OK, the Lakers lost yesterday, 118-104, to the New Orleans Hornets so maybe all those people who thought the team was gonna run the table shold take a deep breath now. On the other hand, don’t discount what the Lakers have accomplished so far.

After an off-season that saw no additions of any weight, and a fracturing of the relationship between Kobe Bryant and owner Jerry Buss, they’ve gone 2-2 with wins over the likes of Phoenix and Utah with two loses–the other was an opening night loss to Houston–against teams with a combined 8-1 record.

Put the Lakers in the weaker Eastern Conference and they’d clearly be a contender for the conference title. The weaker Eastern Conference is where the Chicago Bulls, the team Kobe Bryant apparently wants to join, plays. Right now they’re 0-4, but Bryant has identified them as a team more likely to make it to the NBA finals. This is no doubt true since the Bulls play in, well, the weaker Eastern Conference and it may be that Bryant is not choosing the Bulls over the Lakers afterall, but the Eastern Conference over the Western.

LeBron James proved a team with one star can come out of the East; of course San Antonio then proved that a Western team would then crush that team. So Bryant believes that he and the Bulls can make a run as it were. Those who buy into that say to discount the Bulls slow start, that this is a young team that’s been distracted by the their inclusion in the drama of the Bryant situation. But they say that as if it is a temporary condition; as if once Bryant is wearing a Bulls uniform, all will be well.

Make no mistake, there is always drama where Bryant is concerned, there is always a Bryant situation. He won three straight championships not only because he was paired with Shaquille O’Neal but because it was rounded out by veterans such as Rick Fox and Brian Shaw who were able to deal with his many moods.

The Bulls are young and one wonders if the force of Bryant’s personality might not destroy those kids. Clearly other teams have consider the debilitating effect of Bryant, how else to explain how little interest there has been, league-wide, in obtaining him. So far, we’ve only heard of only two teams–Chicago and Dallas–genuinely interested in dealing for the best player in the world. Can you imagine as little interest if Michael Jordan had become available in the ’90s?

Tags: Chicago Bulls, kobe bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan, San Antonio Spurs, Shaquille O'Neal