Lakers owner Jerry Buss told reporters Thursday that he would consider trading Kobe Bryant and said he must behave in a business-like manner. To Buss, this means being open to all offers and considering anything where he thought he could get equal value - Yeah right!

I'm sure previous owner Jack Kent Cooke was all ears when Hall of Famers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor played out their careers on the Lakers. After Kent Cooke (also an astute business man) did his listening, he also probably laughed so uncontrollably he was not in a condition to answer the owner or general manager that was speaking to him.

Dr. Buss must be consulting with the very young ladies he has been dating, because it is beyond my imagination that trading Kobe is still being discussed. Besides, what equal value (LeBron? Duncan?) could he be talking about?

Players would think twice about joining a mediocre team with a disintegrating management team that let go of Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal, Derrick Fisher (now back), and traded Caron Butler for disappointing, disappearing center Kwame Brown.

When Jerry West was our GM, you had players that took less pay to come to the southland. Shaquille was right, this owner has lost his touch. Not only would it be silly to trade Kobe for three other players, but I would do the reverse. I actually would trade four for one: our front office, Mr. Buss and kids, plus Mitch Kupchak, to get Jerry West back. How do you establish value? How do you fill the seats? What is a losing team worth vs. a winning team? Loudmouth Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows (even though Nash escaped). His winning team is worth vastly more than the sorry team he bought.

Value comes from four elements: 1) the NBA franchise, 2) players worth watching, 3) enthusiastic fans, and 4) advertising revenue. Without 2, you lose 3; without 3, you lose 4; and without 4 -- your franchise is just plain lost!

More than anything, Los Angeles misses Jerry West -- not just the best basketball mind you could get, but the glue that allowed the immature Buss family to do 'their thing' because someone hard-working, passionate and smart was running the store. The guy that not only kept the front office together but was the peacemaker between Shaq and Kobe.

Long before they won their three championships, West engineered the Show-time Lakers that at one point had FIVE (5) overall No.1 picks on one team! Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Bob Mc Adoo and Michael Thompson were each first picks in the years they were drafted. Add Michael Cooper, defensive player of the year (and best, according to Larry Bird), and you have a prime example of West's genius.

So now the wrong Jerry (Buss not West) is yapping publicly (and stupidly) about being open to trading Kobe. This is all a shining example of why we in the investment world are reminded once more that good senior mangement is one of the most important elements to consider before investing in a company ... or even season tickets.

To find potential opportunities and verify my track record, read Chasing Value or Serious Money.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.