Boo him. Wonder about both the nasty accusations and the nasty tactics of his legal team. Shake your head tonight when he dunks and preens as alleged rapists rarely do in public.

If Kobe really wants to leave, where would he go?

But also understand how things will change if Kobe Bryant is acquitted. Then franchises will line up this summer to see if he really wants to leave the Lakers.

One will be from South Texas.

And this will be nothing new.

Going by his previous game, nothing appears new to Bryant, either. He threw in 31 points to beat Milwaukee on Tuesday night, including the shots that mattered.

Before the game he also acted like the Kobe of old. Then, he told the media about something that happened in his Wisconsin hotel room far different than anything that happened in a Colorado one last summer. From a laptop computer he had on the road and a Web cam hooked up at home, he saw his 9-month-old daughter take her first steps.

"You can see clear as day, she took two or three steps," he said, beaming. "Strong kid, man. Strong kid."

A year ago that would have fit Kobe's image. Today it comes across as posturing.

This is the taint that won't go away, even if Bryant is found not guilty. And some in the league have reacted strongly to that. Magic owner Rich DeVos will reportedly void any Tracy McGrady sign-and-trade possibility because of the character issue.

The graphic details of the trial will certainly make a few others turn away. But adultery has never been a deal-breaker in the NBA. If that's all Bryant is guilty of, and if he opts out of his contract this summer as he says he will, other teams will try to opt in.

Memphis has been tagged a favorite, since Jerry West is one of the few humans known to communicate well with Bryant. But Kobe becoming a Grizz sounds like part of a plea bargain.

Bryant could also be heading to the Clippers, and a newspaper report relayed such possibilities. One of Bryant's representatives was overheard telling Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy to "save that cap space."

Neither move makes much sense. Bryant with either Memphis or the Clips would be like McGrady with the Magic. First round and out.

But if Bryant really wants to leave the Lakers — and if he really wants to show up his "fat and out of shape" friend — there will be an alternative that rarely gets mentioned.

Tim Duncan, when not limping, could win a few games with Bryant.

Duncan has won a few games against Bryant, too, twice beating the Lakers on the way to championships. Duncan also is younger than Shaquille O'Neal, always a plus, and he has the criteria that Bryant apparently values.

After all, Bryant said if he left the Lakers it would be because of O'Neal's "childlike selfishness and jealousy." Are there any such qualities in Duncan?

Bryant would have to accept a pay cut, but the Spurs can offer about as much as any franchise can besides the Lakers. If the Spurs squeeze Manu Ginobili into the mid-level exception slot — something that is very doable — the Spurs could begin Bryant's salary at about $12 million.

Unlike Jason Kidd, Bryant would fill a need. Add him to Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker, and aren't the Spurs set through the decade?

Some San Antonians will be against that. Many won't remember 1991.

Then a backup guard named David Wingate was in Kobelike trouble. He faced rape charges in two states at the same time, and there is little that posturing can do for that.

Wingate was eventually cleared of both charges, but there was an asterisk. The 17-year-old alleged victim in Maryland refused to testify and asked that the rape and assault charges be dropped. According to reports, she would not, however, retract or change her story.

That angered the district attorney's office there, explaining then that she "simply refuses to pursue justice." As a result, Wingate's case was put on "stet docket." Had he been charged with another crime within a year, the case would have been reopened.

Under these conditions Wingate returned to the Spurs. Back in uniform, joining David Robinson on the court, did fans boo? Wonder? Shake their heads?

San Antonio greeted Wingate with a rousing ovation.

Close

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