Kobe Bryant's Ex-Teammate Smush Parker Regrets Beef

Ex-Laker Smush Parker knows exactly what he would have said if he and Kobe Bryant ever crossed paths again -- but now that he can't, it's become a huge regret.

Parker, the starting point guard for the Lakers for from 2005 to 2007, told us ... he wishes they could have officially buried the hatchet, man-to-man, over having said playing with Kobe is an "overrated" experience.

The 2009 interview obviously caused a huge rift, with Kobe eventually responding ... "I tell Steve [Nash], you won MVP, but I was playing with Smush Parker. [Nash's] playing with [Leandro] Barbosa. I'm playing with Smush and Kwame [Brown]. My goodness."

Kobe added, "Smush Parker was the worst. He shouldn't have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. We let him walk on."

Despite the shots fired -- in both directions -- it's obvious Smush is now hurting over Kobe's death. He's even more upset about never getting the chance to square things right with his former teammate face-to-face. Smush says he did apologize in a letter to Kobe, who never responded.

In retrospect, Smush says he now looks back on his 2 seasons with Kobe with pride because they shared great moments -- like the 2006 home playoff game against the Phoenix Suns, when Smush hit a 3-pointer to bring the Lakers within 2.

On the next play, Smush stole a pass and fed it to Kobe, who hit a layup to force overtime. Kobe would eventually hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer to force a Game 7.

Earlier that season, Smush witnessed history on the court when Kobe torched the Toronto Raptors for 81 points.