L.A. Confidential: Kobe Bryant's Last Days

The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows... you could even be discovered, become a movie star... or at least see one. Life is good in Los Angeles... it's paradise on Earth." Ha ha ha ha. That's what they tell you, anyway.
- Danny DeVito (as Sid Hutches in L.A. Confidential)
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At 24, I worked at L.A. International Airport. My shift was 1930-0400. I’ve written before about how beautiful airports can be. Well, a lot of weirdness also happens at airports. One particularly hectic summer, every seat on every flight between New York-JFK and Los Angeles was $99.00. I think it was Eastern Airlines, now bankrupt that created this idea. What I remember about this summer, aside from all the overtime, was Flight 29. It arrived from JFK at 11:48 p.m. and every night eight to ten people--mostly younger than me-- would get off the flight and ask this question: "Which way is Hollywood? and "What's the best way to get there?"

Most were female--neither pretty nor ugly, just girl next door types, wearing Levis and carrying one soft-sided bag.

For those of you who thought it a well-worn Hollywood cliché about people 'just showing up in Hollywood hoping to get discovered,"allow me to tell you this is one myth squarely based in fact.

As a teenager, I spent my Friday and Saturday nights cruising Hollywood Boulevard. I regularly wandered into B.Dalton Pickwick bookstore and stopped at Love’s Restaurant or Two Guys from Italy. The Scientology proselytizers, back then, walked the boulevard giving out flyers and pleading with evereyone to come to their seminars.

Being from L.A. means you understand L.A. The city doesn't want you. You arrive there with your precious little hopes and fragile dreams and the city eats you-- not in the voracious, uncaring way that NYC finishes people off--no, not that way at al. In L.A., everyone just smiles, tell you what you want to hear as they systematically fleece you of your hopes and dreams. "Have a nice day," or “I’ll call you.” someone always says, right before the knife separates you from your hopes and dreams. "Do you know the way to San Jose" is more than a song, it's a secret code to maitaning your sanity.

If Miami is the capital of Latin America, L.A. is the capital of Pacificas (my term for the domain that reaches from the West Coast to Japan and South to Oceania. As L.A. goes,so goes the world. Everyone wants to be in L.A.

Except, of course, Kobe Bryant.
I have been an ardent supporter and apologist for Kobe Bryant. I believed--and still do-- that he is the finest player on the planet, embodying the best of what the game meant.

Now, I must say this: Kobe has disrespected the game by not giving his absolute best (during the preseason). And, for me, that is the abyss from which one cannot return. Disrespecting the game is sinful.

Kobe's complaints are legitimate. Since the great prophet of basketball Jerry West (peace be upon him), left L.A., Mr. Kupchak has been caught in a perfect storm that reveal his oppressive mediocrity.

1. O'Neal's departure
2. Questionable player personnel moves
3. Emergence of Phoenix and Dallas as powerhouse teams

Mr. Kupchak's draft choices, though intently safe, have been decent; (Bynum, Farmar, Turiaf and Vujacic--although drafting Brian Cook ahead of Josh Howard is questionable.) But, the personnel choices (Brian Grant, Kwame Brown, the inability to obtain a perimeter shooter to give the 'triangle offense legitimacy have made Mr. Kupchak’s decision-making seem irrelevant.

An objective analysis reveals the Lakers have not improved at a commensurate level with the remainder of teams in the Western Conference. The Lakers, with the best player in basketball, are (at least on paper) barely the eighth best team in the Conference. And that, violates a inviolable basketball law: Respect your stars by surrounding them with other talented players. (Regardless of what one thinks of Mr. Ainge, he has surrounded Paul Pierce with legitimate players.)

The Lakers will be competitive this season--they will be fun to watch because they'll play hard and make shots. Fisher, Walton and Odom are consummate professionals and the Lakers are going to take a lot of teams late into the fourth quarter. Cook, Bynun and Farmar bring energy and fan appeal.

Fundamentally, however, they're going to struggle against top teams in the West because these teams have better players--and, a legitimate inside presence. The Lakers lack of post defense will translate into few, if any 'stops' late in games against San Antonio, Utah and Dallas.

Without Bryant, the Lakers are probably a 35-47 team missing the playoffs. With Bryant, the Lakers are probably 42-40 (same as last year) with an eighth place finish--depending upon how well Golden State plays and the kind of season that Durant has in the ‘Emerald City.’

So, tell me again why L.A. fans are begging Bryant to stay.

The Lakers glory days are over. I watched the Jerry/Elgin/Wilt era sunset; then the Magic/Kareem rose, then fell -- and the Kobe/Shaq era imploded leaving shrapnel inside everyone within a fifty-mile radius. And now, the Kobe era is done. I, for one, am glad.

