If the Rockets did offer the Lakers T-mac and they said no. They would be stupid as hell. Who's the best player the Lakers can get next to Kobe? If kobe wants to go to NY or Chicago.. What's Chicago gonna offer? Luol Deng? Ben Gordon.. players that will never be on Kobe or T-mac's level. more like Micheal Redd kind of players.
The package we could offer. Outgoing Tracy McGrady Shane Battier Bob Sura Vassilis Spanoulis Justin Reed Incoming Kobe Bryant Lamar Odom or Kwame Brown or Vladimir Radmanovic Kobe and a bad contract for TMac, cap room (Sura) and a solid role player (Battier) and a young player or two with potential. Who can beat that offer without destroying its team so bad that Kobe would ok the trade? Really someone show me. Chicago cant! LA Clippers? no! how about the Knicks, no way. Out of all the teams that have the what it would take to make a run for Kobe we are the ones who should. Pheonix is the only one who could offer more but they are a contendar. Would they risk tearing apart their young talented team? I dont think so. We have nothing to loose really. With Kobe and Ming we would pretty much be assured of doing as good or better than we have done since TMacs arrival IMHO. Before anyone gets their panties in a wad let me say, I dont want Kobe I would rather have TMac. I just think it is not as impossible as some of you think.
I would take that trade. I think Kobe is a winner, and can lead Houston over. Kobe + Yao = Dynasty. Would the Lakers accept that deal though? I seriously doubt it BUT Kobe IS PUSHING the trade demand, and this might leave Lakers no choice but to trade him. Kobe, come to Houston! NY, Chicago, and Phoenix don't have Yao Ming.
I would never trade T-Mac especially for selfish ego maniac like Kobe but theoretically this trade would work for the Lakers. 1) They get the closest thing to Kobe in return called T-Mac who could immediately sell tickets at Staples Center. He is not on the same level as Kobe but he more than makes it up with his team oriented style and unselfish attitude. 2) Getting rid of Lamar Odom for expiring contracts and solid player like Battier would be huge. Next season Kwame Brown's contract expires and if you trade bad contracts like Radmonivic then in 2008 Lakers could easily be under the cap and repeat history by stealing another center away from the Orlando Magic.
A Kobe + Yao combo would win at least 2 championships. So please, make that trade. I think Kobe, although he chose NY, Chicago, and Phoenix, will gladly play alongside Yao Ming. Make the trade, LA! Make the trade, Houston! I want the Rockets to win, and honestly, I don't think T-Mac can lead us to a championship. I can totally see T-Mac, once this trade is made, crying. LOLOLOL
And you base this on what? You’re vast knowledge of the what LA deems Kobe’s worth. Since you know so much about what the Lakers want show us a trade they will accept. Lets see what you can put together. Or is that to much trouble? C’mon I challenge you to show us who can offer a better deal?
I have come to the conclusion that most basketball fans are ignorant of the sport and like to base players' skills and talents on flash (i.e. dunks, breaking ankles, etc.). Those who say T-Mac is not the same player he used to be... you're right, but that's not to say he isn't as good as he used to be. He still puts up similar numbers, he just does it in different ways. He doesn't score quite as much as he did during his days in Orlando, but consider this: he now plays in the western conference (which is miles ahead of the east in terms of how well teams play, especially defensively) on a team with another 25 point scorer. 25 points a night in that situation is nothing to scoff at. He did this while also averaging 7 assists a game on a JVG team. So he doesn't reverse dunk/facialize/break ankles etc. as much as Kobe or even as much as the Orlando T-Mac...so what? He also doesn't refuse to make his team better by hogging the ball a la Kobe. T-Mac makes his teammates better, Kobe doesn't. The only thing Kobe is better at is scoring and being a clown of a teammate, and he has ballhogging and lack of another scorer on the team to help him with the former. T-Mac was relied on by his team more than any other player in the league this past season, and carried his team to 52 wins in a division with San Antonio and Dallas, without Yao for a significant portion of the season. All while averaging 25, 6, and 7... How can anybody look over all this and say he's not as good as Kobe/the old T-Mac? Ignorance, that's how. Give me T-Mac over Kobe any day of the week.
