The Sports Rumors

The Eye of the Storm

Future hall of famer Kevin Garnett finally got traded to the Celtics. The years of discussion about where Garnett should go or how he should demand to be traded are forever in the past. It’s done and over with. No longer can we imagine Kobe lobbing oops to Garnett or Nash and K.G. winning a title together. Two of the most popular superstars in the NBA have been subject of trade rumors all summer. One was quiet about his discontent; the other was loud and forceful about his. The quiet one got moved, the loud one didn’t.

Kobe Bryant has been silent now for the past month. He’s not answering questions about his anger with the Lakers. He’s not posting it on his website. He’s not doing exclusive interviews with Ric Bucher or Stephen A. Right now, Kobe is focused only on USA Basketball, or so it appears.

Obviously, the noise that he made earlier didn’t have the effect that he had hoped. He didn’t get moved and the Lakers didn’t bring anyone else in via a trade. It’s clear now that Garnett was still available to be moved, and the Lakers didn’t go out and get him. Ron Artest was on the block and the Lakers turned that one away. Jermaine O’neal was within reach, the Lakers didn’t want to pull the trigger on that trade either. Instead, they signed Coby Karl and Derrick Fisher. Oh, and of course, most importantly, the Lakers kept Andrew Bynum.

So the Lakers have done nothing of consequence and Kobe Bryant has not made another comment about his situation in the past month, month and a half. Now what? Are we going to go into the start of the season like nothing happened? Is Kobe going to suit up the same way he has for over a decade? Will bygones be bygones and Kobe busts his hump to get a 7^th or 8^th seed in the west, followed by a first round exit due to lack of help? Not a chance.

I don’t think, even for a minute, that Kobe is going to just let this go. You can hate him all you want but you have to give credit where credit is due and when it comes to competitiveness, there is no one more so than Kobe. Jordan and Tiger are on the same level as him, but not higher. This dilemma he is in with the Lakers organization right now isn’t something that he’s going to lose. He’s not going to put up with them not bringing in significant improvements. He’s just not. Kobe is waiting for the summer to conclude. He got a lot of bad press early on and now a lot of that has simmered down. As Ric Bucher pointed out in his column, the Lakers and their lack of action are making Kobe’s case for him without him having to say a word.

Okay they didn’t go out and get K.G. because maybe that would have crippled their future completely. Well, it’s not like they’ve gone out and gotten solid players to help improve the team though. They drafted a point guard last year, drafted one this year, and then signed one as a free agent. I don’t understand what the management in LA is doing but I can understand the frustration that Kobe feels when he sees players like Artest, O’neal, Kidd, Baron Davis, and Gerald Wallace come and go without the Lakers making a move. The Staples Center is going to fill up no matter what as long as #24 is there. He gives them a chance to win any game just like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning due with their respective teams. But in order to advance in the playoffs, Kobe is going to need a lot more than what he’s got. What are the Lakers waiting for?

I still can’t see this feud ending quietly. I don’t see it that way. I am giving this until the second week of September, a little over a month, before we hear from Kobe again, louder than ever. And don’t be surprised if this time, a lot of the same media members who bashed him in May have come around and see his viewpoint. He will have a lot more support this time around and remember, what Kobe wants, Kobe gets.

I wanted to name this article “The Quiet Before the Storm” but then I thought about it and realized that this isn’t the quiet before the storm. The storm started a few weeks after the Finals when Kobe initially came out about all this. Now, we’re in the eye of the storm. The beginning of the summer brought the initial impact, put us all on edge. Now everything is quiet and calm, but it has that feel that there is more to come. It feels like this is just a brief pause in the action, a time for us to gather our thoughts, take a breath, and prepare for part two. It is said that the tail end of a hurricane is often the one that lashes out the most fury, brings about the most destruction. Enjoy the few weeks left in the eye but make no mistake about it: This storm is packed with rage, rage that we will see soon enough.

(”After biting their prey, black mambas leave it to die. “)