Did kobe take too much or are we whining too much?

I'm still hearing talk among the media in an accusatory tone about the contract extension Kobe Bryant signed last season, which spans two years and is worth $48,5 million. 

And, as the Lakers were in Dallas to take on the Mavericks the talk arose once again, because of  hometown star Dirk Nowitzki's decision to take significantly less money than did Bryant in order to allow his team to field a competitive roster and the Lakers' continuing struggles.

Nowitzki, who has brought his owner Mark Cuban a Larry O'Brien trophy, signed a three-year extension valued at $25 million during the prior summer. The Mavericks were able to make acquisitions, such as bringing in Chandler Parsons and bringing back Tyson Chandler, who was a crucial part of the 2011 championship team.

"If you look at our ticket prices, how many times have we lowered them?" Cuban asked ESPN.com. "How many times have we paid the luxury tax? How many times have I told you guys 'I don't care if we lose money, I want to win? You know my motivations and I think Dirk's motivations are similar."

So, does that mean Bryant's motivation isn't similar? Does that mean Bryant doesn't care whether the Lakers are contenders, only that he receives a fat pay day? Let's slow down for a second here. I highly doubt that Bryant doesn't care about winning.

Even with his annual salary the Lakers had the cap space to field a competitive team. They tried signing high priced superstars to play alongside Bryant and they deferred because they simply had better options elsewhere.

So Bryant didn't obstruct the Lakers' chances of being good because he commanded and accepted his contract.

Still, many in the media and fans abroad have no problem pointing the finger at Bryant and blaming him for the Lakers' woes so far this season. But, it is basically a fabricated sense of perspective and management are the ones that should take blame if any responsibility must be claimed. 

Or, we could just accept the fact that things just didn't roll the Lakers' way this year and that just proves that perfection in this world isn't guaranteed.They lost their first-round pick early for the year, they have a new coach and a new roster aside three players from the previous year. 

Besides, for Bryant this is a business. The owners just want to milk their players for as much as they can, so why should the players mirror that mentality? It's only capitalism. 

This is what Bryant told ESPN regarding his decision to take $45.5 million for two years, which I guess is filling the salary cap so much that the Lakers can't sign a high profile player. Which is complete bullshit.

"I think you need to look at the business of basketball," Bryant told ESPN.com. "I think for a lot of writers, for a lot of fans, they have a very hard time distinguishing the two. This is a business and you have to look at individuals and what they generate and the market that they're generating revenue in. 

"And you can't separate those. People have a hard time separating that stuff. So, did I take a discount?  Yeah. Did I take as big a discount as some of you fans would want me to? No. Is it a big enough discount to help us be a contender? Yeah. "

Enough said. The Lakers' annual revenue is $295 million and are valued at $1.35 billion according to forbes.com. The Mavericks' annual revenue is $162 million and are valued at $765 million.