Let Kobe go gently into that good night--be it Chicago, Washington or Dallas-- let him take his amazing talent to a place where he can be happy..a place where he wants to be.

The Lakers leadership team is at fault for this. Who knows what promises these people made to one another over Dom Perignon, Chateuabriand and Havana cigars. Kobe feels betrayed--and, probably was.

But that doesn't excuse Kobe's actions. There is no excuse for not playing hard--for not showing up every night and playing the game the way is should be played. Kobe is a player and 'players show up and play hard and smart.' Disrespecting the game is VERBOTEN -- and that goes goes for both coaches and players.

This isn't the same Kobe Bryant who rose from obscurity to spending eight hours a day working on his game out at Pauley Pavilion. No, this Kobe has become a typical 'Hollywood Type." He has allowed the actions of the Lakers leadership to turn him into an "Entertainment Tonight" clip-- fodder for the "The Colbert Report" -- perceived as an impetuous superstar caring only for personal needs. He has allowed the Lakers to define him. (And, shame on the organzation for taking this fight public.)

If the Lakers weren't so much a part of my life -- I used to sneak into the Sports Arena to watch them play...way before the Fabulous Forum opened-- I'd side with Kobe on this one. But, I can't. The Lakers are bigger than Kobe Bryant. For all my great memories of the Kobe/Shaq era I have just as many from the 1960s and and 1970s. Had there been ESPN in the 1960’s, everone would understand why Jerry West was called Mr. Clutch. (You had to have been there, my friends.)

But Kobe Bryant deserves to have a General Manager/Leadership team that can evaluate players like the Spurs organization; develop them like the Bulls organization; and treat them with the level of deep respect that the Maverick organization does. This current Laker organization--as defined by their actions-- are not overly competent in player personnel matters.

And, the Lakers deserve a player who wants to be in Los Angeles.
These two should be divorced.

Everyone wants to come to L.A. But Kobe wants to leave. The greatest franchise in the history of the game can't treat the greatest player in the game with enough respect to encourage him to remain. This is crazy.

New England is now the mecca of sports excellence; the President of France is Hungarian; people care more what happens to Britany Spears than the fact 1,000 people are dying every month in Darfur. And, I won’t even bring up the Congo.

And Kobe Bryant wants to leave L.A. Yes, the end really is near.

Comments

[Stephen]

Are you saying he didn't play hard last night? Or are you talking about the pre-season?

[jeff]

because if you're talking about how he played last night, you must've been watching the wrong game.

[Jamie]

I guess 45 isnt hard enough for you?

[Ropb]

how dare you call your self a fan
kobe almost saved us last nite
the organization should apoligize and someone should find a way to get this organization away from buss
Kobe has evry rite to be pissed

[Russell Scherwin]

Good points all around. I think you read a bit into a couple pre-season games. No one plays hard in the pre-season. That's why the games are irrelevant.

I'm sure he'll be back to being the most competitive and talented and skilled player since MJ once the games matter.

Let's not forget that he's also a player who respects the game's history and integrity more than most.

[Sumeet Gossain]

Maybe you should catch a tape of last night's game (Houston at LA, 10-30-07)

[lakertime]

when did kobe commit this sin? i think you are tripping hardcore.

[PSeay]

I have allways been a lakers fan, right now I am more a Kobe fan then a lakers fan. If he is gone i will watch whatever team he goes to, instead of watching the lakers.

[laker legacy]

I agree with you in saying that Kobe is not bigger then the Lakers. However I also see that you state that is the organizations fault for making things public and for not being able to calm the storm between their superstar and themselves. So I am a bit shocked with your point of view of just shipping kobe out and starting from scratch. What kind of sense does that make?

If you ask me the organization is lacking some leadership. IF someone was able to say look whats been said is done we must now let it go and begin to take the franchise to the level it deserves to be at.

As much as I luv Kobe he has never been the person to be able to take a step back and say I was wrong and lets move on. He can hit any clutch shot but to lead vocally is not his thing.

I can see how someone could quickly think kobe is disrepecting the game and the Legacy so lets get rid of him. But honestly stop and think about this we are going to get rid of one of the best players that we have seen play the game in a long time, because of bickering and pointing fingers. Maybe we should take a step back and realize which way our organization is heading. Why couldn't we hire Jerry West back? Someone who the players(including Kobe) and the fans admire and trust will make the right decisions in getting this team back to championship caliber.

AugDogg

PS If the lakers focused on this season rather than this ridiculous controversy we would be a team with a way better record then last year.

