i dont tihnk they'll trade kwame because he is expiring this year i believe...rad most def full mle contract that they got nothing out of. i would expect a trade of kobe and rad for a star and exp contract/picks the lakers should shed as much $ as possible but buss has an ego he wants/needs a star in LA to sell tickets and keep the team marketable he wont allow the lakers to go do what philly did with the ai trade. the early 90s after magic retired are huge dark days for LA and probably their only real down period outside of the post shaq era and if that happens again he'll go nuts
Well, Tmac is a marketable super-star which Lakers always like. Even though Tmac has back problem, he will still sell tickets anyway as long as he plays 60+ games as long as he return to waco for treatment from time to time . Besides, Kobe is forcing Lakers hand. We just don't know which city he demanded. On the other hand, I don't think Yao has a strong enough character to keep Kobe in check, like what Shaq had done. Kobe is great but look what he did to all the other players in Lakers. What if he scores 81 points in Houston again? It will be a disaster.
I don't want that prick on my team, even if we kept Yao and T-Mac in the process. It seems to me the perfect team for Kobe is Chicago, which is too bad because I was just starting to like the Bulls. They have a host of good young players, but need 1 star to lead them. They'd lose some but not all their depth in a trade, and Kobe could lead the rest of the team deep into contention pretty immediately. Plus, Kobe can continue to pretend he's Jordan. The Lakers, meanwhile could partially restock with some pretty good young guys, and take a couple of seasons rebuilding through draft and free agency. NY is a terrible option. Being in the biggest market won't compensate Kobe for being on a terribly managed team that can't give him the teammates he needs to succeed. Plus, almost all of the Knicks' assets have bloated contracts, making them bad trading partners for the Lakers. Denver's probably not an option because of the rape thing. I doubt Phoenix is attractive to Kobe, because it'll still be the Nash-show there, and he'd have to wait for the dish instead of triggering the offense himself. Dallas is an interesting option -- they have the assets to do it. Would Nowitzki and Kobe make a good core though? I'm not sure if there are any other teams with enough young talent to be in contention.
I don't see how. Why would Kobe want to go to Minnesota if they were giving up Garnett? He wants out because he wants to win.
NY seems like the most logical place, but I don't know that he'd want to go there. That isn't a good team. If he wants out to win, it doesn't seem to me that there are a lot of places he'd consider.
Man just heard what he said to Stephen A., he said he regrets not signing with the Clippers! I bet that zinged Buss!
After listening to him on DP, it sounds like if they fire the insider who said the story about Shaq, that Kobe will be fine. I don't think he's going anywhere.
not all of it This is a really unique situation, with Kobe's no-trade clause in addition to LA's disinclination to reward him for screwing the franchise. The whole game will be about finding a trade that makes both sides happy. I really believe LA will be much sterner in this situation than Orlando was with McGrady or when LA moved Shaq. Kobe represents 95% of the franchise at this point. He is their revenue. And this is a high revenue town. A) Scratch Phoenix and anyone else in the Pacific. The absolutely last thing Buss will allow is the Laker fans to see Kobe leading a division rival past them in the standings (much less to a ring). LA's going to push hard for this to be an Eastern team. B) LA needs either an equal franchise-level draw or will have to start completely from scratch. An Odom/Butler-esque move would be a disaster - they can't sell anything with a team of non-stars that can't compete for a title. Again, this is LA. This is LA. This is LA. C) Kobe will most likely demand a semi-contender, and one that would be able to give up pieces and remain a contender with him. NY may be a big market, but that team is just as hopeless as the Lakers are. I can't see him wanting to walk right into the same situation that he's already in. Besides, who on that team would LA want? Walking through the league, My perceptions are: Dallas - maybe but unlikely. If they move Dirk for him, are they much better than LA? Would LA do the deal w/o Dirk? Phoenix - LA just couldn't do something that dumb. Spurs - I doubt Pop would try to hard for him, especially if they get another ring this month. Utah - I can't see him wanting to go there, or Sloan wanting him. Houston - Maybe. Yao would be a great draw, or McGrady would work well in the triangle with Odom. Denver - Kobe wouldn't want to return to Colorado, I don't believe. He'd have horrific ego clashes with either Iverson or Melo. Warriors - Not much appeal there for him, but LA might okay with it if they don't believe Kobe would contend. Clippers: Lakers would never do this trade. NOH - Not much to trade for and not much there for Kobe to want to go there. Sacramento - no pieces or appeal. They wouldn't contend even if they added Kobe w/o having to give up anyone. Portland - not a terrible idea, but LA would have to be alright with him staying so close to home with the potential of Oden (I don't see Portland moving him, even for Kobe) becoming dominant. Minny - no one worth considering outside KG, and what's the point for Kobe if there's no KG? Seattle - dark horse, for similar reasons as Portland. S&T if including Rashard. Memphis - Not a possibility in the slightest. Detroit - dark horse, but they'd have to collapse badly against Cleveland or get swept by SA to consider a drastic rebuild. Cleveland - only piece worth chasing is LeBron, but that gives you the same situation as Minny. Toronto - Maybe not as terrible an idea for Kobe as it sounds at first. LA would have to be okay with going the complete rebuild route (doubtful). Miami - LOL. Chicago - I think they have to be the frontrunner, though that'll invite the MJ debate to go into ridiculous stratospheres. NJ - Their frontcourt is so sorry, it can't be of much appeal to Kobe. Would be appealing to VC as a S&T scenario, though. Was - I don't envision Kobe playing with Arenas, and swapping those two would leave Kobe with a lame supporting cast again. Orlando - possibly intriquing, so long as Howard is not part of a trade. Not much to offer LA but cap room. No first rounder to offer. Pacers - Kobe & O'Neal v2.0...enticing thought. But Indiana has jack to offer LA. Philly - nothing worthwhile to offer, but it is Kobe's "hometown" Charlotte - small market, little to offer. They barely have enough contracts to match Kobe's, anyway. NYK - already covered. One hopeless situation to another, and nothing that LA would touch in return. Atlanta - see above. Bucks - Trying to picture Redd, Bogut, and Odom in LA. Reminds me of the Van Exel/Divac era. Boston - similar to the Minny situation. Pierce + Jefferson might be acceptable for the Lakers, but not Kobe. I think the list of teams able to do this deal (barring a blockbuster 3-way; not out of the realm of possibility): Dallas, Houston, Portland, Seattle, Detroit, Toronto, Chicago. None of which are slam dunks. Chicago's the only one that makes much sense on both sides. The #9 pick, and a slew of young guys (Hinrich, Deng, Gordon, Duhon, Thomas, Sefolosha) to mix and match with Wallace's contract to even out the cap would be doable. No actual star for LA, but a decent start to rebuilding. Say: Kobe + Vlad Radmanovic for Gordon, Deng, Wallace, and the #9 pick (Joakim Noah?) (RealGM approved) Chicago will be pressed to build their roster back up, but they were already contending and dropping Wallace's dead weight would be okay by them. LA wouldn't see Kobe more than twice a year, and get a nice young roster in the process. Evan
Not necessarily Kupchak, but whatever the person is who leaked the story that he ran off Shaq is going to get the ax. Also, he said if West comes back that would help. He isn't going anywhere, he's just trying to control the team's future.
Golden Rule of Trading: If your superstar player PUBLICLY DEMANDS a trade then you probably won't receive the same value in return. Example: 1) T-Mac for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley 2) Shaq for Lamar Odom and Caron Butler 3) Allen Iverson for Andre Miller 4) Vince Carter for Alonzo Mourning Kobe has forced the Lakers hand by calling them out in public and making it clear there is nothing they can do to change his mind. In terms of talent alone there aren't many players that can match Kobe in a trade. Lebron and Wade are close but much younger and untouchable. Kevin Garnett would never want to be traded to L.A if it doesn't involve playing with Kobe. Now there are some player with lesser value in return like Gilbert Arenas, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Dirk Notwitski and Vince Carter. Any other scenario would give Lakers young players for picks which in my opinion is too little for a player of Kobe's caliber.
Kobe stays in L.A. IMO He is going to force Buss to trade with the Clippers. Mark it. Kobe needs L.A. and L.A. needs kobe.
