Dead To Me

Kobe Bryant came on the scene at the perfect time for me.

Michael Jordan was nearing his second retirement, and the G.O.A.T. had been someone I looked up to for some time. Aside from being the Greatest Basketball Player Ever, Jordan had style and conducted himself with class.

My affection for Bryant had nothing to do with those qualities, though, as I never viewed him as an individual. Anyone who has heard a Bryant interview can tell he has always aspired to BE Jordan and not himself.

My love for Kobe has never extended beyond 94 feet.

He's always been a bit of a loner, opting to spend nights alone instead of spending time with teammates and building friendships. Bryant also severed ties with his family for some time when he decided to marry a 17-year-old "Video Girl," who will most likely get more from him than Juanita got from M.J.

But Bryant has been the best player in the NBA for some time. He works harder than anyone else in the League. He goes hard on both ends of the floor for 82-plus nights a season, taking on the scoring load for a less-than-mediocre Lakers squad, while drawing the opposition's most lethal scoring option.

The best memory I have of Bryant isn't his 81-point game, nor is it the string of games in the 2004-05 season where he scored more than 40 a night for nine straight games, or the one-on-one duel with Jordan in the '98 All-Star Game.

Near the end of Game 4 of the 2000 Finals, Shaquille O'Neal fouled out. The game was tight. A Pacers' win would have knotted the series at two, with Game 5 set to take place in Indy.

"I got you," Kobe gestured to Shaq as the big man strolled to the bench. Bryant did have him. And the rest of the squad, as he poured in 28 points, including 8 in OT, as the Lakers took a 3-1 lead in the series on the way to Shaq & Kobe's first title.

That game proved to me Bryant possessed a killer instinct and a desire to win, as he played on a sore ankle that sidelined him for Game Three.

Three championships, a Shaq trade, a 35-47 season and two first-round playoff exits later, Bryant's desire to win forced him to demand a trade from the Lakers. Lakers brass was reluctant to part with young big Andrew Bynum when the move would have netted L.A. Jason Kidd, who, even at 35, is one of the top 3 point guards in the game.

It was later revealed that Bryant is the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause in his contract, as part of the 7-year, $136-million deal he inked the summer of 2004. Bryant, in his attempt to "be like Mike," has since made it known he desires to be dealt to the Chicago Bulls. But the 29-year-old has even shot down deals proposed by Chicago to Lakers' brass, since, if approved, the deal would put Bryant in the same position he's in now.

But a deal was on the table that would have put all-star talent around him, along with placing him in a conference where a one-man "James Gang" made it to the Finals last season.Reports say Bryant vetoed a trade that would have sent him to Detroit for Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson and a first-round draft pick.

That deal would have given Bryant a cast that includes 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups and the most talented, versatile big man in the League, Rasheed Wallace.

That move would have given the Pistons a trio that would rival, and possibly trump Boston's Allen, Garnett, Pierce group. If those two groups, trades made, met in the Eastern Conference Finals, Wallace and Garnett would cancel each other out, taking away the Celtics' only post presence. Billups would emasculate Rajon Rondo, a la Hakeem Olajuwon on David Robinson in the '95 playoffs, and Bryant would have his way with Pierce or Allen. Throw in Antonio McDyess and his Horace Grant-like automatic mid-range J, and Detroit would be on its way to a third Finals appearance in five seasons.

If this report, by ESPN's Ric Bucher, is found to be valid, Bryant finally will have finally shown his true colors. It will prove he's all about bright lights and the big city. Not about Ws.

In my eyes, he will be in the same class as Alex Rodriguez.

Bryant would also be dead to me.

I was all set to pony up the dough to order as many Pistons tickets as I could. I was ready to buy all three variations of my "Pistons 24" jerseys. My favorite player on my hometown team. That hasn't happened, if you take out Curtis Granderson, since No. 20 roamed the Pontiac Silverdome nearly a decade ago.

Bryant will stay in a coffin in my mind unless he wises up and develops one thing he hasn't had his entire career.

Patience.

Has he seen the 2008 free agent class? He's played with the same rag-tag group for more than two years now, so what's one more season? I know injuries are possible, but I don't see Bryant losing a step for four years beyond this season.

The main player Bryant wishes would stay on the Bulls' roster, Luol Deng, will be a free agent next summer. So will the likes of Baron Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Shawn Marion, Emeka Okafor, Josh Smith, Allen Iverson and Gilbert Arenas.

Pair two of those guys with Kobe, one on the perimeter and one in the paint, and you have an instant title contender.

I don't believe reports of Bryant being difficult to play with. You don't win three titles unless you can mesh with your teammates. Maybe Kobe and his agent, Rob Pelinka, need to do some research and back off these trade demands, because they won't find a better spot, at this point, than Detroit.

Bryant better wise up, or he could spend the best years of his career in purgatory.

Or, in this fan's case, in the ground.