I have difficulty thinking that they would give him to us for anything less that Yao+filler. Why would the Lakers even think of trading the best non big (It makes me sick to say this) player in the NBA for someone that might break down at any moment? The offers for him will be insane. They would be better served getting a huge expiring contract. TMac's contract is monstrous. I love TMac but at this point he is damaged goods to anyone but us. Never thought I would be arguing with you of all people.
kobe hasn't done much w/ shaq. and we all know yao aint shaq. when kobe won those rings w/ shaq, shaq had 30 and 15 averages for the WHOLE playoffs. i can guarantee yao wont even come close. they could get out of the first round, but not wint he whole thing.
and for all these tmac haters, do u know who had the highest usage rating in the league? the usage rating is the % or number that hollinger uses to show how much the ball is in the guy's hands and how much he creates for his team. #1 - tracy mcgrady at 32.9. wade is right behind at 32.7. nuff said. not wade (who's 2nd). not kobe. not lebron. and like the poster said above, tmac is playing with another guy who's averaging 25 pts. it's not like he's playing in a free-wheeling style that he used to play in orlando. yes, he won't dunk and give the fans facials anymore. but he's not young anymore, esp. w/ the back. so if he works on his J he'll score just as well.
What does Kobe's character have to do with being a great basketball player? Kobe is much better than T-Mac. More than that, he's mentally fierce. He and Yao are a lot more alike than you guys think. See, behind Yao's nice guy personality, he is a fierce competitor, and wants to win. Kobe is the same way. Those two would be a good team, much better than T-Mac who is frankly, an immature drama queen. Do you forget two seasons ago how he whined about some mysterious torment? then this past season, he faked numerous injuries, even Van Gundy, while commenting on ABC's playoffs, as made veiled reference to this. T-Mac is a loser, plain and simple. I don't care if he was talented 4 years ago. He's not the same player he was. And he's still a loser. back in Orlando, he had a reputation of being exactly what he is today: A selfish lazy player who is not committed to winning. Give me Kobe any day. He may be a selfish jerk, but the guy wants to win. He is dying to win. It takes courage to leave your team the team that is built around you to find a place he can win. Can you respect that commitment to winning? I can.
Hey...if you think T-Mac creates so much for his teammates, then why didn't they get past the first round? hmm? I think this entire T-Mac the facillator is overplayed. T-Mac is no Steve Nash, ok? Give me a break. T-Mac wants to be the next Magic Johnson. He tried to compare himself to Magic several times ...for what? To be the MVP. He was actually campaigning to the NY Times to be the MVP. T-Mac is a joke...
i hope you're right. when kobe gets here, yao will be SECONDARY. i'm just wondering if yuo're gonna be happy with that? u do know yao will take a backseat every single night right? from your posts, ur a HUUUUUGE yao fan. can u handle that?
b/c yao got blocked/dunked on/can't rebound. b/c rafer/head/howard shot 30% on OPEN SHOTS. when ur role players suck, nothing u can do. the same way kobe can't score his team out of the first round w/o shaq. when ur teammates suck, what can u do?
dont worry yao_fan_07. i was just playing w/ ya. tmac sucks for real man. lazy. selfish. defeated. a "joke" like u said. yao is the greatest thing to come to earth for real. i dont know why we don't have "yao country" yet. u feel me?
You are about the dumbest person to ever post on a message board. A player's character has alot to do with how good a player they are. It determines how they play with others. Last I checked, basketball is a team sport. And why are you bringing Yao into this? I love Yao. Faked injuries? He only missed 11 games buddy, many of which were because of his back... i'm pretty sure that wasn't fake. So he had some personal problems in his life...so what? That makes him an immature loser? I think not. Besides, he still put up his usual numcers and led his team to wins. How can you say he's not talented anymore after all the evidence I provided in my last post proving that he's still as good as always? T-Mac selfish? That's funny, especially considering that you're defending the most selfish player in the league, Kobe. If Kobe wanted to win so bad he would have begged Shaq to stay in LA. Courage...ha. If he had so much he would man up and actually make his team better instead of hogging the ball, scoring 30 a game, then pussing out and demanding a trade when that doesn't work.
