Kobe Bryant

So the NBA season has started and it's time to watch some hoops, right? Well, there's a little distraction in the NBA that is kind of overshadowing the start of the 2007-08 season. Anybody ever heard of Kobe Bryant?



Kobe Bryant is holding the Los Angeles Lakers hostage. Why you ask? Because he can. It's been said that Bryant has the best contract in the NBA. He has a full no-trade clause and can opt out of his contract in 2009. So that gives him a little thing called leverage. He's got the Lakers over a barrel. He's demanded a trade and if the Lakers don't accomodate him, he'll surely opt out of his contract in 2009. And what will the Lakers get then? Bupkus, that's what.



So what can the Lakers do to save face? It looks like the only thing they can do is trade him and try and get something of value for him. But how do you get value when the player has all the chips and everyone knows that the player has all of the chips? That's exactly what Mitch Kupchak is thinking. The Lakers GM knows he's bent over Bryant's barrel. He's got nothing. I guarantee you he's been working the phones trying to get the most he can in return before the situation gets out of hand and he can't get a rack of basketballs for Kobe. Which is quite sad when you think about it - Kupchak wouldn't be able to get a rack of basketballs for arguably the best basketball player on the planet.

So who should Kupchak call to try and save face? Since I live in Chicago, I think this one is easy. And honestly, I can't think of anyone else who has the pieces to make a deal work. I mean, who else in the league has 2 4th year potential all-stars like Ben Gordon and Luol Deng? And a big man like Ben Wallace? And a 5th year guard like Kirk Hinrich? And some younger talent like Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefalosha, and Joakim Noah. If John Paxson gives up 3 or 4 of those guys to get Kobe, the Bulls still can be the best on the East. What'snot to like about a team of Kobe Bryant, Kirk Hinrich, Joe Smith, Andres Nocioni and Aaron Gray? All right, that doesn't instill fear in most teams but still, it may be good enough to win the East. And because it doesn't instill fear, Paxson isn't interested in giving up both Deng and Gordon in a deal for Bryant. At least not now. Paxson knows Kupchak is in a horrible position and is trying to get Bryant on the cheap. You can't blame the guy. It's the smart move at this point.

But what will it take for a deal between the Bulls and Lakers for Kobe? I heard on the radio today that there was a tentative 3 way deal involving the Kings where the Lakers would end up with Ron Artest and Ben Wallace while the Bulls get Kobe. I didn't catch what the Kings would get in this deal but as Mike Greenberg mentioned on ESPN radio this morning, if it goes down, it would be the worst deal ever. Wallace and Artest for Kobe? Are you out of your mind??? It sounds like the Lakers want Deng in any deal and Kobe won't come to Chicago unless Deng is still there. So what's the solution? The Lakers will eventually have to trade Bryant to end this mess because it will hang over the team all season. So if they can get Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefalosha and at least one first round pick, that might be the best they can get. Gordon is a scoring machine with suspect defense, although his offense is a bit inconsistent. Thomas could be a stud with his athleticism and maybe Phil Jackson can get him to work hard enough to bring out his talent. Sefalosha is a tall guard who can defend and perhaps add some offense.

Is it enough to get perhaps the best player in the world? No, but what is? Michael Jordan's prime years are past him so that wouldn't work. And the Bulls probably wouldn't include him in the deal anyway.....