should the lakers trade kobe??

[Doobie]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7321241/
is their only chance at winning a championship trading kobe???

[J@3]

He has a no-trade clause in his contract I think. Only he can waive that and I don't really see it happening. I mean, the Magic traded T-Mac for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley... what would the Lakers get for Kobe? His market value is somewhat lower than it has been before, his contract is enormous so that would mean taking another gigantic contract (ala Brian Grant) and I really doubt the Lakers would benefit from it. It's time to rebuild, people just need to be patient with it.

[MaD_hAND1e]

Kobe's the GM of the Lakers and Kobe isn't gonna trade Kobe.

[Goldberg]

Its time to rebuild? After being in the NBA Finals just 9 months ago, and being the favorite to win it all? Kobe destroyed the Lakers?

[J@3]

after being in the nba finals just 9 months ago

That Lakers team is a shell of it's former self.

Shaq
Malone
Random SF
Kobe
Payton

The team is now Mihm, Odom, Butler, Kobe, Atkins... entirely different unit, entirely different expectations.

[beau_boy04]

If I was the Lakers I would not trade Kobe for nobody. There is nobody in the market that equal what Kobe does for his team unless of course they can get a guy named Lebron in return but anyways, I don't think Gordon or any Bulls members are going anywhere because they have been playing just so great you don't wanna touch that. I don't think its all Kobe's fault I mean we called this a basketball game right? we win we lose ok? there is not I lose thing in basketball or at least I don't think there should be. Kobe is the superstar and its not his fault that Lamar has not been the same because of Kobe. Talent wise the Lakers are up there and they should have been somewhere in the 5th or 6th spot by now but is not because they suck its because they didn't want it BAD ENOUGH - I called this the heart factor. Anyways, its time for Kobe and the Lakers to regroup and make some key changes once the season is over and come back stronger and with a new mentaliy next year.

[J@3]

I don't see why everyone's bagging Kobe for not adapting enough to his new teammates, he's the superstar... he's the one who was there first, why aren't people bagging the other guys for not adapting to him? I've played on teams with guys who never pass the ball, and yes it is possible to make an impact with them. Also though, Kobe's had a few games where he's had 8 or 9 assists, so obviously if the player gets themselves in the right position he'll get them the ball. They seem to just wait around and hope for the best.

[Matt]

^^^i agree with that, although you see that at times Kobe just decides to ignore his teammates and duel with someone else so all they can do is watch him play. know he's the superstar but he should work for others first. Pass more, dribble less. he can still get his 20 shots per game

I've played on a team where we had a guy that was awesome, we gave him the ball and he'd score nearly all the time, we just stood around and watched him (he kept on calling his number too) but the problem was we ended up being knocked out in the 1st rnd by a point against a team we should have beaten. Everytime he went to the bench we were stagnant, but on days he didnt play we were much better.

[COOLmac©]

i used to be number one in offense.but our third guy in the offensive sets is the one that everage above 20's..i barely get to average above 19.....that's because i'm more of a passer type than a superstar(at first i was uneasy for the role.but then i adapted.)....we won 2 championships with me as a player......and another 2 more with me as a coach (i get to be 5 years in engineering here in our country)...IMO the coach must really have a say on how he wants his team to play.....if he sees others were not cooperating he must react.if he's superstar is doing stuff that can hurt his team he must do something.....somehow i don't see that in the laker bench.......
i remember when Mj was playing in the wizards....Dough still talks to the other guys...and Mj just played the game as it needs to be played.....and the others responded.....
my last say is Kobe has a high ego....although this might be very good sometimes, but most of the times this can be a very devastating attitude and needs to be check

[8-Hype]

If the Lakers don't make the Playoffs (and only 10% would say they'll make them), Kobe is going to rid of the Lakers. For sure. Remember, he was in talks with the Clippers before that season...

[J@3]

... as a free agent, and the Clippers aren't exactly setting the World on fire either. They're actually doing worse than the Lakers. The only way Kobe Bryant is going to leave the team is if he's going to force a trade, and I don't think he's the kind of person who would just leave after one bad season. It's Kobe we're talking about, not T-Mac.

[Strike Freedom]

now i feel pity for the los'ing angeles lakers..

[T-Comm55]

if the lakers weren't sure about kobe they would have traded him last offseason instead of shaq. Eventhough its fun to discuss the possibilities I dont think its going to happen.

And speaking of interesting possibilities what about kobe for ray allen and rashad lewis.

[8-Hype]

... as a free agent, and the Clippers aren't exactly setting the World on fire either. They're actually doing worse than the Lakers. The only way Kobe Bryant is going to leave the team is if he's going to force a trade, and I don't think he's the kind of person who would just leave after one bad season. It's Kobe we're talking about, not T-Mac.

