Lakers Rumors: Failure to Ask Kobe Bryant on Lamar Odom-Trade Will Backfire
Ignoring Kobe Bryant isn't just foolish; it's deadly.
When the Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike Brown as the heir to Phil Jackson’s throne, they controversially failed to first ask Bryant for his blessing. Luckily for LA’s front office, he eventually approved of the deal, but it seemed like they made it a priority to question Kobe from that point on. That isn’t the case, though, as the Lakers’ trade of Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks disgusted Bryant as, according to CBS, he ranted:
"“To be honest with you, I don't like it. It's tough to lose Lamar. Pau [Gasol] is still here, and we're all thankful for that. It's hard when you've been through so many battles with players to just see them go somewhere else. It's tough. Especially to them. We were supposed to come back and get them back. It's tough. Do I think we got too little? Who did we get? I don't think Mark Cuban is protesting this trade. You're talking about the sixth man of the year last year. He played lights-out. I don't understand the criticism of reality shows and this. I don't get that. He had his best season last year, clearly wasn't a distraction, played his [rear] off. I don't get where that comes from.”
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David Stern really screwed over the Lakers this past week.
First, he vetoed a Chris Paul-trade that kept Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in LA. Understandably, Gasol and Odom weren’t exactly excited about their near-change of scenery. Gasol and Odom weren’t going to continue putting their heart and soul out on the court (not that they were doing that last postseason) after the Lakers basically announced to the world they weren’t interested in keeping the duo any longer.
Gasol seems mentally stable now, but according to ESPN, Odom had no interest in playing for a team that didn’t “want” him and forced his way out of LA. That resulted in the Lakers trading Odom to the Mavericks then resulting in a ticked-off Black Mamba. A ticked-off Black Mamba is usually a good thing, but instead of being primed to pop a three in an opponent's face, Mitch Mupchak’s obliviousness is the fuel to Bryant’s fire.
If Los Angeles doesn’t end up with Dwight Howard, Kobe should be frustrated. Trading a Sixth Man of the Year winner for a bag of chips isn’t the deal that Laker fans were anticipating to jumpstart the season. A first-round draft pick is worthless to a team in win-now mode and a trade exception does nothing but shed cap room if not used in another swap.
Not once, but twice has the Lakers front-office refused to look to their franchise player for approval.
Bryant doesn’t forget…anything.
If the Lakers can’t outbid the New Jersey Nets for Howard, they will take a step back without Odom coming off the bench. Taking a step back involves losing. Kobe hates losing, more than anyone else in the NBA and arguably the entire world of sports. Bryant may be more mature than back in 2007 when he demanded a trade, but if he feels that the front-office failed him, his attitude will plague the Lakers locker room.
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer. Follow him on Twitter.
