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Kobe: Lakers front office a mess

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Kobe Bryant says he can no longer trust the Lakers front office after an insider report that he was responsible for chasing Shaquille O'Neal out of town, according to comments he made Tuesday afternoon on AM 570 KLAC in LA.

Kobe, appearing as a guest with Petros Papadakis and Matt "Money" Smith, was asked about reports that he was behind the Shaq trade to Miami: "This is the thing that really pisses me off. When I heard all the talk about Kobe ran Shaq out of this town. I assumed it was media guys talking about it or people assuming. I've had many media people, reporters come up to me and say you know the Lakers are having you take the bullet for this one, you know that right. I just shrugged it off because I just resigned with the team and it was about moving forward and being positive and I had no evidence to the contrary. Now when I pick up the paper and read that Lakers Insider says I ran Shaq off, ok now I have a serious issue with that. ... Now I'm going to have to speak my mind with what exactly happened because I'm not taking the bullet for something I did not say, did not do."

"He (Dr. Buss) sat across from me at the Four Seasons hotel in '04 during the season and told me that he wanted to trade Shaquille," Kobe said.

"He wanted to trade him, he didn't want to pay the $30 million a year or whatever it was. He felt like he was getting older. It was time to trade him. He said I don't care what you do, whatever (decision) you decide to make, I'm letting you know I'm letting him go."

"Now I hear this Lakers insider said this and that, now I have serious trust issues. I have serious trust issues because they know I had nothing to do with that. They know that, Jerry Buss knows that because it came out of his own mouth. He called me on the eve of me making my decision, from his vacation in Italy and stressed the importance of resigning."

Kobe asked about the disharmoney in the front office said: "That place (Lakers front office) is a mess, its a mess." ... Now they wanna try to use me as a scapegoat for this Lakers insider thing. Its absolutely ridiculous. If you make a decision stand up and stand infront of your decision. Don't try to throw me under the bus for something I did not say, something I did not do. I'm not taking that, absolutely not!"