Any chance for a shift in power or at least a balance. It goes in cycles. That could change next year, though as Chris Webber will probably go to the Knicks. Zo will come back next year and so will Grant Hill and things will be a lot more even. Hakeem has started to play well lately, but he isn't the long term solution.
Centers are hard to come by.
That's a really good question. Sure it does. They're away from their families and on the road so much with so much time to kill, they often get into a bit of trouble. You can't trade Kobe because he might be the best player in the league, in spite of his current problems. He's only 22.