<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Over a late breakfast Monday morning, I couldn't remember Todd Fuller's name. I tried, because someone asked. I remembered the first name, his college (North Carolina State), his blocky body, that he was the 11th pick in the 1996 draft, and that Kobe Bryant went two slots lower. Of course, the conversation started with Bryant and moved into the wistful what-ifs that typically follow his name in these parts. But when the Lakers pulled into Oakland for Monday night's game against the Warriors, it seemed appropriate to retire the sighs and speculation, to declare that June 26, 1996, is no longer a date that lives in infamy for Warriors fans. The Fuller pick remains galling, for those who can remember his name. But the failure to obtain Bryant, while still distressing, doesn't rate as a full- blown catastrophe. He's an amazing athlete, a thrill to watch, but more and more, he appears to be the ego that ate a dynasty. Even if that's not true, even if Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal played equally powerful roles in the big breakup, the Lakers' dreadful season calls into question Bryant's ability to carry a team. True, he has been hurt, and he still needs time to adjust to his new teammates. But based on what we've seen this season, does anyone truly believe that Bryant will ever take a team to a new level by himself, that he can weave a decent sidekick into another Scottie Pippen or generate the kind of chemistry the Detroit Pistons had last season? A year away from a Finals appearance, his Lakers are 34-47 with a game to go. After Monday's 126-99 loss to the Warriors, Bryant said he hadn't been on a losing team since his freshman year at Lower Merion High School. "4-20. Oh, we sucked,'' he said, starting to smile for the first time in the interview. "Then we were state champions two years later.'' </div> Source
