team, in a conference chock full of powerhouse ballclubs, is in no way, shape or form, ready to compete with the best of the best. That's right: the Lakers pack little if any punch to be one of the top teams in the Western Conference. So it only seems natural that Kobe wants out of town to play ball somewhere out east, right?

Of course, given the simple fact that Kobe has brought as much pain as he has brought joy to the Lakers fanbase & all for a good decade. It's time to move on, time to get over the terrible path of destruction he left behind for sports enthusiasts to marvel at no end. After running Shaq & Phil Jackson out of town on a rail (only to bring Jackson back into the picture shortly afterward), Kobe now feels it's his turn to run, to leave his not-so-humble abode called the Staples Center before he does any more damage to the Lakers organization.

He once could trust in his teammates; now he only trusts himself. For Kobe, that type of blind commitment to self is what has brought him to a predicament along the lines of Alex Rodriguez & his relationship with the New York Yankees. The next question is finding a tenable exit strategy which could be seen as a good call for everyone involved. Bryant's employer for 11 years sure hopes that it's a good call & damn if something doesn't give.

"You don't have to worry about me." And yet seeing another dramatic episode in the turbulent saga in which the main characters are Kobe & the Los Angeles Lakers front office, we're already getting worried. What now, my friends? Will Kobe head to Chicago or another respectable ballclub where he can feel right at home? or will he stay on in LA & create more grief & contention? Kobe helped bring on the Lakers' current state of suckitude; leaving may not be the easiest option to end this suckitude (then again, nothing ever is easy) but it could get an uncoachable, recalcitrant monkey off the backs of both Jackson & Lakers owner Jerry Buss once & for all.

The Lakers might stink if they made good on the trade but at least they don't have to worry about who got them to stink to begin with.