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[DutheDoduhon21]

Sources: Chicago still the most likely preference for Bryant
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: October 27, 2007, 4:37 PM ET
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The Kobe Bryant-to-Chicago trade talks are very real, and they've been real for a while.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls have been having daily discussions about Bryant trade possibilities for at least the past week, with Bryant's no-trade clause throwing a unique wrench into the situation, according to sources.

The Lakers are asking for a package built around Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah, which is more than Chicago is willing to surrender. Also, Bryant would not want to play in Chicago if the Bulls surrendered all four of those players, believing there would not be enough talent left to compete for a championship, and he would veto that trade even if the Bulls and Lakers were both in favor of it.

Further complicating matters is the division within the upper echelon of the Lakers front office, a house divided between the competing desires of owner Jerry Buss, his son, Jim, daughter Jeanie (and her boyfriend, coach Phil Jackson) and general manager Mitch Kupchak. According to sources, one faction seems more determined than ever to part with Bryant, while others still are hanging onto the belief that Bryant can still be persuaded to stay in Los Angeles.

Bryant sat out the Lakers' final exhibition game Friday night in Las Vegas after injuring his right wrist in the Lakers' previous game. It has become an accepted fact around the Lakers that Bryant still wishes to be traded, and two sources with direct knowledge of the ongoing trade discussions said Bryant's preferred -- and most likely -- destination remains Chicago.

So while the NBA's only no-trade clause gives Bryant a substantial amount of leverage in determining his future, it also is hampering the Lakers in their efforts to get something approaching fair value for arguably the best player in the league. One source said the Bulls' supposed opposition to including Deng in any deal had been overstated in recent media reports.

A source told ESPN.com that the likelihood of a Bryant trade before opening night seemed higher a few days ago than it does now, and a deal going down sometime before the end of November now seemed more likely. But the situation remained fluid, and with other teams trying to lobby the Bryant camp to get on the list of his acceptable destinations, the trade possibilities surrounding Bryant only figured to increase in the days leading up to Tuesday night's start of the NBA season.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

hope this isnt true, and the bulls would NEVER give up luol deng and ben gordon, seems very unlikely the trade will happen.

[ZoomSlowik]

That is why Pax isn't making any deals for these superstars, everyone wants several of our key players.

[Brian]

Pax is way to smart to trade gordon/deng/tyrus/noah for kobe. Can't depleet your team like that. I say Gordon, Noc, draft picks, maybe one of Tyrus/Noah.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Nothing is going to happen until December 15th when Nocioni is able to be traded. Then we will see a Kobe trade if at all.

[soxfan101]

Im sorry I dont even want to give up 2 of those 4 players in any trade let alone all 4. Id maybe be fine with Gordon, Noah, and Nocioni but even than not a huge fan.

[Steve9347]

OH MY GOD.

Why won't the press stop with this? Deng, Gordon, Tyrus, and Noah is a ridiculous amount and no team would ever make that trade. Kobe Bryant is good, possibly the best player in the game, but that is a ridiculous amount and until I hear that Buss isn't demanding Deng then I'm not going to think that anything will get done.

[72-10]

i have an oddly strong feeling this will go down, but def without Lou. We wont part with him and thankfully Kobe's bitching will help us keep him. I just think the idea of a potential next Jordan/Pippen combo is too good. If we can keep Noah or Noc, I'd be happy enough--with Grey playing well and mature immediatley, we are deep enough.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

Deng isn't even close to Pippen, but its a good thought. Apparently Phil Jackson is fed up with Kobe not putting his heart and soul into these preseason games and not being prepared. I smell a T.O tirade coming up soon after L.A goes 1-7 to open the season.

Whatever, however, GET A DEAL DONE that makes sense for Kobe. He's the best player on the planet it would be moronic not to make your best effort to bring him to Chicago especially knowing that he wants to come here.

[b-riann]

this is why i repeatedly keep saying i will only be happy with this trade is if deng isnt involved. if they want gordon, noc, duhon, noah and/or tyrus, id do it in a heartbeat.

again, that is just me. my brothers friend saw kobe in a coffee shop in LA and he asked kobe if he wants to play in chicago, and kobe replied "man, i'd love to".

in my mind, the guy wants here. people can say he ruins teams and all that BS, but to me its like randy moss: if he comes here and wins, then he'll keep his mouth shut and be the best player in the world that he is

hinrich, deng, kobe, joe smith, and wallace, with sef, gardner, and gray coming off the bench

[SoxFan1]

this is why i repeatedly keep saying i will only be happy with this trade is if deng isnt involved. if they want gordon, noc, duhon, noah and/or tyrus, id do it in a heartbeat.

again, that is just me. my brothers friend saw kobe in a coffee shop in LA and he asked kobe if he wants to play in chicago, and kobe replied "man, i'd love to".

in my mind, the guy wants here. people can say he ruins teams and all that BS, but to me its like randy moss: if he comes here and wins, then he'll keep his mouth shut and be the best player in the world that he is

hinrich, deng, kobe, joe smith, and wallace, with sef, gardner, and gray coming off the bench

Amazing starting 5, but an incredibly weak bench.

