Yes I know there has been a referee betting scandal going on which has seriously challenged the integrity of the league, yet all of this hoopla is bound to be forgotten someday. At the same time the "trade me or don’t" game that Kobe and AK47 have played will probably stick with us forever as two of the weirdest stories in pro sports.

Kobe Bryant’s case got the attention of the full media. He is, after all, the best active player in the NBA. He is the only player ever to have successfully stepped out of the shadow of being tagged the next Michael Jordan. So when Kobe does a regular radio interview where he suddenly insists that the Lakers trade him, then it is big news.

Kobe first asked to be moved on well-known journalist Steven A Smith’s radio show while going through a casual interview. In the span of 24 hours he then seemed to be taking back the demand, only to reinforce it once again. After all of this hoopla, Kobe decided that he has said enough to the media, and he has not discussed whether he still wants to be traded or not.

'When Kobe does a regular radio interview where he suddenly insists that the Lakers trade him, then it is big news'


What everyone thought was going to be a clear statement was the start of Lakers training camp. If Kobe shows he’s a Laker for life, if he does not, he’s as good as gone. Or so we thought…

Kobe showed up, practiced, played the role of the good soldier ready to go to battle. End of story, right? Not so fast! Suddenly its Lakers owner Jerry Buss going public that he would listen to offers made for Bryant . . . And the saga continues.

In all fairness, much like when they traded Shaquille O’Neal, they cannot get fair value for Bryant. Thus the Lakers would be better off mending the fences and making sure Kobe stays happy. Alas Buss can play the game of “hurt feelings”, but in the end he will end up loosing it. Kobe still has enough left on his contract until next summer that he has no leverage to force a trade this season, unless he starts tanking games like Vince Carter (Kobe’s too competitive natured to do that).

Buss should have worked behind the scenes to keep his superstar in check. Now, we really cannot know what comes next. Is Kobe injured, or is he currently missing practice because he does not want to be a part of the Lakers anymore? Your guess is as good as mine.

Meanwhile, Andrei Kirilenko was coming off a dreadful season where his Utah Jazz went deep into the play-offs whilst he struggled mightily with his new role on the team. We all knew he was frustrated with the coaching, with the game, with everything. Heck, the guy broke down in tears after posting his worst play-off performance.

Enter the European championships where Kirilenko was chosen as the focal point of a young Russian team. He led his country’s select to a gold medal at the event, and thus felt he had proved that a team built around his talents will win it all. So he went home to celebrate with his countrymen and decided that his place is somewhere other than with the Utah Jazz. This would all be a regular story, if it was not for the way his team has learned from his decision.

It seems Comrade Kirilenko decided that his Russian fans needed to know all of this first, so he had it appear on the internet written in Russian. The statement was badly translated to English which made sure we had a real life counterpart to the only truly funny character of the Whoopie Goldberg basketball movie "Eddie": Ivan (“Ivan get ball, make basket”). This “me want trade” message reached the Utah Jazz, who unlike the general public decided not to laugh out loud and took the matter seriously.

Since then it seems AK47 has once again become buddy-buddy with coach Jerry Sloan and the Utah Jazz organization, but rumors are still circulating regarding a Shawn Marion – Andrei Kirilenko trade.

And speaking of Marion. Isn’t it a case of the little guy coming back to haunt the big bad empire? Marion has been rumored to be traded for the past three summers. The Suns organization has never fully denied these rumors, thus making us feel like they are shopping Shawn around. After all of this circus, Marion struck back, having had enough of all the rumors, he decided to demand a trade himself. I truly pity Steve Kerr in this situation, who joined the Suns this summer as a GM, and has little to do with why Shawn got to this point, and he’ll be the poor bloke who blew up the successful trio of Marion – Amare Stoudamire – Steve Nash.

I told you, the NBA is getting crazier by the day!

What's the likely outcome? WillKobe go? Will Kirilenko go? Post your comments below or submit an article to Sportingo.