It isn't about Phil, although I'll bet anything if you ask him that he'll say he expects to win now.
Kobe is understandably frustrated. He is at the top of his game as a player, in his prime. He knows he could be on a team competing in June. He would rather stay a Laker and have that happen, but (and this is the point) they both have to be realistic about what is possible.
Bottom line- it would be far quicker and better for Kobe's sake if he were to leave. The Lakers are nowhere near good enough to challenge the Spurs as they are. Chances are extremely low that they will be good enough next year without a blockbuster trade that Buss has pretty much ruled out.
Incidentally, Kobe's interests and the fans are a little different. Kobe wants to win right now and the fans want to win all the time and as soon as possible. Chances are the Lakers could build around Kobe if they were better at selecting players, so it would be to their benefit to hold onto him.
But if you're Kobe, realistically you want to be traded to a team that's close enough that he could put them over the top, but not the Spurs - a team that could beat the Spurs next season.
The question is, which teams are close enough to the Spurs that the addition of Kobe would put them into at least the Conference finals? And, can Kobe force a deal sooner by being a pest?