Chapter 92: When The Little Princess Turns Psycho
Every promise is the Minotaur’s labyrinth, with the builder having already bricked up a new wall at the exit.
After the Lakers beat the Grizzlies, the situation did not improve.
Obviously, the Grizzlies were not the crow circling above Staples.
They then suffered three straight losses, with Kobe averaging 34 points, but it was to no avail.
With the trade deadline approaching, the Lakers still had no substantial trade progress, and it was hard to make real progress. When your most valuable young chip is lying on the injury list, how can you bring in a star who can truly help Kobe?
The Lakers suffered four straight losses in Cleveland, with Kobe having a terrible game, scoring only 28 points.
Then, after the game, he heard that the Cavaliers were actively exploring trade options.
They had reached the Finals last year under the leadership of fourth-year LeBron James, but ultimately lost to the Spurs, which made the Cavaliers believe they had entered the ranks of championship contenders. As long as they brought in a few capable big men for the little emperor, they could compete with other top teams.
The Cavaliers soon contacted the Bulls, wanting Ben Wallace.
The Bulls themselves wanted to trade Big Ben, so both sides hit it off, and the trade looked like it would happen in the next few days.
The Big Ben trade indicated that the Bulls had no intention of achieving results in the short term; they no longer wanted Kobe.
And this was originally a preferred destination for Kobe, but after months of tug-of-war, they decided to head toward the lottery draft, longing for the good luck like the Cavaliers in 2003 to get local genius Derrick Rose with a top-three pick.
This incident stung Kobe again.
He really felt that the Lakers’ management was deceiving him, just like in the past few years when Jerry Buss always used the same rhetoric to placate him.
This scam began in the summer of 2004, when OK had already openly clashed. Kobe was determined to leave because the Lakers seemed unlikely to give up O’Neal, who was still the NBA’s most dominant center at the time. But old Buss was already tired of O’Neal’s arrogance and indulgence, so he privately agreed with Kobe that the Lakers would build around him and create a championship team.
O’Neal was traded, and Kobe renewed his contract because of it, bearing the infamy. But the Lakers did not fulfill their commitment. They did build around Kobe, but creating a championship team around him meant drafting the somewhat giant baby Andrew Bynum with a lottery pick, trading Caron Butler for Kwame Brown, signing Smush Parker on a minimum deal and letting him start at point guard for the Lakers for two straight years, then using the precious mid-level exception on Vladimir Radmanovic.
The only move during this period that seemed helpful for contending for a championship was bringing back Phil Jackson, and that still required Kobe’s unilateral forgiveness.
You know, during the OK dynasty, Jackson was at odds with Kobe; he was a firm O’Neal supporter. To trash Kobe, he even wrote a book about the 2003-04 season after leaving the Lakers, and at least two-thirds of the book was used to describe “how much of a punk Kobe is.” But Kobe still reconciled with him. Just think about how paranoid this guy is—he even sued his parents in court—and you know how unbelievable that is.
But without a good lineup, even the best coach can’t make an impact. The Lakers had a first-round exit, then another first-round exit. Kobe finally couldn’t take it anymore and requested a trade, but in the early season, due to the Lakers’ excellent chemistry, he wavered—maybe there was still a chance? Maybe with just a minimal cost, they could get All-Star help, and the dream of being a lifelong Laker wasn’t impossible?
Then, God’s Hammer fell at FedEx Forum, and the Lakers plummeted. When they suffered four straight losses in Cleveland, James was still there showing his perfect media image: “The Lakers are a very strong team, Kobe is a great player, they just need to…”
No, LeBron, Kobe doesn’t need anything.
Kobe could no longer tolerate it.
The Lakers’ general manager Mitch Kupchak received calls every day from all over, each claiming to offer a “trade package that would satisfy Kobe.” The office fax machine had spewed out stacks of paper—still stubbornly working in this era—filled with outlandish or genuine probing offers from various teams’ managers.
These offers were like jokes to the Lakers; Kupchak wouldn’t take them seriously.
Their current state was extremely delicate.
In theory, Kobe still wanted to leave, but he hadn’t reiterated his desire to be traded in a while.
Presumably, he was still infatuated with Los Angeles; the so-called trade request was just a bluff? Maybe he was willing to wait another season until Bynum recovered, and the team would give him a satisfactory answer.
This was ultimately just the Lakers’ wishful thinking.
On the night the Lakers suffered four straight road losses, Kupchak’s private phone rang; the caller ID showed Kobe’s agent Rob Pelinka. Kupchak took a deep breath and answered. The voice from the receiver was terrifyingly calm, as if reading a final judgment report.
“Mitch, it’s Rob. Kobe and I just had a deep talk.” Pelinka’s tone was flat, without a ripple. “Let’s cut to the chase. Kobe is extremely pessimistic about the team’s future direction. Andrew’s injury is a catastrophic blow, completely destroying the foundation of our short-term competitiveness.”