[Chicago Bulls Fr...]

It is all about depth when it comes to the postseason and if you have none your chances of winning a championship are slim and none. See the Spurs and the Pistons..

[b-riann]

Amazing starting 5, but an incredibly weak bench.

right. but i call that a better starting 5 then cleveland's of last year and they made the finals. with this lineup i think we can do some things.

[Balta1701-B]

right. but i call that a better starting 5 then cleveland's of last year and they made the finals. with this lineup i think we can do some things.

Making the Finals from the East is not saying that much right now. "Doing some things" is not the goal. Winning it all is the goal.

If we're getting Bryant, I want to look at the deal and think it's a bargain, plain and simple.

[Wanne]

Hey....if any deal is going to happen...it HAS TO HAPPEN by this Wednesday. It's deadline day for extensions.
So...if Gordon or Deng (which is actually doubtful...Deng anyway) are going to get dealt...they have to get extended to match salaries.

All of this also means that Noc won't be going anywhere because he couldn't be traded by the 15th of Dec.

So if the Lakers take anything it'll have to be Gordon, Thomas, Noah (probably Duhon for salary reasons) and a 1st. Deng isn't going anywhere. Wallace isn't going anywhere. Noc isn't going anywhere. Jerry Buss...if you don't like that deal...suck some friggin dirt....it's all you're getting.
I don't give a crap about those GM trader things...Paxson isn't going to purge the entire roster for Mr Rapist. I personally don't want to see it happen...and Pax doesn't have to do crap.

ps...the bears suck.

[sport1016]

About needing a good bench to win a championship, that is true. But if you look at the Pistons and spurs really, you are talking about needing 3 good bench players. One of the Bulls biggest problems is that it is hard to distinguish talent wise from our 7th to our 13th best player. That is why the rotations are always terrible early in the year. Too many guys playing a few minutes not developing a consistent role or any rhythm.

Now that our best players are veterans, they could honestly stand to lose some depth. Deng and Hinrich should both be close to 40mpg this year (35.5 and 37.5 respectively last year).

The bulls want kobe, but they also think the team could be damn good as is, so they wont make a desperate deal to get him until after the season. That means if a deal goes down now Paxson is in a position of considerable power.

That means holding onto Deng. I know Kobe and Deng wouldn't be as good as MJ/Pip, but who cares? The NBA is not as good now as it was then. I think that's pretty obvious. The Suns, blazers, Jazz, and probably even the Sonics and Knicks and Pacers teams in their primes would all destroy San Antonio, Miami, or Detroit in a 7 game series.

Kobe has said if he comes here he wants to play with Ben Wallace. Great. I'm sure Kobe would re-energize Big Ben. And you have to keep Hinrich. 1) He's already signed to a reasonable deal. 2) Oh yeah. He's a perfect compliment to Kobe. Probably the best PG he's ever played with even (no disrespect to Ron Harper). They'd be the best defensive backcourt in the league, and Kirk is enough of a combo guard that he could be a useful scorer when kobe is playmaking but also give him someone reliable to play off of, something he hasn't had in his last few years.

I really think if you Keep Hinrich and Deng somehow and get Kobe their averages would go through the roof. THe same way guys playing with Nash or Shaq always have better stats. Kobe gets the same kind of attention for aggressive guys like deng and krich to really put up numbers.

Based on all acounts, the Lakers basically want 2 of kirk, deng, BG, and one or both of noah/TT, and maybe nocioni too.

Pax has leverage, I think he'd be willing to give up BG, Noah, and Nocioni without thinking too hard about it.

So negotation wise they are basically a Kirk/Deng apart and then some.

So what is Kirk/Deng + worth? How about cap relief (5 million in expiring contracts via Duhon/Khryapa) and 2 first rounders? And we agree to take back a bad contract.

So we trade BG, Noah, Nocioni, Duhon, Khryapa, and 2008 and 2010 first rounders for Kobe and Brian Cook. The money works...after Dec 15.

Active Roster:

Kirk
Kobe
Deng
TT
Wallace
--bench rotation---
Thabo/Curry
Thabo/Gardner
Thabo/Griffin
Smith/Cook
Gray/Smith

It's actually a solid bench considering thabo can sub at 3 positions for guys who will all be playing lots of minutes. He covers for a lot of people but actually should be reasonably available to do so. Joe Smith will provide steady veteran scoring off the bench as would Brian Cook or whichever underachieving pf the Lakers send us. And you can't forget it was only 17 months ago Griff was starting in the finals for Dallas. If Gray, curry, and Gardner give anything off the bench you're talking about a rotation that could absolutely win it all. Maybe not this year. But, maybe, pretty soon, win a few.

It doesn't seem like a deep team because lately we've been so much deeper than this, but this is actually solid depth for a typical team with superstars.

This is a good trade for the bulls and decent for the Lakers. Pax has the leverage for the next few months, let's see if he can use it to put us over the top.