Now it's Kobe's turn to drive the Lakers' bus
July 15, 2004
By Mike Kahn
SportsLine.com Executive Editor
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/7500019

Kobe Bryant, after much consternation, serious, serious consideration for the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls and anybody else that would show him some love, will sign a seven-year, $130 million-plus contract to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Our hearts bleed for the tough decision the 25-year-old All-Star had to make.

First, he was indicted for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old in Eagle, Colo. last summer and will go on trial for it next month. Then he created a quandary for Lakers owner Jerry Buss by publicly ripping into Shaquille O'Neal last preseason, and he followed that up with his public denigration of coach Phil Jackson.

Nonetheless, all season, he kept saying he wanted to be a "Laker for life."

All hail the return of the conquering hero, even though his selfishness on the floor was the divisive factor all season long. Even though it was obvious he tore apart the team as they started to lose their edge while losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.


Kobe Bryant smirks as he signs his new seven-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.(AP)
Oh how all these fans and media sycophants cooed over his ability to go through a court hearing before flying to a game that night and performing at an extraordinary level. Poor guy. Shoot, how can a 25-year-old superstar be blamed for having sex with a 19-year-old when he's tempted by so many? Sure, he felt so badly he and his wife pawed each other in a sickeningly contrite press conference. But what a guy, huh? He made amends by using up his mid-level exception on a diamond ring the size of a bowling ball to lift his wife's spirits.

So the impending deal with Buss for more than $130 million figures to be his just desserts, right? Certainly it is now that Jackson has ridden his Harley off into the Montana sunset, replaced by the less demanding Rudy Tomjanovich. And now, there's no question whose team it is since Shaq Daddy has been shipped to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a draft choice.

Considering all of that is digestible, why does it seem so nauseating?

No doubt, Bryant is a microcosm of so much that is wrong with society. This sense of entitlement and manipulation in full view of the world is perpetuating a warped value system that already has too many people -- young and old -- drowning in a sea of ego and me-ness. His attitude toward a media that had given him the benefit of doubt for so long was deplorable during the Finals.

Entering the 2004 playoffs, the buzz continued that Bryant really was the second coming of Michael Jordan and perhaps -- yes, some believed -- better!

But once the playoffs moved along, we saw the negative impact his actions on the floor had on his teammates. The frustration he caused in Jackson became more apparent. Essentially, his approach splintered the team and caused them to quit on Jackson and each other.

It was a disaster.

More interestingly, Buss clearly had made his choice months earlier, when he offered an extension to O'Neal beginning at $22 million that the Big Fella wanted to begin at $27 million. Then negotiations stopped. Jackson, doubling as the love interest of Buss' daughter Jeanie, was close to an extension as well. That, too, was put on permanent hold.

Perhaps Buss was correct in reining O'Neal in financially at the age of 32, considering his gradually deteriorating physical condition and Jackson had lost his edge as well. But giving O'Neal away as they did Wednesday, followed by the massive deal handed to Bryant on Thursday, says they are handing the keys to the bus to an athlete who has yet to prove he has any human leadership qualities short of exceptional physical talent.

Indeed, Bryant can win close games single-handedly on occasion, but he doesn't make those around him better. He has spent far too much time aggravating teammates and is too insular personally to be the focal point for a championship contender.

That said, the combination of O'Neal and Bryant was one of the best in NBA history. And they knew it too, regardless of their real disdain for each other. Jackson was the magician who forced them to set aside their petty personal differences to win three titles in four years and come three games short of a fourth title last month.

This isn't the first time egos have gotten in the way of a championship caliber team. And it isn't as if O'Neal is clearly the best center of all-time to be traded, either. Both Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain, arguably more consistently effective than O'Neal over a longer period of time, were traded too.

And presuming Bryant is acquitted of the sexual assault charge since his gold-plated defense team has succeeded in putting the promiscuity of the 19-year-old into the sub-conscious of a nation, he'll now have the opportunity to prove he is capable of leading the Lakers to a title without Shaq Diesel.

But it won't take long for him to realize how much less energy the Lakers have without Diesel fuel. We don't know what Bryant will be like if his teammates can't respond to him, without the iron fists of O'Neal and Jackson to keep him in line.

Sure it would have been a gamble to invest $100 million or so in O'Neal over the next four years. But there is only one Shaq in the game today and he does like the team to work in unison.

Bryant prefers a harmony of one and we've got news for him ... it doesn't work. Just ask Tracy McGrady, now on his third team at the age of 24.

So before all of you Lakers lovers breathe a sigh of relief that Bryant is staying, congratulations if you ever thought otherwise. But if you believe this assures the Lakers of still being an elite team in the West ... think again.

Bryant and the Lakers may escape a Colorado jury, but they are no longer capable of eluding even the Denver Nuggets. And that is a revelation in and of itself.