Kobe Is Young LeBron's Protector

During the Olympics, our own Mike DeCourcy told us all to cool our jets on the "superstars to Europe" front. Having actually been with the team, Mike felt it was an inside joke, or an aside, that got out of control.

Now, in the Los Angeles Times, Kobe backs that up—and explains why he jumped into the discussion:

"Sometimes you get some really ridiculous questions," Bryant said. "I'm sitting up there with LeBron [James] and someone throws us this question about playing overseas. I don't want him to answer it -- he's a young kid, I didn't want him to take the controversial stuff.

"So I said, 'All right, if a team throws us $50 million then we'll all go.' Who has $50 million, know what I'm saying? Then it became a serious issue. It's just something that was a joke for us. People kind of took it and ran with it."

It's that "he's a young kid, I didn't want him to take the controversial stuff" line that's key. For one, it proves, like the final against Spain did, that this is still Bryant's team. And that Kobe understands a thing or two about control around the press, importance of staying level if you want to remain a marketing juggernaut, and all those things the Lakers star had but lost. Kind of make you sad, but also signals that Bryant's definitively back and yet also older, wiser.

And maybe even a little modest. Because let's face it: Really, other than a few mentions of Dwyane Wade, the $50 million pipe dream was all about LeBron and Kobe. Plus Kobe, with those Italian ties, was able to convincingly take the weight off of James and deflect a lot of those questions his own way. I'd say that's good, decent brotherhood, right?

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.