Is Kobe Going Greek?

For all you Lakers fans, there is one thing you should be cheering for this year: losses.

Huh?

Wait, what?

Yes, I said it. If you want the Lakers to have any chance of being successful in the next five years and not just this year, heed my words, use everything in your power — voodoo, power of suggestion, quantum physics, anything — but don't let the Lakers win the title.

If you live outside of Los Angeles, you probably haven't heard the rumors swirling. And when the economy went south, the rumors went from a swirl to a full-blown hurricane.

Most people are only aware of former Atlanta Hawk Josh Childress fleeing the NBA to play in Greece, but he wasn't the only one. Eleven players who were on NBA rosters last year went to the international game for no taxes and more money, and another, Brandon Jennings, ditched the college game for the same dollar signs.

Trust me, it won't stop there.

The international game has no salary cap, owners with deep pockets, and a stronger monetary presence. In August, LeBron James mentioned he would consider a $50 million a year deal. Just last month, there were rumblings Kobe Bryant was offered $83 million for three years. TAX FREE!

While you may say $50 million a year or $28 million a year seem a bit ridiculous, remember just last year that David Beckham signed a $250 million contract to play soccer in the United States. Imagine the publicity, and the mega-super-duper-stardom that would follow these two if either one of the jetted to play ball in Europe. We have already seen the popularity of Kobe in China, the hands-down most popular athlete in the Olympics. Throw in lucrative endorsements from both corporations here in America and overseas and an already profitable contract becomes downright impossible to turn down.

Of course, the NBA does not see a threat.

"I don't want to say it's much ado about nothing, but we think it's overblown a bit," said Joel Litvin, the NBA's president of league and basketball operations, in an ESPN interview over the summer.

"It's not something we're losing sleep over," he said.

This is where Laker fans come in.

The only way I see Kobe jetting for the beaches of Greece is if his work here is done. If Kobe wins a championship this season, what more does he have to prove? He will have won a title without Shaquille O'Neal. He will have picked up his fourth ring, solidifying him as one of the all-time greats. What more does he have to prove?

It's true Bryant is just 30-years-old, but he has logged over 1,000 games and is starting to show the wear and tear so many players feel after hitting that milestone. He does not have many more peak seasons left in him, and there is no telling how many more years the Lakers can keep this team together. More than likely, this is Lamar Odom's last year in Los Angeles. The Lakers just gave Bynum a four-year extension worth over $50 million. Pau Gasol will get the league maximum at the end of his contract and the bench will get dismantled because everyone overpays in the NBA.

But if the Lakers lose this year, forcing Bryant not to opt out of his contract at year's end, resigning the star for a long deal and holding him to his contract, the Lakers can win it all in 2009-2010. Then, who knows what the Lakers could do with what has proven to be a competent front office.

If you think it's illogical to believe a star player would bolt from the NBA to Europe, imagine what you would do if you were offered that much of a pay increase. Last season, Kobe made around $19.5 million dollars, so after taxes, he makes just under $13 million. If you were Kobe and you just won your fourth championship, your first without Shaq, silenced the critics who said you couldn't win a championship on your own, picked up your first NBA Finals MVP award, and saw the writing on the wall that the Lakers were close to having to rebuild (again), and had $28 million a year and a king's lifestyle waiting for you in Greece, what would you do?

I would be learning Greek right now.

When the Dream Team went to Barcelona, the game started to change. The international player got better and the American baller lost his fundamentals. Bryant's MVP was the first time an American had won the award in three years. It took the USA an Olympic bronze medal to humble us, and the NBA a high school exodus revolution to change who is allowed to enter the draft. Each time, we have moved too late, too arrogant to believe anyone could take our game away from us.

Well, friends, if the 11 NBA basketball players and the one blue-chip college athlete playing in Europe wasn't enough, what will it take to find out?

If the Lakers win the title this year, Kobe might just provide the evidence. And if he does, who could blame him? The NBA is not the same league it once was. The 2006 NBA Finals was a joke with questionable refereeing. The 2006-07 season brought us Tim Donaghy. And the 2008 offseason showed us what "showing the money" could do.

And for the greatest player in the NBA, it may just be all Greek to him.