Possibly, but I'm one to think that Sterling would reach into his pocket with someone like Bryant in his grasp. He's trying to do it right now with Blake Griffin (he's going to do whatever he can to keep him, DeAndre and Gordon together), and honestly, when was the last time he really had a superstar on this team? I'd say never, since he purchased them in the early 80s. Other than Blake, Elton Brand may be the best player he's ever had, and in the franchise's history (even before Sterling), McAdoo is their only All-NBA First Team player. Guys like Odom (who Sterling thought was going to be the next Garnett, his words if I recall correctly) and Brand were not going to save a franchise that basically didn't give them much support as far as teammate quality goes. Elton was never going to be a franchise player, and Odom could never find a true position to play in a starting five. Of course, I'm not going to sit here and say Kobe would bring championships to "the dark side of LA" or anything. I doubt they would win it all even with him (or any single superstar over the years) on that roster, all because of the lack of planning and the bad decision-making (as you said). But, I can't compare it to LeBron's situation, especially if Kobe left the Lakers for the Clippers, because quite frankly, LeBron promised Cleveland a championship in 2006 or 2007, led them to believe he was going to stay in 2010, and Kobe would be leaving the Lakers with three rings and giving us an idea that he was headed out the door (basically stating it).