Bryant failed to beat the Feb. 19 trade deadline to jump ship and will continue to suit up for the Lakers in the playoffs. The decision to join the Sixers will likely mean a sign-and-trade deal involving Allen Iverson to clear salary-cap space for Bryant. There’s no way the Sixers can afford to pay for both Iverson and Bryant. Besides, they could never play together—their egos wouldn’t allow it.
The premature announcement put a damper on the Lakers’ campaign for another championship. Coach Phil Jackson, who’s thinking of retiring for health reasons, is making a serious bid for a 10th NBA title. Another ring will install the Zen Master as the coach with the most crowns ever, breaking a tie with Red Auerbach.
How the decision will affect Bryant’s playoff focus is a big question mark. As a professional, he’s expected to go all out for Los Angeles. But deep inside, you wonder if his lack of loyalty to the Lakers will show in his performance. Will he make the extra effort to dive for the loose ball or challenge the open shot or sacrifice his body for a charge?
Fans were shocked when Bryant made the announcement. It didn’t seem like Bryant would play anywhere else after the Lakers rolled to a hot streak in a late surge to attempt to overtake Sacramento in the Pacific Division race. The consensus was the Lakers would be unbeatable in the playoffs with Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton and Karl Malone healthy.
With Iverson wearing out his welcome in Philly, it wasn’t as shocking to learn he’d be moving out of the City of Brotherly Love. Iverson is out for the season with a knee injury and the Sixers, as if to disown his once dominating presence, are winning in his absence.
Bryant’s future, however, is far from clear and bright. He could go to prison for life if the jury in Colorado finds him guilty of sexual assault on a 19-year-old resort hotel attendant. Bryant’s lawyers are working overtime to discredit the alleged victim’s testimony.
Curiously, Bryant considered a move to Denver—which is in Colorado—before deciding to go back to his roots. Denver was in position to offer Bryant a maximum level contract of $98.6 Million for six years. At a recent Lakers game in Denver, Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe urged the hometown fans not to boo Bryant.
"I appreciate that," said Bryant. "That’s something that he didn’t have to do but he did it. It shows a lot of support on his part. It goes a long way with me. The job Kiki has done (with the Nuggets) has been masterful, how quickly he’s been able to turn things around."
Denver was an option for Bryant who also considered moving to the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. He once said his dream was to be"a Laker for life."
Bryant’s departure leaves the mantle of leadership exclusively in O’Neal’s hands. You could almost hear the Big Aristotle mutter"good riddance."
O’Neal and Bryant have long been at odds as to who should be the Lakers’ top dog. O’Neal doesn’t make it a secret that he hopes to someday assume total control of the franchise.
"The general manager (Mitch Kupchak), we have needs to take notes from me," said O’Neal who claims credit for luring Payton and Malone to Tinseltown. "If I was the general manager with a team like this, there’d be no problems. There’d be no problems with the Diesel, no problems with Phil, no problems with Kobester, no problems with the owner."
Before I forget, it’s April Fool’s Day. So for Laker diehards, don’t worry. There’s NO truth to the story that Kobe has agreed to leave Los Angeles. Not yet, anyway. This piece was purely fictional.
But what’s true is Bryant is seriously considering to leave the Lakers and will make his decision after the playoffs. The quotes attributed to Bryant and O’Neal in this column, incidentally, are accurate and were picked up from Associated Press and Knight-Ridder. If the Lakers go all the way to the throne, perhaps Bryant will think twice about leaving a good thing.
Don’t believe everything you read or hear today. Pranksters are on the loose.