Kobe gone wild on Lakers' GM Kupchak, Bynum

Alert the paparazzi. If Kobe Bryant's trade-me, trade-me-not public drama didn't already resemble something out of the Paris Hilton playbook, now there's a scandalous video tape of Bryant on the market.

The latest twist in the saga is a 24-second, profanity-peppered clip in which Bryant reportedly reiterates his desire to be traded and derides Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and center Andrew Bynum.

Want to see it? Well then, get ready to hand over two dollars to some guys on the Internet.

The video, apparently captured by a group of friends who happened upon Bryant outside a Newport Beach shopping center, represents the latest evolution of celebrity exploitation and Bryant fascination.

In the clip, reportedly culled from a 15-minute conversation in late May or early June - shortly after Bryant publicly expressed his frustration with the Los Angeles Lakers and his trade demand - Bryant speaks freely on camera and mocks the Los Angeles Lakers' decision not to trade Andrew Bynum for a player such as Jason Kidd.

Videos of starlets in all sorts of compromising positions have become prevalent on the Internet in recent years, but sports figures seem to have been immune to this type of pay-per-view sensationalism.

The

Bryant video already has attracted widespread attention, even though only a brief snippet of it is available online. Its creators have chosen to remain anonymous but have dubbed themselves "The Kobe Bryant Video Guys" and promise to make the video public after they have pre-sold 500,000 copies online.

Why that number? They claim a Laker fan, seeking to keep the video private, has offered them $100,000 for its rights, so they want to ensure they will make at least that much money by making it public.

"I personally think we're going to make more money this way," a purported spokesman for the group told The New York Times. "I think people want to see it."

According to the spokesman, the video will be available to its purchasers by the end of the week, even though the video is not yet available for purchase on the Web site established by the videographers.

Certainly, the video represents the most bold attempt to make money off the Bryant drama, but not the only one. Print and electronic media have fanned the Bryant flames for weeks and Bryant has been posting statements on his personal website, on which one can buy an autographed pair of his shoes for $1,500.

The video is, however, a turn toward the sensational, and its creators have been shopping it to news organizations to no avail. In it Bryant, imminently recognizable in sunglasses and a red shirt, seemingly deepens the rift between himself and the Los Angeles Lakers. It's 24 seconds of controversy for two dollars.

"It's not the 'camera Kobe Bryant,"' the spokesman told The New York Times

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