U'r right, but Kobe has said and done a lot of shit over the past 1.5 years, and he just won't tale the criticism a long time. He probably won't leave for the Clippers (although their record is not much worse at 0.444 compared to the Lakers' 0.465), instead for a team that has one superstar. He wants to lead the team and the best on it, but the Lakers are too weak for keeping that up, I think.

[DB]

they simply won't trade the best player in the nba. he didn't have his best season (28, 6, 6 ) And ofcourse his foot injury. And the lakers D simply SUCKS this year. KB will proove every haters wrong next season.

[cyanide]

they simply won't trade the best player in the nba. he didn't have his best season (28, 6, 6 ) And ofcourse his foot injury. And the lakers D simply SUCKS this year. KB will proove every haters wrong next season.

But, that's what Kobe tried to do this year... how will it be any different next year, assuming their team stays intact?

[Jackal]

they simply won't trade the best player in the nba.

You almost made me die because of laughing so much.

Best player in the NBA? How so? Since when did Tim Duncan & Kevin Garnett stop exsisting? Duncan's fundamentally sound game kicks Bryant's game so far away it's not even funny. Garnett's ability to do pretty much anything he pleases to do & having the height also gives him the advantage. Shit, Bron Bron has similiar stats to Bryant. Best player in the league? Far from it. Exceptionally skilled player? Yes. Best? Not until the two bodied number 21 wearing monsters are slain.

[Timothy Duncan]

The Lakers need to find the right pieces to stay along with Kobe. And maybe a young star to raise besides him and not clash with him as occured with Shaq.

[Sauru]

funny how everyone seems to clash with him huh? as for the kobe being the best comment, thats just a damn riot. i needed a good laugh today and i thank you for it.

as for the thread topic, i would not trade him simply cause you changed your entire team for him. you dont do that than abandon it after 1 season where you missed the playoffs. btw they missed the playoffs in the west, which is still a harder top 8 to crack. kobe is good, damn good, but his career has been too good so far. a year or 2 of missing the playoffs will actually change kobe for the better. it will make him much more dangerous. thats my opinion though. he will see he needs his team to win and then the lakers could be on top again(god forbid).

[beau_boy04]

funny how everyone seems to clash with him huh? as for the kobe being the best comment, thats just a damn riot. i needed a good laugh today and i thank you for it.

as for the thread topic, i would not trade him simply cause you changed your entire team for him. you dont do that than abandon it after 1 season where you missed the playoffs. btw they missed the playoffs in the west, which is still a harder top 8 to crack. kobe is good, damn good, but his career has been too good so far. a year or 2 of missing the playoffs will actually change kobe for the better. it will make him much more dangerous. thats my opinion though. he will see he needs his team to win and then the lakers could be on top again(god forbid).

I think you hit the jackpot man. One must learn all the phases of the games inclusing failure in order to be one of the great and start succedding. With the fact that Kobe won those championship so early in his career without even experiencing failure made him a differnt type of player. Now, once he gets over all these failure he will start succedding and we will another another Kobe man because once he gets it down and know how to win he will be unstoppable... im saying this in relation to Jordan's career but I will he will never be Jordan.

[8-Hype]

Kobe doesn't only need customized shoes, he also needs a customized team.

[Strike Freedom]

If kobe has an attitude like Jordan, who came back from 1st retirement and lost in the playoff, but came back stronger the next year.
So we never know what'll happen next, but i hope Kobe would learn his lessons.
Maybe his teammates don't really count on him as a leader cuz he's young.

[TheFranchiseKing]

If kobe has an attitude like Jordan, who came back from 1st retirement and lost in the playoff, but came back stronger the next year.

Jordan was already a leader and team player at that point.

[The GOAT]

Maybe his teammates don't really count on him as a leader cuz he's young.

Does the name LeBron James ring a bell?

[Andrew]

Trading Kobe Bryant is something the Lakers should consider a few years down the road if they're constantly underachieving and Kobe's just putting up nice stats on a subpar team. His first year as The Man hasn't gone as well as everyone associated with the Lakers franchise (fans included) would have liked, but it's still too soon to be seriously considering such a drastic change.

Perhaps more discipline is in order. I agree with Sauru, hardship should be a really good thing for the further development of Kobe Bryant as a player and a leader. A coach that isn't afraid to bench him or be hard on him when he needs to be wouldn't go astray either.

But the problem with that is the Lakers' management. They need to back that coach and they need to be assertive with Kobe as well. They've grovelled at his feet and done all the things a team needs to do to keep a marquee free agent. They've agreed to compensate him handsomely for his services. Now they need him to co-operate with them instead of being so quick to co-operate with him.

That means defending the coach whom they want and need to be successful, allowing him to be hard on Kobe and push him without losing his job security. That hasn't happened outright yet, but the situation with Phil Jackson comes close. It also means they can't ship out anyone and everyone Kobe doesn't quite see eye to eye with. It means taking advantage of his long term contract and standing by decisions that won't necessarily make him very happy now, but will ultimately lead to team success.