Sam Smith

On further consideration, maybe Kobe Bryant should sit out the season.

No, he's not going to. He'll be there when the Lakers attend training camp in Hawaii next week. Of course, if I were going to sit out I'd do it after the Hawaii part. Bryant will be with the Lakers this season, and they still can keep him through the 2008-09 season, no matter what he says or does.

But if the Lakers were to make a bold move, perhaps trading for someone like Jermaine O'Neal of the Pacers, then maybe the Lakers could be talking about Bryant and championships. And don't forget about keeping around Phil Jackson, who is entering the final season of his contract. Maybe deal for the unhappy Shawn Marion, which Marion apparently is for, and which the Lakers seemingly are not. The word is the Lakers wouldn't consider parting with Lamar Odom in a deal for the vastly overpaid Marion ($34 million the next two seasons), making a deal almost impossible to match salaries. And it's doubtful that Steve Kerr, in his first season as Suns general manager, would make Marion a salary dump for pieces like Kwame Brown and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Plus, Marion is an open court runner with a questionable shot and no post game. By the time he figured out the triangle offense, he'd be coached by Jackson's grandchildren.

Yes, it's just weeks away from the start of the season, so, of course, you have your assortment of NBA players making eight-figure annual salaries pouting. There's poor Andrei Kirilenko, who is sad Jerry Sloan yells at him when he takes shots even Stalin would think dumb. So Andrei, averaging more than $16 million a year the next four years to average about 10 points, wants to be traded as well. Hey, if Kobe didn't like Radmanovic and Bynum, wait until he gets a look at that guy. Utah might do a salary dump at some point, so you never know, since Kirilenko isn't one of its top three players. But then how much difference does he make?

The larger point, though, is if the Lakers aren't serious about trying to compete, then why waste Bryant's best years? Say what you will about the Chicago Bulls and breaking up the team or any of the criticisms that endured during their championship years: They never put Michael Jordan in a position where he couldn't win every year once he did. They never experimented and never rebuilt. They brought in veterans and took chances on talent to go for it every day.

You'd have difficulty saying that about the Lakers, and while I may not have gone about protesting the way Bryant did in dialing up talk radio stations -- unless I could win a trip to Tijuana by being the 15th caller to know Jerry Buss' blood alcohol level -- he may have a point.

We haven't heard much from Bryant about his plans for this season since the blowup in the spring when he told various media outlets he doesn't intend to return to the Lakers and wanted to be traded, ostensibly to the Bulls.

The Bulls, like several teams, made perfunctory inquiries, but were told Bryant was not available.

Bryant then went to play for the USA team in the Olympic qualifier. He declined to discuss his Lakers' situation, saying he didn't want to detract from the U.S. team, but then his play said all that needed to be said.

He was easily the best player on the U.S. team that swept to first place in the tournament. True, the field was weak, but the U.S. team was strong and Bryant shone brightest. He was the team's only true two-way player, as ferocious on defense as he was skilled on offense. He scored from everywhere, as we've seen before, and again left little doubt that while he may not be the most popular, or certainly obliging, player, he is the most talented in the NBA today.

He turned 29 last month, and the Lakers may be squandering the best part of his career.

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Perhaps Bryant would be better off sitting out a year, just preparing for the 2008 Olympics, maybe doing some commercials and appearances. He wouldn't make close to the almost $20 million he'd have to forfeit. But he'd save his body and let it recover and perhaps extend his career on the other end.

Meanwhile, it would leave the Lakers as hopeless also-rans. And raise good questions among the courtside Lakers-watchers that maybe their money would be better spent elsewhere. Perhaps buying more political influence and getting those good sleeping arrangements like during the Clinton administration.

Lakers' owner Jerry Buss likes to say how he is the poorest of the NBA owners, though not with teenaged dates. But it's a crime to watch the Lakers worry about paying the luxury tax and cutting corners with one of the most lucrative and valuable franchises in the NBA. They should be spending millions more, if necessary, to produce the product the market pays for like few others.

First of all, this apparent love affair with Andrew Bynum is lunacy.

Here's a 19-year-old with some pro promise who is three to four years away from being a serious contributor. This supposedly is the lost treasure of Jim Buss, the heir apparently. Jim Buss seems to be convinced he has the next, well, someone.

What he's got is a kid who might be producing when Jackson is gone and Bryant is sliding downward. Are Jackson and Bryant supposed to wait patiently while some kid may develop?

It's unbelievable, especially because there appears to be a market for Bynum.

The Nets admitted they offered Jason Kidd last February, and Bryant loves playing with Kidd. But the Lakers were probably right to pass on that on. Two great guards isn't quite enough. You also need some size.

There is one obvious deal out there for the Lakers to give them a chance to compete now and give Bryant a high quality player to play with, which all the successful great ones have had and Bryant hasn't had since Shaquille O'Neal was traded. The Lakers insist Bryant didn't force out O'Neal. But even if he did, it's hardly a reason now to leave Bryant on a talent island.

Like Scottie Pippen likes to say, how many titles did Jordan win without him?

Back to Jordan, it wasn't until Pippen developed into a perennial All-Star that the Bulls began to become a serious championship contender. And when they did, they got veterans every year, not babies. Bobby Hansen after the first title, Rodney McCray, Trent Tucker and Darrell Walker in 1992, Ron Harper after that, then Larry Krystkowiak, Dennis Rodman, Robert Parish, Steve Kerr, Bill Wennington, Randy Brown and Joe Kleine. They cut first round picks without inviting them to training camp. Forget potential: You try to win every year when you have the best player in the league on your team.

Unless, apparently, you are the Lakers.

Bryant did keep quiet and go along for a few seasons, which he had to do after his assault trail and dropped charges in Colorado.

He did so, but the Lakers hardly responded in kind.

Yes, the Lakers were decimated by injuries last season after a good start, but they hardly were one of the top teams in the Western Conference. And still Bryant was left without a true second option.

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