Kobe is right and here's why

Earlier this year, I wrote a column about the lack of loyalty in sports. To sum it all up, it doesn't exist. Even though we know this, people are still being critical of Kobe and his supposed lack of loyalty to the Lakers. I can't figure out why, because when it comes to millions of dollars, fame, and glory, and potential immortality, the average American would probably push their own mother off of a moving bus.

What's the problem? She'll be alright if she braces herself.

There are those out there who continue to bring up the Lakers' support of Kobe during his sexual assault trial, and their willingness to trade Shaq and let Phil Jackson go to retain Kobe. I'll get to the sexual assault trial in a second, but no one put a gun to their heads and made them trade Shaq or settle for what they got for him. If someone offers me the best center of this decade, and all they want back is Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a draft pick (that would become Andrew Bynum), I'd probably lose three fingers in the fax machine trying to get the contract sent before they sober back up.

Why should Kobe have to suffer because Mitch Kupchak isn't good at his job? I'm sure his dad told him to be a dentist. If that was the best deal he could see, when Eddie Jones and Udonis Haslem are sitting right there (not to mention drafting Andrew Bynum), having Kobe upset with him is the least of his problems. What about his uncontrollable drooling or his ongoing battle with the childproof cap?

And please stop bringing up Jerry Buss and his loyalty to Kobe during the sexual assault trial. I'd expect Buss to stand by Kobe, seeing as how Kobe didn't rape that girl. Okay, so he let him use the team plane to go back and forth to Colorado. But is that a real big sacrifice? Kobe's got eleventy katrillion dollars. I really don't think he would have had to bum plane fare off of someone to get back to L.A. on time.

Besides, that was three years ago. Is Kobe supposed to stay in Buss' pocket forever? Keep in mind, Kobe Bryant is an athlete. He is the best player in the NBA. He is in his prime and he wants to win right now. Sure, he's keeping the team profitable, but do you really think Kobe gives a crap about the Lakers' operating budget or profit margins? I'm not even so sure the ownership cares, because if they did, they wouldn't settle for Chris Mihm as their starting center.

I don't know about you, but if I had the chance to land Jason Kidd, one of the greatest point guards ever, and all I had to give up was Andrew Bynum, a guy who may or may not ever be anything, I'd wipe the blood off of my fax machine and jam my other hand wrist deep back in there to get that Jason Kidd deal finalized.

The only argument that holds up at all is that they pay Kobe a lot of money to go out there and play basketball. He does it, and he does it well. Yes, they stood beside him during his troubles, but it's not like he was just slacking off the entire time he's been there. He helped bring three championships to L.A. and has continued to fill the seats of the Staples Center. I'd say helping Jerry Buss continue to pinch loaves on his platinum toilet filled with champagne counts for something. Jerry Buss wasn't supporting Kobe through his troubled times because he thought Kobe's soul smelled like cinnamon and his aura spoke with the voices of angels. He was protecting his investment.

And that investment was allowed to be made with the agreement of certain conditions, one of which was that there would be an actual team built around him. People forget, Kobe didn't have to come back. The Lakers needed him more than he needed the Lakers. He could have gone to the Clippers, the Bulls, the Hawks, and at least two of those three were presented without laughter.

But were those conditions met? Let me answer my question with a couple of questions. Is Smush Parker the starting point guard? Is Kobe supposed to wait for Andrew Bynum to develop? I hope that doesn't sound like "moving in the right direction" to you. If it does, then you just might qualify to be an NBA General Manager.

Andrew Bynum. Are you serious? Danny Granger, Hakim Warrick, Luther Head, and David Lee were all still on the board at the time. You know who got David Lee? The Knicks, which means that Isiah Thomas is smarter than you, Mitch Kupchak. Watch out, Mitch, that isn't Kool-Aid in that antifreeze jug.

So let's not pretend that Kobe hasn't shown the organization patience, even though it seems like they're saying to themselves, "How many D-League players can we sneak onto this team before anyone notices?" Kobe's not getting any younger and I don't think he should have to wait for Bynum to learn basketball moves he should have been picking up the second someone noticed that he was the only 7th grader in his class that was able to pass for an adult. Personally, I think he'd look great in a Bulls uniform. Just something to think about...