Again something about Kobe

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1. Kobe asks out

Until he is traded or publicly rescinds his trade demand, Kobe Bryant's mind-set will hang like a sword of Damocles over every missed shot, every bad pass, every play the Lakers run. Hasn't that already been the case, you might ask? Well, yes, but now that Bryant has gone public with his dissatisfaction over the team around him, everything the Lakers do will be parsed as to how it will affect Kobe's desire to stay or leave.

Will Kobe pine for Jason Kidd every time Andrew Bynum (whom the Lakers reportedly balked at trading for the Nets' point guard last season) fumbles a pass? Will Bryant whisper sweet nothings into Bulls coach Scott Skiles' ear when the Lakers visit Chicago if Lamar Odom doesn't please Kobe again? In sum, Kobe's disenchantment is a recipe for the Lakers to play in fear each game, hoping to please No. 24. That may satisfy a marketing department that can't afford to be without Kobe, but it could poison a locker room that may find it can't afford to be with him.
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