Sport, you're not too far out of line, but I just don't think they do it for Gordon, Noc, and future picks. If that's all it takes talent-wise there are other teams that can come up with something (assuming Kobe would go there of course). I just don't see them being that desperate, unless I drastically underestimate how pissed off Kobe is. I think it MIGHT be feasible if Tyrus or #9 is involved in that package as well...

ordon-4 million SG for SG, will make good young inside outside duo with bynum
Duhon-3.2 million Need help at PG, need D in backcourt, plus expiring contract
Khryapa-1.8 million they like combo forwards (odom, walton, radmonovic)...expiring contract
Nocioni-5-7 million sign and trade-steps in for Walton, whos contract is up, noc is better at both ends
future 1st rounders young rebuilding teams want flexibility to make future deals, they'll want future 1sts

that's over 15 million in salary

this may be the 1st time i have ever quoted myself, but FOR THE LAST TIME we dont need to trade kirk or wallace or sign noc to a ridiculous deal.

We only need to get to 15 million in salary. Noc is going to get AT LEAST 5 million. Songalia got that last year and he only plays 1 side of the court and backed up an all star (Jamison). Noc is an upgrade over Walton, whose contract is up. Consider him in the deal.

Duhon and Khyrapa add up to just over 5 million in expiring contracts.

That's 10-12 million right there. Add Gordon, a given, exchaning SGs and giving them a possible all star, and a few future 1sts gets u there.

As for #9, if we include noc we'd have to do a sign and trade and that cannot be done till july 1st. The only way to include #9 is to draft a player for the lakers and send him in july too.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do the deal i mentioned before. I think adding TT gets it done almost for sure (assuming kobe doesnt back down from his trade demand) but i REALLY REALLY want to keep him off the table. I'd rather give them every other 1st rounder for the next 10 years (NBA prohibits teams from giving up two 1st rounders in a row), honestly.

Can we agree to a trade in principle including Noc's sign and trade, and then draft a player for them? Does that ever happen?

So I guess Kobe now doesn't want to be traded. What a crock! Tomorrow he will want to be traded AGAIN! How do you read this guy?

Kobe flat out said he wants to be traded in an interview with Stephan A. Smith, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. There arent many teams that can work a trade for Kobe out and were one of the teams that can.

One thing that intrigued me would be something like Kobe for Garnett and maybe some other guys. But if those teams want to move them, their salaries would certainly line up.

CHICAGO
It'd be difficult to put together enough salaries to add up to at least $16.2 million, which is the minimum needed to make the trade work prior to June 30 under the 125 percent rule. If you do it after July 1, you'd have to find $17.9 million worth of salaries to lump together.

You could do it by putting together a package of Tyrus Thomas ($3.5M), Ben Gordon (4.9M), Chris Duhon (3.3M) and Andres Nocioni (in a sign-and-trade deal in which the Argentine would get a starting salary of $6.2 million).

But would John Paxson be willing to give up that much?

Am I the only one that would run away with a deal like that giggling like a school girl?

Deal No. 2: Chicago trades Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Victor Khryapa and the No. 9 pick for Kobe.

Additional notes: This deal works as long as the Bulls renounce P.J. Brown's rights; also, it means the Lakers would receive a mammoth (and appealing) trade exception in the deal.

Comments: This seems like the most natural home for Kobe -- it's a big city; they're a contender in the East; there's enough talent left after the deal to make a run, and even the MJ-Kobe symmetry works nicely -- as well as the best possible haul for the Lakers. The deal could work in a variety of ways: Instead of renouncing Brown's rights, the Bulls could include Andres Nocioni as a sign-and-trade (starting at around $5 million per) and renounce Mike Sweetney's rights instead of Brown's. If they wanted to get even more creative, they could make it Deng, Gordon, P.J. Brown (sign and trade -- one year, $10 million) and the No. 9 for Kobe. They could try to substitute Ty Thomas and a future No. 1 for Deng. Etc., etc., etc.

Two big obstacles here:

(A) Would the Bulls ever give up Deng? The Lakers would have to get him back in a Kobe deal, right? I feel like he's become slightly overrated over the past season -- he's definitely a potential All-Star; he definitely could become the second-best player on a championship-caliber team, but I don't see him getting much better than he is right now. Do you ever see him scoring 27-28 a game? Do you ever see him being the crunch-time scorer on a great team? If you could land Kobe and keep Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace, Ty Thomas, Chris Duhon and Thabo Sefolosha, then sign one more veteran to help them out, that's a potential 2008 title team. Isn't the whole point to win a title?


( Would John Paxson ever roll the dice with a mega-deal for someone like Kobe? He seems to be happier stockpiling young assets and waiting for one of these other teams to offer him the likes of KG or Jermaine O'Neal for 30 cents on the dollar. By making a Kobe deal, Paxson would be shoving his chips to the middle of the table ... something he's been completely unwilling to do. We will see.