King for a lifetime, fool for a... lifetime...

NBA pre-season is upon us and, still, the only story in the league is the Lakers. It's ridiculous. No other team or player in the league is worth talking about, apparently. All we hear, months after Shaq's trade and Phil Jackson's departure, are a slew of incessant barbs being traded between the afforementioned pair and the now dubious Kobe Bryant in the press. Shaq says Kobe is a clown, Kobe says Shaq has paid women to keep quiet, Jackson says he was forced out of LA by Kobe, yada yada yada... It's all getting to be white noise. And still its all any NBA buffs can talk about. What the Lakers used to be, what this trio has to air to the papers now that they're all in different cities. We all knew it as a sideshow even when they were winning championships. But as long as you win, no one cares about who hates who. Now, a report comes out that Phil Jackson had intentions of trading Kobe back in 1999. Would've been an incredible deal, too. Kobe Bryant to the Phoenix Suns for Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion. If a deal like that comes my way, I'd say adios to Kobe in a heartbeat. Alas, this never came to pass.

Now, Kobe stands alone in LA whilst the other two have departed and you have to wonder if this team is going to sink like a stone now that Shaq is gone (most say yes). Is Kobe going to wedge an even greater divide between himself and the rest of the team? Then you remember the coach they hired to replace the Zen Master: Rudy T.