These days you’d never be able to tell that Jerry Buss once thought he would have the type of loyalty-based, deep-seeded relationship with Kobe Bryant that he once had with Magic Johnson. What was initially a bond based on idealistic notions of a connection that would transcend Kobe’s NBA playing career has soured to the point where the marquee superstar on the Lakers roster tells reporters that the only way he gets a say in franchise affairs is if he embarrasses management into doing something.

On Christmas Day, Peter Vecsey of the New York Post published a column that went completely and totally unnoticed but spoke volumes about the current mess in L.A.