Kobe asks to be traded-Then takes it back-Wants out again

[[Q]]

so the video at someone took of Kobe talking candidly in Irvine/Newport Beach is gaining more press. they're obviously shopping for the highest bidder at this point, but it'll be interesting to see what he has to say about management and teammates. suppoesdly he rips into Bynum in it.

[Patr1ck]

Kobe is a spoiled brat. For the good of the Lakers, I hope they trade him.

I would like to see the video only to see that side of him.

[---]

"He's made a decision that he feels justified to hold — one that I've questioned — that he has reasons to leave the Lakers," Jackson wrote Monday in a brief e-mail to The Times. "However, it's my unshakeable feeling that Kobe will be a Laker next October … when training camp opens."

Source

Phil Jackson seems to think Kobe will still be wearing purple and gold come next season. I think the same, but it's hard for me to see how they can actually keep him if management doesn't want to give up Bynum/Odom. Maybe even if nothing happens, Kobe will settle down and stay... I just can't imagine him in any other teams uniform.

LA wouldn't trade him to Phoenix (same division). Chicago wouldn't take Kobe for LA's asking price because the team would be left pretty bare, basically just becoming the Lakers of the Eastern Conference minus the promising future. Isiah would probably give up anyone on the Knicks roster, but do the Knicks have the players to make it happen if the asking price from the Bulls is so high?

It's so hard to trade him, yet seemingly so hard to keep him.

[LakersRule24]

Ric Bucher has said that Kobe is willing to sit out next season if he's not traded!

If it's true, I will have lost tons of respect for him.

If he does do it, I will no longer support him or his back for the rest of my life.

http://www.clublakers.com/forums/ric-bu ... 76084.html

[Anthony15]

Who do you know that's trying to pass off Bynum as the next Kareem? You know strange people.

Whatever the kid becomes, he'll be better than some of the stiffs walking around the NBA passing themselves off as C's.

True, not Kareem, but him being Lakers leader isn't gonna happen. He's big and he keeps improving his inside game, he'll be a solid C, but as I said, he isn't a guy they should be building around.

[Jackal]

Agreed, but...LA doesn't really have anyone else but him to say they could build around as of now.

So yeah, if people are saying trade Kobe, the next best thing to say is "build around Bynum".

But you're right, he'll never be good enough to be the main man of the team.

[Drex]

Hahahahaha!

[[Q]]

of all people to build around, I'd say Odom's the best option.

[Jackal]

I think he's more of a complimentary player, not really the main option type of guy.

[Sauru]

gotta agree with jackal, i think odom is a great 2 or 3 player on a team. i keep saying that he gets a bad rep in LA. now i also would not build around bynum either, i dont ever see him as the main guy. i would keep him by all means as he could prove to be a talented center, but i definetly dont build my team based on him

[cyanide]

Agreed with the above; Kobe is to Jordan, as Odom is to Pippen. Unfortunately, chemistry and teamwork isn't on the same level.

[---]

In my opinion the only thing holding the Lakers back next year is the point guard spot. Take a look at this possible lineup for next year:

C - Andrew Bynum
PF - Kwame Brown
SF - Lamar Odom
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Jordan Farmar

Sorry, but Jordan Farmar isn't a starting point guard, especially this early in his career. But look at the rest of the roster. Andrew Bynum played well in his minutes this season and continues to mature, one of the most promising young bigs in the league. Kwame Brown has had some nice games, but too many bad ones to go along with those, he's just solid. Lamar Odom is a great secondary player and is a great distributer with the lack of a point guard. Kobe Bryant is the best individual talent in the league.

The Lakers need a point guard badly. Which of those guys are expendable for a point guard? Kwame Brown.

They just need to get a solid point guard capable of running this quite talented team. Players like Derek Fisher, Antonio Daniels, Steve Blake, Devin Harris, Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Carlos Arroyo, Luke Ridnour, Damon Stoudamire, Jameer Nelson and Sam Cassell fit this role. If they can nab one of these guys in a trade involving Kwame, they should be much improved. I doesn't even matter if they don't get a PF replacement for Kwame in the trade. They have Lamar Odom who can play the PF (with Luke Walton filling in at SF), Vladimir Radmanovic who can play PF and their first round pick could weild Josh McRoberts, Tiago Splitter, Jason Smith or Sean Williams, all power forwards.

Smush Parker is one of the worst starting point guards I have ever seen. Anybody capable of playing 30 minutes a game with solid production is an upgrade. The point guard spot is the most important position on the floor, without them teams fall apart. The Lakers already have a talented roster, they just need someone to steer the ship. How hard is it to aqcuire, say, Devin Harris anyway?

A trade like Kwame Brown, Maurice Evans ans Sasha Vujajic for Devin Harris, Erick Dampier and Maurice Ager seems good to me.

