Smush Parker regrets not squashing beef with Kobe

Smush Parker regrets that he wasn't able to bury the hatchet with former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant before Sunday's fatal helicopter crash.

"I was hoping for an opportunity to really sit down or our paths to cross so we could physically and verbally have a dialogue," Parker told TMZ Sports. "There was a lot of underhanded shots that were fired from both directions. It's unfortunate that I'm not gonna be able to get that opportunity now.

"If I could verbally speak to him, I would verbally apologize to him. Be able to look a man in his eyes and take into account his own faults for an issue, is the greatest thing a man could do for another man. To look a man in his face and say, 'You know what? I was wrong and I'm sorry.'"

Bryant and Parker were teammates for two seasons from 2005-07. Their feud began in 2009 when Parker described playing with Bryant as an "overrated" experience. Bryant later called Parker "the worst" and said the former guard "shouldn't have been in the NBA."

Parker added that he hopes to attend Bryant's funeral and pay respect to his family.