I would never talk about my salary at a new job because it's tacky and insecure. That being said, my decision whether to take the job would be based upon numerous factors such as the city, the job, the cost of living, etc. Some overseas cities could be in the list, many U.S. cities would not. The 2X salary would be down the list. But maybe that's just me.
First of all, I find it hard to believe that if someone tripled your salary, you would simply keep it to yourself. You'd be excited; you'd mention it to your close friends. And even if you didn't initially mention it, it would come up when they found out you were moving. Maybe you wouldn't give an exact number, but you'd make a general comment about it.
Second of all, I didn't say the money would be the sole reason anyone would take a job. But, as people have pointed out, we're talking about a player who spent the first, what? 11 years of his life? abroad. This isn't someone who never saw a foreign country until NBA preseason; Kobe -- if I recall correctly -- speaks fluent Italian. Way to hold an American bias, acting like the U.S. is the only place worthy of plying a trade.
I'm not required to list every U.S. athlete who plays overseas to point out Mamba's BS. To quote the Mamba, "Do you know anybody who would turn down $50M a year?" Well, yes, I would hope a lot of people would if they were already making $20M a year and were in a good situation. There is a thing called a hometown discount, and it's worked out for some people such as Tom Brady. But if Mamba has to be the highest-paid player, go for it.
B.S. you don't have to list it. You haven't even listed ONE. You're calling Kobe unpatriotic because of this, but I challenge you to point out ONE post anywhere else on this forum in which you've ripped Wade or Lebron for doing the same thing. Or, for that matter, ripped Tim Howard, Kasey Keller, Michael Parkhurst, etc. for representing/having represented Team USA while playing abroad. And, hey, you don't seem to be too p---ed about a player like Yao coming to the NBA and then playing for China; how about a post calling Yao unpatriotic as well?
Plus, your comment about a "hometown discount" is by far the most ridiculous thing you've written in this thread, and, buddy, you've written quite a few that qualify. Tom Brady turned down maybe 8-10 million more a year over 6 years as a "hometown discount", but that was approximately 6-8% of the salary cap at the time. Please name me one NBA player who has taken any more than a couple of million less as a "hometown discount." You can't, and you know it.
Frankly, the more you try to justify your absurd comments, the more ridiculous you and they look. Why don't you just concede that you made a comment without thinking it through and that it was silly to make? I mean, you would NEVER make these comments about Pierce or KG or Lebron or Wade. It's only BS to you because it's Kobe saying them. Hell, if we gave you the same quote and didn't attribute it to any specific NBA player, you'd have let it slide with no issue whatsoever.