Dampier has an awful contract (over 9mil this year) and it's got 5 years on it. There has been plenty of reports lately about the Mavericks financial situation and that they want to slim the payroll down, so getting rid of Dampiers contract would be a great lift financially. In return they get a solid big who may play quite well while teams drift off him to go chase Dirk around. The Mavericks have been searching for that guy to go in the middle, Kwame could do a nice job of it. They also get Maurice Evans who would be a nice backup to Josh Howard. They lose Ager, who in my opinion is promising, but he barely played at all. The Lakers get a legit point guard who has managed to put up some nice numbers while being the fourth option on a star studded Mavericks team. They also get a nice prospect in Ager and lose Sasha Vujajic who did close to nothing.

Roster after trade:

C - Andrew Bynum
PF - Lamar Odom
SF - Luke Walton
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Devin Harris
------------------------
6th - Brian Cook
7th - #19 Draft Pick
8th - Erick Dampier
9th - Vladimir Radmanovic
10th - Jordan Farmar

A trade like that is entirely possible. In that roster I see a much improved Lakers team, even if it wasn't a blockbuster. Getting a superstar to keep Kobe in LA may leave this team with no future and possibly even worse off right now. A solid trade like this can turn a team around just as easily as a full rehaul, it's because NBA teams are a jigsaw puzzle - it may look like a mess until you add the final pieces.

[cyanide]

I think a lot of teams wouldn't touch Kwame and his huge contract. A point guard position is probably the most important position in the game, and I really don't think teams would give up a promising or veteran point guard for Kwame, who's already in the likes of Olowokandi. Big contract + lost potential for a back-up point guard is tough.

[Indy]

I think a lot of teams wouldn't touch Kwame and his huge contract. A point guard position is probably the most important position in the game, and I really don't think teams would give up a promising or veteran point guard for Kwame, who's already in the likes of Olowokandi. Big contract + lost potential for a back-up point guard is tough.

Any team in the league would love to have that big expiring contract. His contract is a positive not a negative.

[cyanide]

Whoa, I thought he still had another 3 years to go.

[Axel]

I don't think the Lakers as presently constituted will be a contender.

Kwame is subpar at the PF to nearly every other PF in the west.
Smush/Farmar is subpar to nearly every other PG in the west.
Bynum is slightly below average at center (for at least the next couple of seasons).
Odom is slightly above average at SF.
Kobe is the best at SG in the west.

The bench sucks.

Next year I see the playoffs shaping up something like this....

1. Phoenix
2. San Antonio
3. Dallas
4. Utah
5. Houston
6. Golden State
7. New Orleans
8. Denver
9. Portland
10. Los Angeles Clippers
11. Los Angeles Lakers

or at least something to that degree. Golden State is young, and will improve their record. Portland is growing and with Nate McMillan as their coach, I think they'll be edging in on the playoffs by next season. New Orleans can't possibly have as many injuries as they did this season, and when healthy they're a sure playoff team. Denver should squeek in again next season.

I just don't see them making it very far next year. And Shannon, even if they DO add a point guard, they're weak at many other places too. If they manage to get a player like Devin Harris, it MIGHT push them up into the top 8, but they would likely only be good enough to barely make it in. Right now, injuries withheld, they're around 10th or 11th best in the west. I just don't see how they're going to leapfrog enough teams to make Kobe happy by one trade.

[Laxation]

I think a lot of teams wouldn't touch Kwame and his huge contract. A point guard position is probably the most important position in the game, and I really don't think teams would give up a promising or veteran point guard for Kwame, who's already in the likes of Olowokandi. Big contract + lost potential for a back-up point guard is tough.

Kwame is a good post defender

[Slizz]

To Me the thing with the Lakers is: I think alot of their guys have a lot of potential they just need to be more consistant if Odom plays at the Top of his game, Kwame plays like he did in the win against the suns in the playoffs and Bynum keeps improving they really only need a point-guard and I would like a guy like Antonio Daniels he has played great in the Playoffs. Anyway they could also take a scoring point-guard since both Lamar and Kobe can create. Luke Walton also has some nice Court-Vision and great passing. (btw another guy who just needs to keep it up). I just watched Game 4 from Suns-Lakers of the 06 playoffs. Kobe was out the almost the entire first half due to foul trouble and they still managed to stay close...

anyway my vision might be a little troubled cause I'm a Lakers Fan but still

[NovU]

even tho his super star status and crazy stats, kobe obviously fucks up the chemistry and development of young players.
so trading kobe might even benefit the lakers.
u c phillies were able to do a lot better w/o AI & web their 2 biggest stars. they even made a run for the playoffs. besides u found a new super star in iguo.
next season, philly has a better chance at playoffs than ever wid AI
so if u can get somethin decent outta kobe trade, then i'd say Do it. might suck for lakers fans but seems like a right move for the franchise in long term.
kobe's absolutely right. he won't win if he stays with lakers. same for lakers. lakers won't win if kobe stays. wutever buss is trying to do with kobe as the franchise player ain't workin and will never work. he's just retardic as much as mark cuban. they seem to be 10 years away from being the powerhouse again especially in tougher western conference.

