Honestly, what answer would be acceptable to some folks here? "Well, it's ok to represent my country and try to get the US back on top of the international basketball world, but I really don't care as much about this as winning another title. But, I promise to give it a solid 75% as long as I'm out there."
He's not a Laker right now, he's a member of the US national team; this is where his priorities should be at the moment, and this is where he's saying they are. There's lots of valid knocks on Kobe, but not being a world-class competitor isn't one of them.
People saying this is "obviously phony" are just reminding me of the people who thought Pierce's knee injury and KG's celebration were "obviously phony". I'm far from super-patriotic, but I'll sure be rooting for the guy and everyone else on the squad this August. When he's back in a Laker jersey, he should be focused on an NBA title again, just as I'll be back to being focused on thinking of him as a self-centered prick. For now, I wish him the best.