[Ryan]

I agree with your post. Kobe may have scored forty-five last night, but his scoring takes a back seat to his body language and selfish play. How many times did Kobe go one-on-four last night? Sure he got to the line, but did so at the cost of alienating his teammates. Did you see his body language during timeouts?
He was totally aloof, and in the process is setting his teammates up to play for his pleasure, rather than victories. We've all had an experience playing ball, where a team plays to gain approval from their star, instead of playing to win. Blame falls equally on Kobe and the Laker's front office. It's one thing to demand a trade, but it's quite another to throw your teammates and your organization under the bus. Finally, how many good players are going to want to lace it up with Kobe? I have a hard time believing that his current antics are not going to scare off guys that might have been, at some point in time, allies.

[phil]

Know that in ESPN.com's Wednesday bullets, the quote from this blog omits the little (during the preseason) thing you have right after you say kobe disrespected the game by not playing hard. Im just repeating myself, but if anyone who watched last nights game saw kobe drop 8 in a 10-0 run during the last 1.5 minutes before getting the game tying assist to fish wouldnt say kobe's wants anything other than to win.

[Kenny]

Ryan, I completely agree with you. I am a huge Kobe fan myself, but if you noticed the way he played, you would notice something more. I am very disappointed that he went back into his selfish, ignorant, and discouraging role of his younger days. I have expected to mature beyond that by now, 10+ yrs. in the league.

Notice the difference in how the Lakers played last night compared to the Kings game without Kobe. Sure it was preseason, but they played motivated, excited, and as a team. With Kobe out there last night, it looked pitiful and depressing, until the last 2 minutes of the game. As a fan, if you can't notice that, I feel you are foolishly blinded.

I'm getting the sense that the team is so sick of his selfish antics and is ready to move on without him, including Phil.

[Lindell]

I want to thank everyone who made a comment-- although my post focused singularly on the pre-season, there was something dispassionate about Kobe's play against Houston. I have maintained--throughout a series of archived posts--that Mr. Bryant is the best player on the planet. And, I defended him being labelled selfish last season when Mr. Jackson clearly directed him to take more shots. The issue, this season, is that both sides have lost trust and faith in one another--and, I believe this impasse is insurmountable. The only way this is going is downhill. And, after 12 seasons, Mr.Bryant deserves better--the fans deserve better-- and, the organization (who bears great culpability in this morass) deserves better. The only solution is that Mr. Bryant must be traded.

[Lindell is gay]

fuck you!
how dare u talk shit like this about kobe!
u saw the game yesterday!?
Kobe and fisher are the only 2 players that gave the game 110% effort in the lakers team!
stop writing BS! Fuck YOU

[Ray]

Are you crazy? Did you watch the damn game! I know points aren't the only thing, but if Im not mistaken, he had the most rebounds, assist, steals, blocks, fouls, and turnovers...and he's not playing hard? Again, are you crazy? Fans get so caught up in what these so called NBA analyst are saying, they dont watch the game with an unbias eye. Unless he's playing point guard or low post, he should never lead his time in assist and rebounds. Brown, Bynum, Mims are at least 6'11 and over 260lbs and they are pathetic. He finally has a decent point guard in Fisher, but Odom was out..and you wonder why he was going one-on-one so much? Who in the hell else is going to score? On top of that, they're in the West. Houston has T-Mac and Yao, two All-Stars and they barely beat the Lakers...are you kidding me? Do you really think T-Mac, Lebron, Wade, Garnett, Duncan, Dirk, Shaq would do any better...are you crazy? People talking about being selfish, with that sorry team, what else can he do but shoot as much as possible and he has his coach telling him to put it up. Name me one other person on that team besides Odom (and he's inconsistent at best) that another team would trade for, please check out the roster again...NOBODY. Last year NJ had Kidd, Jefferson and Carter and finished 1 game below the Lakers...and they're in the East. Dude, look at the talent on the Lakers, there is none. Stop fooling yourself and think the Lakers would be any better with someone else besides Kobe. Looking at that roster, dude, Kobe needs some serious help.

Watch the damn game!

[Disciple One]

Why does everyone defend this dude, Kobe so hard? I agree that the Lakers organization is a mess right now, and that they have done an awful job supporting Kobe with quality players, and that nobody works harder or wants to win more than Kobe. But this dude is the most selfish basketball player around. I agree with Magic's comments on TNT the other night that said Kobe was partially to blame for running Shaq out of town, and the Lakers gave this guy everything he wanted(except quality teammates)supported him at his lowest moments(rape case) and picked him over Shaq and this is the thanks they get! Dude has shown no loyalty to the lakers or the city of L.A. If he wants to go good riddance, just this time make sure we get quality back in return unlike the last time when we traded Shaq!

[dt]

I disagree about LA. The city is extraordinarily supportive. It's a city of second chances. And it's given Kobe 5 or 6 chances. But his time is up.

[Dre]

when did kobe not play hard???

[Idetrorce]

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

[phil]

way off. kobe for mvp!!