They'd have to get REALLY desperate to do that. I mean look at what the initial post is suggesting what they want. I could see it dropping a bit, but going from 3 of our starters and the #9 pick to one starter and no pick is a hell of a drop...

The question is not whether or not the offer would be fair or would satisfy the Lakers. The only question that matters is; how serious is Kobe about this trade demand? Is he serious enough to refuse to play this season?

If he is that serious, then you don't have to meet the Lakers' demands; you have to make the best offer. And as a team not in the Lakers' conference where Kobe may accept a trade to (given that he is one of the few players in the NBA with an actual no-trade clause and therefore has a veto over any deal) there are very few teams who could put together a better offer.

If the Lakers are FORCED to trade Kobe, they will not get what they're asking for. Do you think what Philly got was fair for AI? What the Lakers got for Shaq? You don't trade one of the best couple players in the league and get equal value; it's just not possible. The only quesiton is whether or not Bryant will actually force a trade. If he does that, he can be had at a price the Bulls could offer.

More than two weeks after Kobe Bryant made his trade request to the Lakers, he still wants out, says his agent.

"Kobe's position remains unchanged," Bryant's agent Rob Pelinka told ESPN.com on Friday. "Kobe would like to be moved."

In fact, Kobe met with owner Jerry Buss on Friday and once again voiced his desire to be traded.

The question remains, will the Lakers move him? The head says no. But the scuttlebutt suggests otherwise. A number of GMs and agents around the league seem convinced that Bryant is going to be traded.

The Lakers had strong interest in trading for Jermaine O'Neal before Kobe's trade request. But that interest has cooled since then. Why? The Lakers have been saying that the Pacers' asking price (Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and the No. 19 pick) is too high. But maybe it's because there's no need to bring in a big-money player like O'Neal and gut the team if Kobe isn't going to be around.

From what I can gather, the Lakers would have two conditions to meet in any Kobe Bryant trade:

1. They want to send him to the Eastern Conference.
2. They need a star player back in return.

The Eastern Conference preference would potentially rule out such places as Phoenix and Golden State, both of which have significant assets and interest.

And, of course, the lack of available stars would rule out just about every team in the East, including the Knicks.

Some East teams lack the star power to bid directly for Bryant. Others have stars that aren't going anywhere.

For instance, the Cavs and Heat have superstars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but both are untouchable. Ditto, apparently, for Dwight Howard in Orlando.

Chicago, from what I hear, is Bryant's first preference, so he probably would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to play there. While the Bulls have lots of assets, such as Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and the No. 9 pick in the draft, that package lacks true star power.

Based on my conversations with various sources around the league, I see two intriguing possibilities if the Lakers are looking for an Eastern Conference star -- the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas and the Celtics' Paul Pierce.

Scenario 1

Arenas isn't Kobe, in talent or stardom. But he is from Los Angeles, he's more than three years younger, he has great magnetism and, like Bryant, he can fill the seats.

With Arenas saying he'll opt out of his contract with Washington next summer, the Wizards might want to start looking at ways to move him now before running the risk of losing him for nothing.

Here's one potential trade, with Bryant headed to Chicago and Arenas to L.A.

The Bulls would send Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown (sign-and-trade) to Washington, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.

The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.

The Wizards would send Arenas and Etan Thomas to L.A.

Under that scenario, which couldn't be completed until mid-July, the Lakers would get a star player (Arenas) and a high draft pick (No. 9) that, I'm told, they'd use to get Yi Jianlian if he's still on the board.

The Bulls would be paying a very high price for Kobe -- two high lottery picks and this year's No. 9. But Chicago would keep Deng, something it desperately wants to do. On the other hand, the Bulls still wouldn't have a low-post scorer.

The Wizards would avoid having to break the bank for Arenas next summer, would bring in two very talented young players and would get some serious cap relief down the road.

Scenario 2

A similar trade could work if the Lakers were willing to substitute Boston and Pierce. While Pierce is almost 30 years old, I'm told the Lakers like him -- and he's from L.A., too.

The Bulls would send Gordon, Thomas and Brown (sign-and-trade) to Boston, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.

The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.

The Celtics would send Pierce to L.A.

That deal would make the Celtics even younger than they already are, but it would also give them plenty of assets to continue making deals.

LA got Odom, Butler and a future first for Shaq, that's a lot better than what we'd be sending in that deal. Iverson got a lot less, but he also had a lot more issues with him and was already past his prime. Had they dealt him a few years earlier like they should have, they could have received a much better package than Miller and 2 firsts, which is still not THAT far off from the package in question.

You have a point on the no-trade clause, but either greatly overvalue our guys or underestimate what teams could give up in order to get Kobe on the second point. There are numerous conceivable packages that would be at least comparable to that:

1) Indiana in a deal revolving around Jermaine O'Neal (Granger is the only other real sweetener).

2) Memphis in a deal revolving around Gasol (could potentially add Gay, Warrick or their pick, though that's unlikely).

3) Golden State with their multitude of options. You've got Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Adonale Foyle for the salary filler as well as a couple of intriguing youngsters in Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, and Mickael Pietrus and the #17 pick.

4) The Knicks, which would also probably be on his short list. Even without Marbury or Steve Francis, which LA would probably avoid like the plague, Crawford and Curry are both fairly young and talented (and have large but fairly reasonable salaries), and there's also Quentin Richardson to bridge a salary gap if they give up guys like Channing Frye, David Lee, and/or Nate Robinson.

