In the midst of the rumors surrounding LakerLand and New Orleans Pelicans' talisman Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant spoke his thoughts on a player of his caliber requesting a trade, as he did last Friday.

The purple and gold icon played 20 illustrious years with the same franchise, a record recently broken by Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks — yet the days of long-player loyalty are largely gone.

“Players, they have the freedom to speak their peace,” said Bryant. “Listen, management certainly does that. I've been very lucky to play with the Lakers, a class organization who takes care of their players — but a lot of players aren't that fortunate. At the first sign that (teams) can improve themselves they will cast you aside.

You can't just have it one way and say okay, players need to be loyal to their organizations, but not demand the same thing all the other way around. So until that day happens, players should definitely have the opportunity to speak up and control their own fate. It's just the way it should be, it's fair.”

Davis is the latest to be criticized and at times villainized for his decision to seek out a trade from the Pelicans, but the team has been underachieving for a while and unable to get him the help necessary to contend.

The Brow was awfully patient with the Pelicans and gave them every chance possible to turn into a contender, even taking part in recruiting the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Jrue Holiday, Rajon Rondo and Julius Randle — but none of them proved enough of a supporting cast to vault this team into a powerhouse, hence his decision to part for greener pastures.