Kobe demanding trade again after Game 4 loss

LOS ANGELES, CA — During a spectacular regular season that ended with the Lakers in the top spot in the Western Conference, and a playoff run that landed them in the NBA Finals, it appeared all was well in Los Angeles.

Apparently that is not the case – it seems that a few tough losses in the Finals was enough for Kobe Bryant’s trade demand to once again rear its ugly.

After an offseason filled with displays of discontent, Bryant quieted down for the season and won his first MVP award. During the second half of the year, after the Lakers had acquired Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and looked unbeatable, Bryant was often seen laughing it up with his new best friends as the media lauded his new status as a leader.

But following the Lakers’ ugly Game Four loss to the Boston Celtics, in which they blew a 24-point lead to fall behind 3-1 in the series, Bryant has once again expressed a desire to get out of L.A.

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“I want to be traded,” Bryant told reporters following the game. “This team is a joke. I mean, come on – Pau Gasol? Jordan Farmar? I don’t know how anyone with Jordan as part of their name could suck so bad. This team is a joke.”

Bryant is playing in his first Finals since the departure of Shaquille O’Neal, with whom he won three championships. But no team has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit to win an NBA Finals, and a crestfallen Bryant sees the loss as all but a given.

“We’re talking about my legacy here,” the Lakers star explained to SSNN. “I know, I know… If I win with a bunch of nobodies it makes me look awesome, and I thought we had that going for us. But even MJ had Scottie Pippen. This team is ruining my spotless reputation for championship excellence.”

When asked what teams he would like to be traded to, Bryant replied, “Anywhere but Phoenix. I’m allergic to… uh… sand. Yeah, sand and cactus.”