NBA News - Kobe Bryant Demands a Trade

Kobe Bryant wants a trade from the Lakers and Bodog is offering odds on where he will go.

For years, the national media has blamed Kobe Bryant for the Shaquille O'Neal trade and the demise of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now members of the Los Angeles Lakers front office are blaming Bryant, which has infuriated the Lakers star. When Bryant heard the Lakers were blaming him for the disastrous Shaq trade, he publicly demanded that he be traded, too.

THE SPARK

The Los Angeles Times quoted an anonymous L.A. Lakers official saying that Kobe Bryant demanded Shaquille O'Neal be traded.

Bryant says that he always assumed the media was making up stories about the Shaq-Kobe Feud. When he found that Lakers officials might actually be fueling media stories, he decided to set the record straight. So he went on four L.A. area radio stations today, as well as appearing on ESPNRadio during the national broadcast of The Dan Patrick Show.

Kobe says that three summers ago, Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss asked him to a suite in a L.A. hotel. According to Kobe, Buss told him that Shaq's body was breaking down and the Lakers had no intention on paying O'Neal $30 million dollars a year, or the going rate of $80 over 3 years.

Kobe asserts that Buss told him the Lakers would trade Shaq, then went on to discuss maxing out a free agent contract with the star Lakers forward. Bryant signed that contract the next day.

SHAQ WEIGHS IN

Shaquille O'Neal discussed Kobe's story with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. For the record, Shaq claims he "1000%" believes Kobe's story.

Shaq went on to say that he lost respect for Jerry Buss when the Lakers owner didn't sit Shaq down and tell him the truth to his face.

So it seems that rumors of the Shaq-Kobe hatred were exaggerated. Kobe admitted the two had their problems over the years, but mentioned that all teams have their problems. Though I've thought Kobe was a selfish me-first player these last three years, this story has the ring of truth to it.

If Shaq hadn't come out in support of Bryant, I probably would think differently. It looks to me like Kobe kept his mouth shut to be a good members of the Lakers organization. Now that members of the organization have turned on him, he is demanding the Lakers take responsibility for their past actions instead of foisting the blame on him.

LAKERS POWER STRUGGLE

Stories have it that Jerry Buss is stepping away from the leadership of the franchise. Two of Buss's children are in a minor power struggle to fill the power void. Meanwhile, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is struggling to maintain his position in the franchise after several years of mediocrity, while Phil Jackson lurks about in the background.

For the record, Kobe says that Phil is playing the peacemaker at the moment, and is the only person in the organization he trusts. Kobe has stated in the last few days that he would like to see former Lakers GM, Jerry West, return to Lakers in some capacity. West is Kupchak's former mentor, and is unlikely to push aside his protege.

In any case, it seems organizational suicide to trade Kobe Bryant. Such a decision would only compound the stupidity of the Shaq trade. Kobe might be exerting public pressure to influence the private power struggle, because he claims he has a "good idea" who made the anonymous comments.

TRADE TALK

But if Kobe is willing to force a trade, it might come to that. Several teams have assets that might get in the ballpark of a Kobe trade, though it would no doubt be a Shaq-style fire sale. Which brings us to Bodog player proposition bet on a likely Kobe Bryant trade.

Which NBA team will the Lakers trade Kobe Bryant to?

There will be no action if Kobe Bryant is not traded by November 1, 2007.

Chicago Bulls - 3/1
Phoenix Suns - 7/2
Dallas Mavericks - 4/1
New York Knicks - 11/2
Minnesota Timberwolves - 6/1
Los Angeles Clippers - 7/1
Field (Any Other Team) - 7/1
Portland Trailblazers - 9/1
Golden State Warriors - 10/1
New Jersey Nets - 12/1
Utah Jazz - 12/1
Houston Rockets - 15/1
Denver Nuggets - 18/1
Boston Celtics - 20/1
Miami Heat - 25/1

THE CHICAGO BULLS

The top rumors have the Chicago Bulls trading for Kobe Bryant. One rumor I heard was Luol Deng, Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni.

If the Bulls were willing to give up that package, I could see the Lakers actually considering such a trade. Though none of those players is a talent the level of Kobe Bryant, I see that almost as a bailout trade. All three players are young and talented.

Luol Deng plays the small forward role that Kobe plays. He sure seemed to be the best player on the Bulls during the playoffs, leading the sweep of the defending champion Miami Heat. Ben Gordon is the Bulls second best scorer and would instantly become the starter at shooting guard. These might be the two best Bulls.

Andres Nocioni is a talented young bench player who averaged 14 points per game coming off the bench. So a package of three young players is more than I would expect to see the Lakers get in a fire sale.

I wonder if the Bulls would make that trade. They would be able to pair Bryant with Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas, but they would have an awfully thin roster beyond that.

THE DALLAS MAVERICKS

Local speculation in Dallas is whether the Mavericks would trade Kobe Bryant for NBA MVP Dirk Nowitski. This seems to split the local pundits and fandom, though the media members tend to favor the trade. In a poll of local fans, about 55% say they wouldn't want to trade Dirk for Kobe.

All of this overlooks the fact that the Lakers are unlikely to trade Kobe Bryant for Dirk Nowitski straight up. In fact, the Mavs would probably have to trade extra players, such as Josh Howard. I see no chance of that happening.

After the emotional MVP ceremony where Mark Cuban fought back tears when talking about Nowitski, I see little chance that Cuban would trade Dirk under any circumstances. And as unlikely as the Lakers are to trade Kobe for Dirk, there is no chance a trade happens without Dirk involved. Don't bet on this one.

THE PHOENIX SUNS

The Suns have a roster full of young talent. Every offseason, there is speculation that the Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire rivalry will force a trade of Marion. They have young players like Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw to throw into a trade package. They even have the Atlanta Hawks #1 pick next year, which could be a high lottery pick.

So if the Lakers decide to go with a complete rebuilding process, then the Suns have pieces which might entice the Lakers.

Imagine a starting lineup which includes Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and Kobe Bryant. That would be wild. Of course, if Stoudamire and Marion had trouble sharing the ball, then throwing Kobe into the mix might be a disaster waiting to happen. Somehow, though, I have a feeling there would be enough wins to soothe the egos.

Whether the Lakers would trade Bryant within the conference, I'm not sure. I always got the idea that the Lakers had better offers from Western Conference clubs, but took a lesser deal to get Shaquille into the Eastern Conference.

OTHER TRADE POSSIBILITIES

In the end, I wonder if the Lakers will trade Kobe. I'm sure they take every step possible to calm him down and address his needs. Though he probably feels betrayed by the Lakers front office, his frustrations probably wouldn't have boiled over if that front office had put better players around him these last few years.

My guess is Kobe's tirade makes it more likely the Lakers make a blockbuster trade to bring another star player to the Lakers. Kobe has been upset that the Lakers didn't pull the trigger on Baron Davis, Carlos Boozer and Jason Kidd trades in the past.

Expect to see the Lakers make a push to trade for someone like Jason Kidd or Kevin Garnett this summer. The Lakers didn't want to mortgage the future by trading young Andrew Bynum this last winter, but they are going to have to dangle Bynum to get Kidd or Garnett. Bryant might be forcing the Lakers to at least discuss a possible Bynum trade this summer.

But if you want to take the Bodog bet, I would suggest the Chicago Bulls or some other Eastern club. The Lakers will trade Kobe Bryant out of the conference, no doubt.

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