5) Boston could either go with a Pierce/Kobe swap or deal some of their wealth of young talent (at least 2 of Jefferson, Green, West, Gomes, Rondo, Allen) along with the 5 pick to pair Pierce with another elite scorer. Plus they have Ratliff's expiring contract, which could give LA some CRAZY cap space, and you know they can lure just about any free agent to play for the Lakers.

6) Phoenix in a deal surrounding Marion or Stoudemire (the former is a lot more likely), with Diaw and Barbosa as potential highly intriguing potential add-ons.

7) Portland could send Randolph and a couple of talented young wing players like Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster.

8) The Wizards could do something like Butler and Jamison.

9) Sacramento could conceivably build something around Bibby and/or Artest.
Granted I pulled a few of those out of my ass, but it's not like we're the ONLY team that could put together a passable package. I just have a VERY hard time seeing the Lakers take less than 3 quality pieces for Kobe (or a superior player to Gordon), which would minimally mean adding Tyrus or our pick unless things escalate considerably. They'd have to get REALLY desperate to deal a top-5 talent in his prime for one good starter and essentially two bench players (though Noc is a pretty good one once he gets healthy). The one thing working in our favor is the no-trade clause, but Kobe would have to push the issue to the point of no return AND basically limit it to two or 3 teams that he'd go to.

I really like you well thought out post. However, I differ on a few areas. I think Phoenix, Boston and the Bulls have the best trading pieces to get Kobe. Indiana screwed themselves over with the trades they made last year. Nobody wants Dunleavy, but a O'neal, Harrington deal might have worked.

Anyway, Boston, besides the Bulls probably have the best shot. They have that Ratliff contract you referred to, the 5th pick, Rondo, Jefferson, West, Green, Allen, Gomes, and Perkins. All of whom are on real low contracts. A Ratliff, Allen, Green, West, & the 5th pick (and maybe even Gomes) should be better than what the Bulls would be offering. That would likely bring LA Yi JianLian which would be an instant draw at the box office for the Lakers. A lineup of

West/Farmar/Smush
Green/Allen
Odom/Walton
Yi JianLian/Kwame
Bynum/Mihm (if healthly)

would give the Lakes a lot of young talent and make some of the other peices like Kwame, Mihm, Odom, or Walton expendable to get the other peices the team needs. That would be a pretty good lineup in a couple of years.

As for the Celtics, Bryant and Pierce would probably be the best 1-2 combination in the East and would challenge Melo & AI for the best 1-2 in the league scoring wise. The Celtics would have the 3 headed monsters in Bryant/Pierce/Jefferson.

Rondo
Kobe/Wally
Paul Pierce/Gomes
Jefferson
Perkins

As for Pheonix, I doubt the Lakers want to trade him there, but Phoenix is the team that should be trying harder than anyone to get him. With either Marion or Amare as trade bait, Phoenix could add their first round picks this year (24 & 29), and combination of players next year, Barbosa, Diaw, or Bell. However, all I think they need to do is trade Amare, Bell, & the picks.

Thomas
Marion
Diaw
Kobe
Nash/Barbosa

What a lineup. 3-5 championships and then some serious rebuilding. But I don't think Phoenix would mind.

Based on my conversations with various sources around the league, I see two intriguing possibilities if the Lakers are looking for an Eastern Conference star -- the Wizards' Gilbert Arenas and the Celtics' Paul Pierce.

Scenario 1

Arenas isn't Kobe, in talent or stardom. But he is from Los Angeles, he's more than three years younger, he has great magnetism and, like Bryant, he can fill the seats.

With Arenas saying he'll opt out of his contract with Washington next summer, the Wizards might want to start looking at ways to move him now before running the risk of losing him for nothing.

Here's one potential trade, with Bryant headed to Chicago and Arenas to L.A.

The Bulls would send Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and P.J. Brown (sign-and-trade) to Washington, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.

The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.

The Wizards would send Arenas and Etan Thomas to L.A.

Under that scenario, which couldn't be completed until mid-July, the Lakers would get a star player (Arenas) and a high draft pick (No. 9) that, I'm told, they'd use to get Yi Jianlian if he's still on the board.

The Bulls would be paying a very high price for Kobe -- two high lottery picks and this year's No. 9. But Chicago would keep Deng, something it desperately wants to do. On the other hand, the Bulls still wouldn't have a low-post scorer.

The Wizards would avoid having to break the bank for Arenas next summer, would bring in two very talented young players and would get some serious cap relief down the road.

Scenario 2

A similar trade could work if the Lakers were willing to substitute Boston and Pierce. While Pierce is almost 30 years old, I'm told the Lakers like him -- and he's from L.A., too.

The Bulls would send Gordon, Thomas and Brown (sign-and-trade) to Boston, and the No. 9 pick to L.A.

The Lakers would send Bryant to Chicago.

The Celtics would send Pierce to L.A.

That deal would make the Celtics even younger than they already are, but it would also give them plenty of assets to continue making deals.

i would do these 3

for sure:
gordon
tyrus
9 pick

maybe:
deng
9 pick
duhon
nocioni

not in a million years:
big ben
gordon
deng
9 pick

I pretty much agree with your sentiments. However, in the for sure category I'd prefer to remove Nocioni and keep Tyrus Thomas.