"Is Kobe Bryant guilty of premature posturing?

At the very least, he gets the bad timing award for telling the worldwide media, during a USA Basketball news conference Friday in Beijing, that he would consider signing with a pro team in Italy if offered a $50 million salary when he becomes a free agent next summer.

"I'd go. I'd probably go," Bryant said when asked by a Boston Globe reporter if he would think about playing in Europe, as Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James earlier hinted he would do for an outrageous contract. "Like Milan or something like that, where I grew up ...

"Do you know any reasonable person that would turn down 50 (million dollars)?"

The Lakers brass - especially owner Jerry Buss - had to be thrilled to hear that.

Sure, Bryant spent much of his childhood in Italy while his father, Joe, was playing professionally overseas, but the Olympics are not the time to talk about money or to fuel such speculation."