Shaq is right.

And Kobe is wrong.

	Kobe and Shaq put their differences aside last season ... and won a title.

And Kobe is right.

And Shaq is wrong.

And this is why Phil Jackson will earn his $6 million this season.

He either alienates the reigning league and Finals MVP, or he alienates the game's best player. Understand, there is no longer any debate about this. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league, and anybody who says different is nuts.

Here's how serious this is: I know for a fact that last month, Bryant contacted a team and begged the team to trade for him. (All I can say about the team is that it isn't very good.) Kobe told the team he wanted to lead the league in scoring and win MVP honors and couldn't do it in L.A. The team said they'd love to make the Lakers an offer for Kobe, but didn't have anything the Lakers would want. When you think of it, who does?

	“	How can you have your best player only be able to play 46 minutes? Shaq's about 20 pounds heavy. Everyone can see it. That's why Phil has to play him all those minutes, to keep him in shape. ”
		— Unnamed NBA player who has won titles

Here's why Shaq is right: The Lakers won a title last season when he got the first look (and the second look, and the third). And Kobe can't complain about the team's drop in defense when he's shooting jumpers all game long, creating easy fast-break opportunities for the opposition when he misses long.

"Kobe's the reason their defense is down this season," says a multiple-time all-star and former Olympian. "Shaq can't be getting back on defense when Kobe's shooting all those long shots. Bleep Kobe."

Here's why Kobe is right: he's earned the right to be the go-to guy. He worked last summer on what was already a breathtaking game. He is now unstoppable inside the three-point line. He is now credible beyond the three-point line. He is stronger and more relentless. He shoots 80 from the foul line, and the other guy doesn't, and so what choice do the Lakers have, really, in the fourth quarter?

Here's why Shaq is wrong: Even though his numbers are comparable to those he posted last season (first in scoring last season, seventh this season entering play Thursday; second in boards last season, second this season; third in blocks last season, second this season), he has not been the search-and-destroy presence he was in 1999-2000. And Shaq's clanging from the line can't be laughed away, or explained away. It affects how the Lakers play.

	ALDRIDGE'S RANKINGS
	THE TOP 10 1. Portland 2. Sacramento 3. Philadelphia 4. Dallas 5. L.A. Lakers 6. San Antonio 7. New York 8. Charlotte 9. Utah 10. Phoenix THE BOTTOM FIVE 25. Boston 26. Vancouver 27. Golden State 28. Chicago 29. Washington

"How can you have your best player only be able to play 46 minutes?," asks someone who's won multiple titles over the last decade. "Shaq's about 20 pounds heavy. Everyone can see it. That's why Phil has to play him all those minutes, to keep him in shape."

But here's why Kobe is wrong: He's 22, and he's made himself into the game's premier player, and everyone knows it. But he doesn't have to tell everyone.

"Michael (Jordan) understood how to do it," says Mr. Multiple Title, and he should know, because he won those titles with MJ. "Michael knew he just had to get eight points a quarter. He figured he'd get at least two baskets per quarter. Then he'd get two steals a game, so there's four more. And then he figured he'd get to the line at least four times a half. And then, at the end of the game, who was gonna get the ball? Kobe could do the same thing. He could lead the league in scoring and Shaq would have no idea how he was doing it."

Believe me, none of the other 28 coaches in the league feel sorry for Jackson. But no coach has ever had to make such an untenable relationship of two players with such titanic skills and youth work.

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