Go into a mall, stop a shopper and ask if he or she thinks Kobe Bryant ought to be a Bull.Is Kobe the best active player in basketball? Yes, he is.
Is Kobe the best player since Michael Jordan? Yes, he probably is.
Is Kobe as good as Jordan was? No, he is not. Michael could play defense.
Is Kobe as popular as Jordan was? No way. Pop into a Foot Locker at that mall and try to buy a pair of Air Bryant shoes.
I bring up the Bulls because, as you may know, Kobe and his boss, Jerry Buss, could be looking for a way to get the glitziest Laker out of L.A.I bring up the mall because Kobe was at a California mall in June when he extemporaneously mentioned the Bulls in a positive way and Buss in a negative one.
A brief give-and-take between a few shoppers and Bryant reportedly went like so, according to a camera that captured it:
"Please tell us you're staying."
Kobe: "Get a Bulls uniform, fellas."
"Are you serious?"
Kobe: "Yep."
"Really?"
Kobe: "Yep."
"Kobe, you've got to stay!"
Kobe: "Dr. Buss is an idiot."
It was back in May that the fur first began to fly. Kobe said on Stephen A. Smith's radio show: "I would like to be traded, yeah. Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there's no other alternative, you know?"
Then he clarified on kb24.com, his Web site: "I have NOT asked to be traded. I don't want to be traded and I have given no ultimatums or demands of being traded."
He and Buss got together in Spain a few weeks later to hash it out. Buss did not say adios.
No idiot, the boss urged Bryant to stay in L.A. because "to leave 10 million sweethearts for unknown territory might not be the right thing to do."
Ah, but it was Buss who let Shaquille O'Neal leave for the unknown territory of Miami, where he won another championship.
It is now mid-October but things in California are no cooler. Buss now says he "would certainly listen" to a trade offer. Bryant claimed this "caught me off guard a little bit."
Bryant began skipping practice. One day, then two, then a third. A rumor spread that he cleaned out his locker. Coach Phil Jackson said, well, yes and no. He cleaned up his locker, yes. But not out.
Intercepted near his Bentley in the parking lot, Bryant was asked point-blank: "Do you think you've played your last game as a Laker?""I don't know," he replied. Talk to my bosses, he advised.At kb24.com, there wasn't much in the way of news Wednesday. A few words of wisdom from former Gen. Colin Powell were there that Bryant said he distributed to every teammate's locker.
There also were e-mails from No. 24's fans. Sent months ago, but still on his site:
"Freshen things up a little, go to Philly or Chi-town, or rock the Big Apple."
"If indeed you are heading to Chi-town, I will be right behind you."
Encouraging words from Kobe's fans, many encouraging Kobe to leave.A number of NBA insiders believe the Dallas Mavericks actually would be Kobe's first choice if he left. But rarely does this subject come up without Chicago being in the mix.
Buss is saying for the first time he would listen to offers.
He is saying specifically: "I could not afford to let him go unless we get comparable talent ... if there is such a thing."
Ask yourself if there is an offer the Bulls could make. Ask yourself what it would take.
Is Kobe worth sacrificing any two players plus a draft pick or two? Yes, he is.
Is Kobe good enough to bring Chicago another championship? Yes, probably.
Is Kobe too expensive? No, he is not. Ben Wallace cost the Bulls a mint but brought them no closer to a championship.
Shoppers, there is a blue-light special on the best player in basketball.
Find out how much L.A. wants for him. I very much doubt Jerry Buss is an idiot, but it would be idiotic not to give him a call. Ask the asking price for No. 24. Take a shot.
He may be no Michael Jordan, but a Kobe Bryant does not come along every day.
Get him into a Bulls uniform, fellas.
by: Mike Downey
CHICAGO SPORTS.COM
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