[Stardust]

DENVER -- Kobe Bryant clarified his remarks that Denver Nuggets fans are "stupid" for booing Carmelo Anthony over his trade stance.

The Lakers were in town to play the Nuggets, and after shootaround Friday, Bryant was asked again about Anthony getting roundly booed following his 35-point performance against Oklahoma City 48 hours earlier.

"I said they were idiots for booing," Bryant recounted.

“
It's stupid. You don't boo him. It's silly. You boo him the first time, let him know how you feel and get over it.
”

Reminded that a day earlier he had characterized those frustrated fans as "stupid" for booing their own superstar, Bryant replied, "Stupid and idiots are synonymous."

Idiots might be harsher.

"I don't know," Bryant said. "They're close. They're cousins."

Either way, the Los Angeles Lakers star who regularly gets booed at Pepsi Center himself, contends Anthony -- his teammate on the 2008 Olympic gold-medal team -- doesn't deserve similar treatment from his home crowd.

Bryant quieted the Nuggets fans his own way, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the decisive third quarter as the Lakers won 107-97.

He suggested that if Anthony were at all waffling about his desire for a trade, the Nuggets fans' hostile treatment just might push him out of Denver.

"Melo's a good friend of mine and it's the truth," Bryant said after the game. "It's stupid. You don't boo him. It's silly. You boo him the first time, let him know how you feel and get over it."

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nb...id=6047389

[Aslan]

Kobe dead on as usual.

[Spud6]

Respectful move from Kobe!