Would Jerry Buss really give away the basketball star that rakes in so much money for his franchise? Money that allows him to get drunk and speed around with hookers? I think not.

Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss remained pretty quiet this summer as Kobe Bryant through his hissy fit this summer. Angry with the way the teams front office dropped the ball on surrounding him with proper talent to win, Kobe wanted to shake the spot. Kobe eventually went on to eat his words and voiced a commitment to stay in L.A., but now Jerry Buss has expressed a willingness to ship Kobe away.

“I would certainly listen,” Buss told three Los Angeles-area beat writers covering training camp in Honolulu on Wednesday. “At any time, I think you have to do that with anybody. It’s just part of the game, to listen to somebody who has a dissatisfied player that you think is going to fit.

“You can’t keep too many loyalties. You’ve got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it.”

“I tend not to think in basketball terms that many years down the road because things change so dramatically, but he could test the waters at that point,” Buss said. “If he still is in that frame of mind, then hopefully we can do a sign-and-trade and get some comparable talent. I would like to think that we win between now and then so it doesn’t come up.”

I don’t really think he wants to trade Kobe, it seems like more of a pissing contest between the two men. Kobe puffed his chest out a few months ago, now Buss is gonna do the same to show Kobe he isn’t scared. If L.A. can get off to a quick start, this will be forgotten.