On Kobe's maturation, a team in Las Vegas, more

	Thanks to Kobe Bryant's support, Lamar Odom is having his best year since arriving in L.A. Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
	MAILBAG Ian Thomsen will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. Is Kobe Bryant a good teammate?

ANSWER: Nothing in basketball is more important than the tragedy Lamar Odom's family endured last June. His son Jayden, seven months old, died of sudden infant death syndrome. As Odom speaks of his loss, he is reminded of the strength he received from family and friends. "One of the first calls I got was from Kobe,'' he says.

Odom wondered if he could or should play for the Lakers this season. When he decided to return to the team, he committed fully, and to a higher degree than he has ever realized during his eight-year career. For that he thanks, in no small part, Kobe Bryant.

Though Odom isn't participating in the All-Star Game this weekend, his teammate is in Las Vegas. For the first time in years, Bryant comes in peace. He is defined not by his divorce from Shaquille O'Neal but by his complementary partnership with 6-10 Odom, who has been having his best year (16.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists) since he arrived in Los Angeles in the 2004 Shaq trade.

Like so many Lakers, Odom used to be intimidated by Bryant. "When I first tried to get them to play together, sometimes Lamar would stand and watch Kobe play,'' says Lakers coach Phil Jackson. "Not stand only, but allow Kobe to take over more and more of the game -- and Lamar would facilitate it, because he's not a guy that would intrude in any spot. And then occasionally Lamar would feel like, 'I'd better do something because I'm going to be lost out here,' and then do something that wasn't really part of his game. Then he'd pop off a three-point shot just to have a feel for it.''

Bryant noticed the same passive and erratic play, that Odom wasn't sure how to fit in without intruding. "I think the turning point for him was last year during a timeout,'' says Bryant. "He had missed a couple of shots and he was reluctant to shoot it. I looked at him and said, 'Lamar, what do you want to do? Do you want to be a good player? Or do you want to be one of the great players?' And he just kind of looked at me, like, all right, I understand. OK, lets go.

"Then he started tasting success, started tasting blood" -- which is a telling phrase from Bryant, whose bloodthirstiness and ambition have blinded him from relating to teammates -- "He came back this season and he was absolutely ready. You see now his focus is different, his swagger is different, he's more vocal.''

The relationship of the Lakers' two stars is beginning to work because Odom has learned to see it Bryant's way. He relates to Kobe, much as Scottie Pippen toughened his approach per the example of Michael Jordan. "It's been a learning experience,'' Odom says. "Kobe competes at a high level every night, and the only thing he asks of you is to do the same. Of course he's demanding, but when you're playing with a player like him, you have a championship in mind. To win a championship is confrontational -- that's the word I try to use around here with this team, that we have to be confrontational. Kobe is great at accepting confrontation, in accepting each challenge.''

That Odom has excelled professionally in a year of deep personal grief says much about him. This no longer is the player who was seen as immature and aimless during his initial four seasons with the Clippers. He has adapted to the triangle offense as well as to the league's most dominating personality, and it is bringing out the best in him.

"I've learned to compete at a high level,'' says Odom, who credits Bryant for demanding that he play harder than ever. "Some players that are considered good or great don't do that, but the way Kobe meets confrontations to me is exceptional. And only a small percentage of athletes are willing to do that.''

2. Do all of the owners like the idea of eventually moving a team to Las Vegas?

ANSWER: Not exactly. Michael Heisley, owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, has a unique point of view on the subject.

"When I was moving the team from Vancouver,'' said Heisley, referring to his team's 2001 relocation to Memphis, "The first place I wanted to go was Las Vegas. And the league turned it down.''

Heisley met with Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, who was obviously in favor of the Grizzlies moving to Nevada despite the wishes of commissioner David Stern. Heisley wanted his fellow owners to vote on his relocation to Las Vegas. "He came here and he wanted to put it on the table and have a vote of the owners over whether he could move a team here over Stern's objections,'' recalled Goodman. "I couldn't even tell him at that point in time that I could have gotten the old 'UNLV rule' in place so that the argument could have been made [as a compromise on sports betting]. Time was of the essence, and that opportunity disappeared.