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The crashing and burning relationship between Kobe Bryant and the Laker front office hit a new low this morning — Kobe asked to be traded.
For a couple of days now, Kobe has talked to every media outlet that called him and said, basically, that he was told the Lakers were going to build a contender as fast as they could after Shaq was traded. Instead, he learns from Phil Jackson that the Lakers have more like a five-year plan. And in five years Kobe would be well past his prime.
He said he wanted the Lakers to build a contender, and do it fast. Until now.
Kobe’s has the right to vent, but here’s this blogger’s big question: Why has nobody from the front office talked to Kobe in the last couple of days?
Maybe they have tried and we don’t know about it, but from what Kobe has said he has not heard from them. He’s your star, the guy that puts people asses in those $350 seats. Why isn’t he brought into the loop more on planning? With Kobe doing very angry radio interviews, how is it nobody from the front office takes charge of the situation, gives Kobe a call and talks him down off the ledge? How are meetings not set up?
Maybe worst of all, how do you let a “Laker Insider” talk to the LA Times pick at the one sore scab Kobe has, the trade of Shaq? That, as much as any trade or shot down trade, shows the lack of a coordinated front office. This is basic management stuff.
There are roughly a million problems with trading Kobe, starting with you never get equal value when trading a superstar (see Shaq). There are a lot of problems with the Lakers making any big move to calm Kobe (namely the lack of pieces that can be moved).
But the ball is in Laker management’s court. All Laker fans want to see them do something with it.
