The sports media world collectively took a short breath from Linsanity this week to gather themselves and bolster their inner defenses against ethnic slurs but it was not a week without piling on an NBA topic.
Enter the Los Angeles Lakers, aka the pile of dry wood most sports followers can't wait to see go up in flames.
First Kobe Bryant lept to the aid of trade bait, er teammate Pau Gasol. The 7-foot Spainard has been the focus of trade rumors throughout the season and it seems Bryant now wants an end to those rumors, no matter what that end might be. The Lakers' retort? Basically a call for the great one to shut up and play ball.
The pissing match between Kobe and the front office must have been a distraction because the Lakers called a players only meeting shortly after what might have been their best performance of the year in a thrashing of the Blazers.
Now a report by CBS Sports Ken Berger has the Lake Show methamorphisizing into a lake of fire. Jerry Buss' sons, most notably executive vice president Jim Buss, are turning the Lakers front office into a joke or as Berger called it "a steaming pool of nepotism and nincompoops."
It's scary to hear about quality people being let go. Trainers, team doctors, scouts, etc. But what has made the Lakers the quality franchise its continued to be for decades upon decades is the quality of the players on the court, the quality of the guy with the whistle and the quality of the GM making the decisions. Jim Buss can be an utter bufoon (and I'm sure he is) but that's not going to make the guy who traded Kwame Brown to get Pau Gasol in the first place any less of a GM.
Kobe can throw a fit because he's out of the loop or he can trust that Mitch Kupchak is capable of pulling off a move that will make the team better.
Or if last night's thrilling road win against the Mavs is any indication the Lakers players and coach may be capable of winning with the current roster. Either way, reports of the Lakers demise are greatly exaggerated.
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