[Cloudy]

Let's not talk about 'potential' anymore. Why did Kobe demand to be traded? He wants instant success, he wants a championship during his time as Lakers' #1. So if we're on Kobe's side, we should want to get players like Kidd, Garnett, Boozer or anybody who can help right away. Not thinking about rebuilding now...

But for long term, trading Kobe might be the better option.

[maes]

LA's main problem is defense. LA has worse defense than Seattle, who had a terrible coach and played most of the year either w/o Ray or Rashard and had about half the team made up of D-Leaguers.

Kobe & Odom actually provide pretty decent offense, Kobe is deadly and Odom is a great facilitator and all-around contributor.

Kwame, Bynum, and Smush are all bad defenders. Going by opponent PER just as one kind of stat, the league average is PER of 15. Kwame's opponent's score 20.1 when he's a PF, 19.0 when he's a C. Kwame himself produces 7.0 PF, 14.9 C. Parker's opponent's PER is 18.0 (smush produces 12.8). Farmar's opponent 15.2 (jordan produces 11.6).

Basically outside of Odom/Kobe, all the Lakers are poor on the offensive end, but that's no surprise. But they're also bad on the defensive end. No offense, no defense, why are they playing?

Who put together this team, and what's the strategy when most of the players can't produce on either end of the court?

[3P]

Can the Lakers trade Kobe and get a a guy like Gordon and then use the new caproom to get a free agent like Billups?

[scrub]

Blockbuster trade!! (wishful thinking...)


Boston get: Kevin Garnett, Phoenix 1st round pick 2007

Lakers get: Shawn Marion, Theo Ratliff, Phoenix 2008 1st round pick via Atlanta

Phoenix get: Kobe Bryant

Minnesota get: Al Jefferson, Kwame Brown, Wally Szczerbiak, Boston 1st round pick 2007


I thought it was a pretty nice trade for all teams.

Boston get to pair Garnett and Pierce and get the Suns pick whilst giving their first round pick to Minnesota for Garnett. They are giving up Al Jefferson and getting rid of a few contracts in Szcerzbiak and Ratliff.

The Lakers get Shawn Marion and Theo Ratliff's expiring contract whilst giving up Kobe for next season. The real bonus is the Hawks pick which the Suns own next season which could bring in a guard such as OJ Mayo or Nicolas Batum to replace Kobe. Also they don't have to give up much except for Kobe and a useless Kwame Brown. Keeping Andrew Bynum will please Mitch Kupchak.

Phoenix get Kobe to make an unstoppable force and only give up Marion and next year's draft pick. This trade is for the immediate future for the Suns to help them and Kobe win a ring.

Minnesota give up Garnett in this trade but get Al Jefferson, Kwame Brown, Wally Sczerzbiak and Boston's 1st round pick in return. They won't like Brown and Sczerzbiak in return but Brown's contract is expiring next season and Sczerzbiak still has a little value if they wish to trade him to a team looking for a spot-up shooter. The main thing they get is Al Jefferson which is a nice piece to build around with Randy Foye and their no.7 pick in the 2007 draft.

[LakersRule24]

LA's main problem is defense. LA has worse defense than Seattle, who had a terrible coach and played most of the year either w/o Ray or Rashard and had about half the team made up of D-Leaguers.

Kobe & Odom actually provide pretty decent offense, Kobe is deadly and Odom is a great facilitator and all-around contributor.

Kwame, Bynum, and Smush are all bad defenders. Going by opponent PER just as one kind of stat, the league average is PER of 15. Kwame's opponent's score 20.1 when he's a PF, 19.0 when he's a C. Kwame himself produces 7.0 PF, 14.9 C. Parker's opponent's PER is 18.0 (smush produces 12.8). Farmar's opponent 15.2 (jordan produces 11.6).

Basically outside of Odom/Kobe, all the Lakers are poor on the offensive end, but that's no surprise. But they're also bad on the defensive end. No offense, no defense, why are they playing?

Who put together this team, and what's the strategy when most of the players can't produce on either end of the court?

Kwame is a BAD defender? If anything, he is the best post defender in the league.

What the Lakers should do
Luke + 19th pick + Cook

for

Shawn Marion

Bynum + Kwame + Evans + 2nd round pick

for

Gasol

Sign Bell with MLE

C Gasol
PF Odom
SF Marion
SG Kobe
PG Bell

I can dream, can't I?

[el badman]

Kwame is a BAD defender? If anything, he is the best post defender in the league.

Yeah, right before Vitaly Potapenko