I agree. On the other hand, talent is talent. And getting Kobe means an increase in talent for a team that won 67 games last year. I know Howard is an incredibly talented "glue" guy. But Kobe is probably the best player in the NBA. I'm incredibly surprised at the whole notion that the Mavs are losing their bench. As mentioned, they only lose one freaking player in the rotation. How can you go from arguably the deepest team in the NBA, pick up solid vets in the offseason, lose ONE guy in a trade, and now suddenly have no bench? I don't think it takes a math wiz to see how ridiculous this notion is.
He will be traded, but I would be seriously shocked (and pissed) if the Mavs manage to get him for so little in return. I simply refuse to believe that the Bulls or the Knicks don't have more to offer in return. Heck, Isiah would trade his entire roster for Kobe if he could, and take on even more salary.
LOL. So you are saying Dirk isnt much better Odom? The Lakers were able to take the Suns to a 7th game two years ago because they were able to abuse the Suns inside; they had no Amare. They were also fortunate to have Kwame Brown have a breakout series. I am by no ways a huge Dallas fan, but last I checked Harris IS their starting PG, while Terry is now their 2 guard. So you are telling me a line of: Harris Terry Howard Dirk Damp is better than: Harris Kobe Jones/George Dirk Damp The first group collectively were able to finish with the BEST record in the NBA, so you think that the new group, consisting of Kobe, wont be any better? LOL They still have off their bench: Stack, Jones, Diop, Hassel, Again, they are LOSING ONE PLAYER. How do they going from having one of the deepest team in the NBA last year to having NO DEPTH and NO BENCH by losing ONE PLAYER? Someone please explain this to me? As for the Rockets last year...... What kind of adjustments would you of made if you were JVG? Put Yao on Okur? Played Luther more when he sucked? Take a look at our team last year, when we clicked we were a very good team, but when Yao or Tmac has an off game we sucked. Utah had the ability to adjust because they had more talent, and we didnt. Its simple as that.
The magnifying glass on Mitch and Buss is twice as big this time around. No way the Mavs get Kobe for so cheap.
this better not happen. i think the bulls would be a better fit, i don't want to see Kobe in our division!
So the Lakers are going to trade Kobe within the West and won't get a bonafied star back? I doubt it, the 2 first rounders don't mean crap as they are basically 2nd rounders. If I'm the Lakers and really want to trade Kobe, the only team I would talk to is the Bulls. First, they're in the East. Second, they have a lot of young talent (Gordon, Hinrich, Deng, Thomas, Nocioni) that would make a nice package.
kobe is the only nba player who has a 'no trade' clause in his contract. if he only wants to play for either the mavs or the bulls, the lakers are screwed. if they don't make that trade, then he opts out of his contract after next season. this is why no team should ever give a player a 'no trade' clause in the contract.
why are you afraid of kobe playing for the mavs? if the rockets are as good as we think they are, who cares. i want to see a heated rivalry rekindled with the spurs and mavs.
The Lakers could simply not trade him then. Kobe's 29, has 11 seasons on his knees, and has most likely reached the peak of his prime. In no way am I suggesting that his time is running out, but I think he realizes that he doesn't have multiple years to fool around if he wants a Shaqless ring. Sitting out wouldn't get him there. Opening up his no-trade stance to send him to more potential destinations would help him out. I have to believe he goes East, and Chicago makes the most sense for a million reasons. If he goes to Dallas, I'm not so sure I'm terrified. We've shown we can beat his one-man act, and Nowitzki probably can't do much without the ball being fed to him. Evan
Did I miss something? I thought the OP said the rumor was Terry AND Howard. thats two players using my math. also, salary cap seems to be an issue here....I havent checked(and dont intend to) but do Terry and Howard even make the same amount Kobe does? Kobe is 16M+ correct?
http://www.latimes.com/sports/baske...n?coll=la-headlines-sports&ctrack=1&cset=true Bryant-Buss tension goes from drama to farce The star player's pout, triggered by the owner's recent openness about their summer discussions, has the relationship near the point of no return, again. October 17, 2007 The end is near, again. The end of Lakerdom as we know it is near after their latest crisis when Kobe Bryant cleaned out his locker. . . . Oh, he didn't? Never mind. The grapevine almost went up in flames Tuesday when Bryant missed practice for the third day in a row amid reports that he had packed up his stuff and gone home. Actually, someone got excited and told AM 570's "Loose Cannons." After that, it was like that broadcast describing the Martians landing in Grovers Mill, N.J. ESPN Radio had already called to ask if I would go on the air and bloviate about it by the time we found out it hadn't happened. So the Lakers survive to fight another day! Or not. If this isn't over already, they can't do this stuff any more. It's not like the days when Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal weren't going anywhere even if O'Neal tried to get Bryant traded for Jason Kidd and Bryant tried to get Michael Jordan who was running the Washington Wizards to get him somehow. Now longshots, the Lakers can't afford snits -- like this one, now in Day 7 as events began to tumble out of control. So Jerry Buss had better sit down with Bryant, fast. It's true, Buss has been a little detached. (Remember his eleventh-hour plea that persuaded Bryant to stay? He placed it from vacation in Croatia.) So Buss had better re-attach himself before his season and his last chance to keep Bryant goes down the drain before opening night. Hurt though Buss may have been by Bryant's slurs -- which would explain the owner's candor -- he couldn't have meant to offend Bryant last week. In fact, Lakers officials insisted from the moment Buss stopped talking that he hadn't said anything new. Unfortunately, he had. His willingness to think the unthinkable and his resignation ("You can't keep too many loyalties. You've got to look at it as a business. He looks at it the same way I look at it.") represented a dramatic change of tone, reversing the position Lakers officials had taken all summer: Bryant was staying, period. Nobody should be surprised if Bryant was stung. He had enough doubts about being here, which he put away to come back. Given that this team will need everything he has to give, it's not a good sign when the imperturbable Bryant starts getting perturbed. Nor is it a good sign when teammates start noticing he hasn't been around in a while. This isn't about whether Buss or Bryant was hurt first. They're not dating. This is business. Buss was entitled to be hurt, although calling out the man who never did anything but pay him the maximum and go to the wall for him made Bryant look bad, not Buss. However, Bryant doesn't get paid to be lucid or nice. He gets paid to play basketball, which he's better at than anyone else. As owner, Buss has to be the grownup. As a reward, he gets the profits. Buss has to look Bryant in the eye and say, "I didn't mean to suggest I want to trade you. I don't." Ideally, Bryant will be gracious enough to say he wants to give it his all too, rather than ask to be traded again. This isn't about heroes and villains. Bryant has a right to pursue his best interest as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and O'Neal did when they left fans behind in Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Orlando to come here. The Lakers haven't done one thing wrong, but a year from now, if Bryant's being worshiped in some other -- presumably Eastern Conference -- city, no one outside Los Angeles will care. mark.heisler@latimes.com
you cover yourself with a 16m+ and that is a reading comprehension problem? hell, you might as well have typed $1+ why are you talking about a chron blog?
