It’s not all Kobe’s fault

The first thing to realize is that it’s never about one issue, one factor, one player, one superstar.

They didn’t blame the fall of the Roman Empire entirely on the invasion of Barbarian tribes. There were matters of corruption and instability and a loss of traditional values and overspending.

Who knew the Lakers had so much in common with ancient civilization?

And we’re not just talking about Steve Nash’s back.

It’s true Kobe Bryant is more part of the problem than any solution that might one day allow the Lakers to regain their place as the best NBA team to call Staples Center home. Specifically, a ridiculously inflated paycheck at this point in his career.

Bryant likely won’t be around for the solution part, and the Lakers aren’t near good enough to be thinking in those terms just yet. I’m not sure they’re good enough to win 30 games this season.

But to completely accept the premise of a national magazine article this week — that Bryant is the major reason for the downfall of the storied franchise and that his massive ego and thoughtless treatment of teammates have prevented top free agents from signing with the Lakers in recent years — is to not give others credit for their own part in the epic collapse.

It wouldn’t be right to deny the Buss siblings a large chunk of the blame.

Jeanie and Jim are up to their fat bank accounts in this mess.

I understand the need for anonymous sources in matters of national security or for relaying information that is vital to the public regarding important issues. Watergate. Enron. Pentagon Papers. All relied heavily on such sources.

I’m just not willing to buy the word of NBA agents who refuse to use their names when portraying Bryant as the second coming of Ivan the Terrible.

“In my mind, it doesn’t change anything,” Bryant said before the Lakers met the Kings on Friday night at the MGM Grand Garden. “It’s still about preparing to win every night. I’ve done that my entire career. I’m not going to change now.”

The article in ESPN The Magazine that for much of this week took attention away from the real problem with the Lakers (translation: they stink) was filled with sourced material, none of which offered many original views concerning Bryant.

To suggest over the past 18 years he has more often than not been overly competitive and unfairly demanding of those he plays alongside is to suggest Floyd Mayweather Jr. enjoys flaunting his money. Kobe always has been about Kobe. His competitive fire, which has proven both a strength and weakness, will be viewed as much part of his legacy as five NBA championships.

But the monster has to be raised and enabled for years to create the level of self-serving harm that agents and others suggested Bryant caused since the team last won a title in 2010. For this, look no further than Lakers management, which allowed its star player all the power and influence he desired.

That’s what happens when you win so much. You create too big a monster.

It didn’t help this week that owner Jeanie Buss sounded more like the owner’s secretary in defending Bryant against those charges in the magazine piece, foolishly saying during a “SportsCenter” interview that, “any free agent that would be afraid to play with Kobe Bryant is probably a loser, and I’m glad they wouldn’t come to the team.”

The story never said anyone was afraid. Never hinted at it.

Buss also said that she has “no doubt that Kobe will make people regret ever saying” disparaging comments about him.

How, by leading the Lakers to 32 wins?

Does she have any clue how inept her team is right now?

It’s safe to say Jeanie and Jim Buss are not their father, not in any sense, when it comes to running the organization. They overpaid (two years, $48.5 million) to keep Bryant happy, either didn’t grasp or believe how difficult the new collective bargaining agreement would make it to sign top free agents and handcuffed their salary cap with players like Nash, whose ailing back never has allowed him to contribute near the level a three-year, $27 million deal would suggest.

They gambled that Dwight Howard would take more money to stay.

They wrongly believed that players in 2014 would think and feel the same about playing for the Lakers as they did in 2004.

It’s a bad team today. Really bad. Bryant played a major role in delivering the Lakers all those rings, and he has done the same in bringing them to this low point.

But he’s not the only reason for the downfall, and to suggest now through a bunch of anonymous agents, who play both sides of the fence better than a politician in late October of an election year, holds little to no value when talking about a 36-year-old player coming off two major injuries during the past 18 months and who might have two seasons remaining in his career.

None of it changes a sentence in Bryant’s legacy.

He’s one of the best players in league history, owns one of the biggest egos in history and has over the years often acted like a real turd to those with whom he shares a locker room.

In other words, nothing new to see here.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on “Gridlock,” ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.