Bryant to leave Lakers / possible Bulls trade???

MaSSaCrE wrote:Kobe's denied all those demands, and has stated he wants to retire a Laker -- which I believe. However, I think Chicago will be on the short list of teams he'd waive his no-trade clause for.

By Mike McGraw
Chicago Bulls
Posted Tuesday, May 29, 2007


Before anyone gets too carried away with Kobe Bryant’s reported trade demand, it should be pointed out that the Lakers star moved quickly to squelch the story.

Bryant suggested in an interview with ESPN Magazine that the Lakers put Jerry West back in charge of personnel moves, and if they don’t, he’d like to be traded.

But Bryant is careful with his public image these days and tried to make it clear that he’s not holding the franchise hostage.

“I would love for (West) to be a part of this,” Bryant said in the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s not something where I demand he comes here. All I can do is offer my thoughts. I love being a Laker. I want to retire a Laker. I want to fix this thing, or at least help any way I can.”

Bryant asks for trade, says Buss masterminded trading O'Neal
Updated: May 30, 2007, 2:49 PM ET

The story lines that have engulfed the Los Angeles Lakers in the last week hit a crescendo Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said he would welcome a trade.

Kobe: "I would like to be traded."

"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant said on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative, you know?"

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Kobe Bryant tells Stephen A. Smith on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York that he wants to be traded from the Lakers -- and that there's nothing the Lakers can do to change his mind.

Who might you offer for Kobe Bryant? Forget your traditional "never trade with a rival" rule for a moment, and let's just brainstorm (I have not worked all these out on the trade machine yet):

* Chicago will be there with a package that stars Luol Deng and several other bits and pieces (like Tyrus Thomas and Ben Wallace perhaps?).
* Isiah Thomas is, I'd imagine, on the phone with James Dolan right now saying please, please, please, pretty please daddy can you buy this for me? What could they offer? How about ALL OF THE KNICKS. Probably not enough, but maybe.
* Here's a crazy idea that would never happen: what about Tracy McGrady? The Lakers get to keep selling tickets and get a player coming into his prime, the Rockets get to re-shuffle and see if the Yao formula works better with a different wingman.
* The Lakers could take their pick of the Boston roster, I'd imagine, although getting Bryant to join a decimated version of the worst team in the league could be tough. (UPDATE: Here's a "for instance" version. The teams might also swap first round picks. The problem here, I'm guessing, is the Bryant might not like it.)
* Portland could offer Brandon Roy and Zach Randolph. Not that they should, or would (it monkeys with the schedule ... when does a Bryant/Oden team peak?), but it would have to be taken seriously.
* Many in Dallas have already written they'd dangle Dirk Nowitzki.
* Kobe Bryant might not mind being traded to the Clippers, who have some nice pieces. But would he like to play for a version of the Clippers that lacked Elton Brand, which is probably what it would take to get him?
* Phoenix is coached by Kobe Bryant's boyhood idol, and I have to believe he'd love to be paired with a great point guard. The Lakers might go for Amare Stoudemire, but it says here that he's a base-year compensation player which makes that tough, so L.A. would have to fall in love with a Shawn Marion (and, perhaps, Boris Diaw and picks?) package. If I were Mitch Kupchak calling, I'd ask for Steve Nash and change.
* Ideas from the comments include a Gilbert Arenas package from Washington. I think there's a decent chance the Lakers and Kobe Bryant balk at this, as neither, in my estimation, would end up winners.
* To Minnesota for Kevin Garnett? (I wish Bryant and Garnett could somehow play together, but I don't see how it could happen. The irony would be that if Garnett is a Laker, where would Bryant rather play? Yet another example why, if you want to win titles, you are better off not having a max contract. Too hard to end up alongside other stars.)
* Denver has those two big stars, but what does that add up to? How do you configure something that the Lakers want? It would have to be Carmelo Anthony-based I would think, but then you're asking Bryant to co-star with Allen Iverson? That's the craziest thing anyone has ever imagined. And hasn't Colorado had enough of Kobe Bryant?

More thoughts to come.

Deal No. 1: Phoenix trades Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Marcus Banks and the rights to Atlanta's 2008 first-rounder to the Lakers for Kobe and Radmanovic.

Deal No. 2: Chicago trades Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Victor Khryapa and the No. 9 pick for Kobe.

Additional notes: This deal works as long as the Bulls renounce P.J. Brown's rights; also, it means the Lakers would receive a mammoth (and appealing) trade exception in the deal.

Comments: This seems like the most natural home for Kobe -- it's a big city; they're a contender in the East; there's enough talent left after the deal to make a run, and even the MJ-Kobe symmetry works nicely -- as well as the best possible haul for the Lakers. The deal could work in a variety of ways: Instead of renouncing Brown's rights, the Bulls could include Andres Nocioni as a sign-and-trade (starting at around $5 million per) and renounce Mike Sweetney's rights instead of Brown's. If they wanted to get even more creative, they could make it Deng, Gordon, P.J. Brown (sign and trade -- one year, $10 million) and the No. 9 for Kobe. They could try to substitute Ty Thomas and a future No. 1 for Deng. Etc., etc., etc.

Two big obstacles here:

(A) Would the Bulls ever give up Deng? The Lakers would have to get him back in a Kobe deal, right? I feel like he's become slightly overrated over the past season -- he's definitely a potential All-Star; he definitely could become the second-best player on a championship-caliber team, but I don't see him getting much better than he is right now. Do you ever see him scoring 27-28 a game? Do you ever see him being the crunch-time scorer on a great team? If you could land Kobe and keep Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace, Ty Thomas, Chris Duhon and Thabo Sefolosha, then sign one more veteran to help them out, that's a potential 2008 title team. Isn't the whole point to win a title?

(B) Would John Paxson ever roll the dice with a mega-deal for someone like Kobe? He seems to be happier stockpiling young assets and waiting for one of these other teams to offer him the likes of KG or Jermaine O'Neal for 30 cents on the dollar. By making a Kobe deal, Paxson would be shoving his chips to the middle of the table ... something he's been completely unwilling to do. We will see.

Deal No. 3: Atlanta trades Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Ty Lue and the No. 11 pick for Kobe and Radmanovic.

Deal No. 4: Dallas trades Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse (sign-and-trade starting at $7.3 million per) for Kobe.

Deal No. 5: Boston trades Theo Ratliff (expires in 2008), Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, the No. 5 pick and their rights to Minny's future No. 1 for Kobe.

Deal No. 6: Philadelphia trades Andre Igoudala, Sam Dalembert, Kevin Ollie (expiring contract in 2008), the No. 12 pick and the No. 21 pick for Kobe.

Deal No. 7: Houston trades Tracy McGrady, Bobby Sura (expiring contract in 2008) and the No. 26 pick for Kobe and Vladimir Radmanovic.