Kupchak tried to soothe: “Rob, we understand Kobe’s frustration, and we’re actively looking for every possible…”
Yes, the same rhetoric again. Since last July, the Lakers had been using this line, through the early season, and even today, they were still using it.
They thought this farce was just Kobe the little princess throwing a tantrum, being willful, and that a few sweet words would coax him back.
But this time was clearly different.
“Kobe’s request is simple,” Pelinka interrupted him bluntly, clearly enunciating the ultimatum, “Before the trade deadline（ February 21）, trade him to a competitive team.”
Kupchak really thought this was just the same old tune from Kobe’s camp.
Kupchak believed that as long as he took a humble stance, everything would be fine.
“Rob, I know how you feel and understand Kobe’s feelings, but…” Kupchak was also a seasoned actor, his emotional tone enough to resonate with most people. “But think about it: Kobe has been in Los Angeles for eleven years, the achievements he’s had here, his popularity here… he can create a lifelong Laker legend like Jerry West. I know things aren’t great now, but if we believe the current structure still has potential after adjustments, or we need more time to operate…”
“Then go adjust and operate.”
Pelinka’s voice had no warmth left.
Kupchak thought he had passed Kobe’s camp’s obedience test again and had just breathed a sigh of relief.
But Pelinka’s next words sent him into an ice cave: “You can do whatever you want, Mitch, but until real change happens, Kobe won’t play for the Lakers anymore.”
“What?”
“You said it yourself: he’s played here for eleven years. In the past two years, he’s only missed five games, averaging 40 minutes per game. He’s about to turn 30, no longer young. He has a body full of injuries and needs time to rest. He can give you time until the trade deadline. If you successfully bolster the team, Kobe will continue to give everything for the Lakers like Jerry West. If what you’re saying is just stalling, then Kobe won’t play along anymore.” Pelinka issued the final ultimatum from Kobe’s camp. “He will undergo necessary treatment and surgery for the various injuries accumulated from years of games and will miss the rest of the season. The Lakers can tank with peace of mind, but Kobe won’t participate.”
Finally, the Lakers’ procrastination turned Kobe the little princess into a madwoman.
The call ended.
Kupchak slumped in his chair, with Los Angeles’ never-fading neon lights outside the window, but he only felt darkness before his eyes.
But he couldn’t bear it alone; he couldn’t even make a decision on this independently.
Only one person in the Lakers organization could decide Kobe’s fate: Jerry Buss.
Kupchak shakily picked up the phone and called his longtime hands-off boss.
Since Kobe’s camp had made up its mind, the recipients of the final ultimatum weren’t just the Lakers’ management.
There was also the media.
ESPN senior reporter Marc Stein was the first to drop the bomb with an urgent news piece: “Sources: Kobe Bryant has formally submitted a serious trade request to Lakers management.”
Immediately after, Woj published a more detailed report in his Yahoo Sports column, almost verbatim recounting Kobe’s ultimatum: “…Sources say Kobe Bryant’s patience has run out. He doesn’t want to waste his prime on a team with no hope. He is determined to be traded. The Lakers’ management now has less than a month left.”
General managers’ offices across the league lit up with all-night lights. Phone lines burned hot, and teams that had been hesitating or probing now pounced on Los Angeles like sharks smelling blood.
This happened to be the tenth day Xu Ling was sidelined by injury.
That day, he officially passed the doctor’s physical exam, and his body had reached a state where he could return to games.
But to officially return, he still needed about a week of recovery training.
During this time, the Grizzlies had also fallen to the bottom, winning only 1 of 7 games. The only team they beat was the Texas powerhouse Dallas Mavericks.
This wasn’t surprising; even the worst NBA teams have a floor with security. If in good form, any outcome is possible.
Rudy Gay got plenty of possessions in these seven games, averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds, shooting 45%, basically proving his health and immediate combat power. But there was one problem: he couldn’t help the team win at all.
But the talent was still there, enough for West to use him as a quasi-All-Star chip to test the trade market.
At this moment, another highly watched team—the Cleveland Cavaliers—arrived in Memphis.
LeBron James had been riding high lately. Nike’s top star Kobe was fighting for his own fate, and others weren’t faring much better. Even the Grizzlies, that arrogant Chinese rookie, was out with injury and couldn’t play tonight—another easy win for sure.
But Mr. James was a classy guy. Despite having no fondness for Xu Ling, he still told the Memphis media: “You know, Eli is an incredible player. He has revitalized this team. His injury is a loss for the league. I sincerely wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to facing him next time. Memphis has become very tough under his leadership; this will be a hard game.”
However, few people cared about James’s image performance amid the league’s earthquake from Kobe’s ultimatum to the Lakers.
A foreseeable trade storm was about to arrive.
