Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Now Kobe Says He Wants to Stay

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Is Kobe on drugs? Should he be following Lindsay Lohan into rehab?

We ask because after repeatedly talking to media outlets everywhere, and after telling Stephen A. Smith that the Lakers have lied to him and aren't interested in making the Lakers champs again any time soon, he just called into KLAC and took back everything saying that wants to stay.

Claiming it's "his" team and that after a long, emotional talk with coach Phil Jackson, that he has changed his mind about the Lakers.

"I don't want to go anywhere, this is my team,'' Bryant told KLAC radio. "I love it here. I called Phil, man, he and I talked, it was an emotional conversation, but he just said, `You know what, Kobe? Let us try to figure this thing out.' "Phil is a guy I lean on a lot.''

Some three hours earlier, in an interview with ESPN radio, Bryant said: "I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there's no other alternative. It's rough, man, but I don't see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don't know how you can move forward in that type of situation.''- AP

How you can have a serious meltdown the way Kobe is having right now, despite having someone as grounded and clearheaded as Phil Jackson to lean on, is troubling. The Lake Show should cancel this nonsense, pronto.There are plenty of stars who would take a pay cut to be a Laker, let alone The New Laker Star.

Get rid of the cancer, clean away the stench that will be left behind, and set the table for serious players who want to win on the greatest stage in the NBA.

AP photo by Paul Connors

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today