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Good thing for Kobe Bryant that he stayed put

MVP living large in L.A. while Chicago starts over

Bob Verdi | Sunday Column

May 17, 2008

It's a good thing the Bulls, in their pursuit of a superstar, resisted the urge to gut their roster last autumn to acquire Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers.

It's a good thing, that is, for Kobe Bryant.

While watching Bryant cradle his league Most Valuable Player award the other day, one had to wonder. What was he thinking, or smoking, when he openly expressed a desire for a trade to Chicago? Probably the same thing nervous fans here were thinking, or smoking, when they warned he somehow might spoil the special chemistry enjoyed by Bulls players who never would get a coach fired, skip practices, lapse into intramural spats or forget how to perspire.

Only a few months ago it was the Lakers who were in disarray, as Bryant confirmed when he pounded general manager Mitch Kupchak for failing to secure a supporting cast of gifted teammates such as, say, Pau Gasol. Why, Bryant even suggested deals. What about Andrew Bynum for Jason Kidd from the New Jersey Nets?

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Meanwhile, the Bulls were locked and loaded. They had won 49 games during the 2006-07 season, when they led the NBA in attendance, and were poised to take that next quantum leap toward greatness, thanks in part to an allegedly feeble Eastern Conference. A berth in the NBA Finals seemed possible, especially if the Bulls could secure lofty seeding for playoffs there was no way they could miss.

Way. The Bulls lost their spirit, and now have lost Mike D'Antoni, their apparent choice to replace Jim Boylan, who replaced Scott Skiles as coach. D'Antoni will try to fit a bunch of square pegs into round holes with the salary cap-challenged Knicks, while Skiles goes to Milwaukee with a staff that includes Boylan and reprobate Kelvin ("Don't call me, I'll call you") Sampson.

The Bulls are still looking, but they did shake up the broadcasting crews. That is not paving new ground for Chicago franchises, all of which have a penchant for responding to slovenly efforts from athletes by dumping announcers. Unlike the Blackhawks of yore, the Bulls did not also fire the team doctor, but they did raise ticket prices as your reward for those 33 hard-earned victories. Of course, the last two were in a row, so all arrows are pointed up.

That's what we were told last October, when a lot of experts, while admitting that a go-to guy like Bryant would be a wonderful addition, fretted about the subtraction factor. That is, would the return package to Los Angeles plunder the Bulls of valuable bodies and unique attitudes? Tell me that doesn't sound like ancient history. Is this not the same roster many of those experts now want to blow up?

Bryant all but campaigned for a new address in Chicago. He was going to buy a house here. He would start over in a place where he could win now and not be remembered for a sexual harassment case, or as the brat behind Shaquille O'Neal's exit, or the diva who couldn't mesh with coach Phil Jackson. At the Lakers' home opener, Bryant was booed for his petulance. Now he hears "M-V-P!! M-V-P!!" In a region where cosmetic surgery thrives, Bryant sports a career face-lift.

Bryant, fighting through a back injury now, refused to shut it down when told in February that surgery on the fractured pinky finger of his shooting hand was required. He would be sidelined six to eight weeks, but he chose the Lakers over the knife. And the character-conscious Bulls worried he would introduce selfishness to their hallowed locker room?

Bryant won't be buying a house in Chicago after all, but Chuck Swirsky, a good man, will. Can't have everything.

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Good thing for Kobe Bryant that he stayed put

MVP living large in L.A. while Chicago starts over

Related topic galleries: Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers, National Basketball Association, New York Knicks, Shaquille O'Neal, Phil Jackson, Jason Kidd

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