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Anyone who has had children, or spent time around them, knows what happens when kids don’t get what they want. They pout, they make a fuss, they show their displeasure and sometimes they cause a scene.
NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is no different than a child. Shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers were bounced, once again, out of the playoffs in the opening round, Kobe said he wanted to be traded. But once ESPN got a hold of the story and made it public, Kobe recanted his trade demand, only to imply once again that he wanted to be traded.
Over the weekend, he had this to say on his website KB24.com:
“Man, today is one of those surreal days for me and my family. When you love something as much as I love the Lakers its hard to even imagine thinking about being elsewhere. But, the one thing will never sacrifice when it comes to basketball is winning. That is plain and simply what it's all about. It's in my DNA. It's what pushes me to work as hard as I do. It's my daily passion and pursuit.
"The more I thought about the future, the more I became convinced that the Lakers and me just have two different visions for the future," he wrote.
OK, so let me get this straight. Kobe wants to leave the Lakers because he feels he cannot win a championship with them anytime soon. Normally, I would never want to question anyone’s pursuit of happiness, but Kobe is the same guy who forced the departure of Shaquille O’Neal, despite appearing in four finals with the big man and winning three rings with him from 2000-2004.
Kobe was already on a dominant Lakers squad, yet he couldn’t coincide with Shaq, so he complained to management until they were forced to choose a side. Unfortunately they let Shag go -- who then won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006 -- and pinned their hopes on Kobe -- who is ready to leave following a few lackluster seasons with the Lakers.
What ever happened to perseverance? Life, just like the game of basketball, is about making adjustments. When things go wrong, it means one should work even harder to figure out a solution, not jump ship. The fact that Kobe is trying to force a trade out of LA is sickening. He is a nine-time All-Star, current two-time defending NBA scoring champion and some say he’s even better than Michael Jordan was at the same age.
When he signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract in 2004, he welcomed the responsibility to lead the Lakers -- minus Shaq -- to a championship. But now that the going is getting tough, Kobe is ready to get going.
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