Silvy on ESPN 1000 states that Bryant was house-hunting in Chicago this week. Now that KG is officially a member of the Celtrics, look for Kobe's antics to pick up again.

Take it for what it's worth, please.

I love you steve

John Paxson will not blow up the Bulls to get Kobe Bryant, no matter how short sighted Danny Ainge is. The Lakers will not take an offer that does not include Luol Deng and others to get Kobe Bryant. Therefore no deal between Pax and the Lakers will take place.

"Right back at ya slick."

It all depends on whether or not Kobe Bryant actually meant it when he demanded a trade. If he has the balls to sit out the whole season until he's traded, and he gets to pick the team he's traded to, he can force the Lakers to accept pennies on the dollar for him, because his contract is so high that if he's sitting out but still signed, the Lakers could never improve.

if the bulls can make this by giving up nocioni, noah, gordon, and 2 future first round picks, im all for it. i dont think LA will do that trade, so maybe if another team was involved. perhaps boston would want to be the 3rd team?

Deng will be the centerpiece that LA wants. As a matter of a fact, they will probably ask for Deng, Tyrus, and one of Kirk or Ben, just based off of what Boston gave up for Garnett.

I think

our package >> Boston Package

Listen, here's the reality:

There are 2 options.

1. Kobe is not serious about his trade demand, and will not sit out games. He will therefore not be traded.

2. Kobe is very serious about his trade demand, and will sit out games until he is traded to a team he wants to go to. And he's the only player in the NBA with a no trade clause, so he can veto a deal to any team he doesn't want to go to.

Therefore, if reality is #1, then this whole discussion is moot. If reality is number 2, then the only question is...what is the best package the Lakers can get from the few teams Kobe will be willing to accept a trade to. It doesn't matter if they demand Deng if Kobe only will go to one or two teams...the quesiton is, would our offer be better than those of the other 2 teams.

I haven't heard Bryant say a word about sitting out. Until that point, its not a consideration. There is also the fact that the Bulls don't really have many salaries big enough to send to LA without inserting one or more of their young studs into a trade. I just don't see this happening.

If Bryant will not sit out, then there is no Kobe trade. End of discussion.

I'd still love Kobe on this team, but at this point I'd like to see what this team can do next year. And, if we haven't improved much (which I doubt) and still look like we need that "franchise" player, then I'd be willing to re-visit a Kobe deal.

if we could do that, I'd probably cream my pants. we'd also probably have to throw in Duhon to help get the salaries to match.

Oh man, a roster of:

C: Wallace | Smith | Gray
PF: Thomas | Smith
SF: Deng | Shefolosha | Khyrapa | Griffen
SG: Byrant | Shefolosha | Griffen
PG: Hinrich | Shefolosha | Curry

we'd need to bring in someone cheap though who could play the 4 & 5.

too bad it wont happen

Yeah, that starting lineup would be absolutely sick! We'd easily be the cream of the crop in the East, and I think an NBA Championship would be very doable. Unfortunately, that seems highly unlikely at this point.

If its for a few first rounders and Gordon with scrubs involved then sign me up for a trade. If it involves Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, or excess of players then sorry Kobe. He was house hunting here before in 04 when he expressed interest in Chicago while he was a free agent but didn't come.

here is what i think. the first one is a trade i would make, 2nd is a trade i might do, and the 3rd i would not want to do

YES:
gordon
duhon
nocioni
noah
1 or 2 future first round picks


MAYBE:
tyurs
gordon
duhon
nocioni
noah
1 or 2 future first round picks


NO:
tyrus
gordon
deng
nocioni
duhon
noah
1 or 2 future first round picks

Didnt you get the memo? Boston is the cream of the eastern crop. We might as well not even play and let the eastern conference playoffs be Miami v. Detroit and Lebron v. Paul Pierce (beetlejuice) Garnett and Jesus Shuttlesworth

You know, we will probably know how serious Kobe is about being traded when there are rumors of Phil Jackson quitting again. There is no way in hell that he is gonna stick around through this any longer if Kobe bolts the scene. And Phil always likes to step out the door right before the proverbial sh** hits the fan.

To me I almost thought this was a ploy by him to prove that he can win without having the best teams. I also think he has failed so far and is a no win situation by now. He should have stayed retired.

Oh absolutely. Phils arrogance got him stuck with the last couple lackluster years in LA, and now his overall record is suffering for it. Not that i feel bad for him.

Phil is also getting what, $10 million a year?

Yeah, he is raking in the dough in La La land. Plus, with his books ripping on his former and current teams, Phil has built an empire of constantly flowing cash.

For the money he is being paid, he should be able to get LA to compete with Kobe as the centerpiece

Am I the only one who recalls how abjectly bad the Lakers were in the Rudy T 1/2 season before Phil came back?

From a business perspective, here's the reality; Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are a hugely marketable and profitable brand, especially together. But if Kobe Bryant leaves, or the Lakers are so bad they can't fill the seats, then a lot of that profit potential vanishes. The Lakers were a disaster the year that Phil was gone; most importantly in the fact that at the end of the season, the people weren't showing up to games.

If it costs $30 million between Kobe and Phil to hold that brand together and keep people in the seats, even with a non-championship team, for the Lakers, financially, it's worth it.