This Kobe trade went through
The discussions didn't begin immediately upon our introduction (we were in preschool, after all) but my friend Lingo and I have exchanged many a thought on the sporting world since. Seeing as we've both transplanted from Texas to the Los Angeles area, we find ourselves in the middle of Kobe country. Well, it's Kobe country for now, at least. While this discussion may not satisfy Kobe's demands, it involves him and a trade (of thoughts).
CLAY: While the Kobe trade talk seems to have cooled the last few days (during which the Lakers just happened to have beaten Phoenix and Utah) the damage has been done. It's too late for Kobe to go back on his word, particularly after he reiterated it every chance he got, even when he didn't actually have to do it verbally - "I've got the uniform on, the Laker uniform on (and) I'm ready to play and represent the organization the way it should be represented," Kobe said on opening night. Inspirational, if I've ever heard it.
Now that the psychological area has been broken down to its absolute core, let's get into the nuts and bolts of the situation.
LINGO: The catch 22 that makes trading Kobe so difficult hinges on the fact that his contract gives him the right to nix any trade deal if he doesn't like it. The Lakers' brain-trust (or brainless-trust if you like) is determined to get fair value in return, as well it should be. Kobe is determined to play for a contender. But to put together a package of players that would represent fair value for Kobe, you would have to gut any potential trade partner. Look at the rumored deal with Chicago, the Lakers are asking for half of their team and almost all of their best players (Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah). Kobe, plus the remaining half of the Bulls, puts him right back where he started, on a middling team where Kobe has to do all the heavy lifting, making the trade unattractive to him.
CLAY: You're right, Kobe would never agree to be traded for half the Bulls roster. The Bulls wouldn't agree to it either.
If a Kobe trade does go through, the only possible reason will be Kobe's alienation of Lakers management, fans and teammates making it unbearable to keep him around.
At this point the standoff between Kobe and the Lakers front office looks like it could get Kobe what he wants - to be traded for 50 cents on the dollar to a team that isn't dismantled by the deal. Of course, this likely leaves the Lakers in full-scale rebuilding mode. It's impossible to get fair trade value for the best player in the NBA and the Lakers know this.
Take the three-team deal mentioned recently: Bulls get Kobe, Lakers get Ben Wallace and Ron Artest, Kings get Ben Gordon and P.J. Brown. Let me get this straight, the Lakers are losing the league's best (and most clutch) scorer who is also one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders and gaining two good defensive players, one of whom is a solid scorer? You go from a Kobe-Lamar Odom one-two punch to Odom-Artest? That's a precipitous drop-off.
But it's great for the Bulls, of course, which is exactly why Kobe would agree to it.
LINGO: It brings up a developing issue with the NBA that really is starting to hack me off - star players forcing trades when their team isn't performing to the star player's expectations. Now, I can appreciate a player's competitive desire to compete for a championship every year. That's fine and dandy. But that doesn't outweigh their contractual obligation, not to mention obligations to the city and the fans. How did we get to the point where players, who willingly signed long-term contracts for tens of millions of dollars, are forcing management to trade them, when, as with Kobe's case, that management doesn't do what that star player wants. Kobe wanted the Lakers front-office to make certain personnel moves, such as trade for Jason Kidd or Kevin Garnett. They didn't and now Kobe wants out. Not that I want to defend Mitch Kupcake and Jerry Buss' diletant son, but where the hell does Kobe get off dictating to them what they should or should not do. He signed a contract to play basketball, not to manage the team, and nothing in his contract guarantees that the Lakers will be contending for a title every year.
Whether or not the Lakers' wins thus far over two of the last four teams left in the West last year mean anything, it's not like Kobe is stuck on a perennial lottery team. The Lakers are a middle of the pack team in the far more difficult Western Conference, which means they're about the 10th best team in the NBA.
CLAY: Exactly, they may even be a good team if Kobe would give his teammates something to believe in. There's a reason Lakers management refused to trade Andrew Bynum - he's developing into a potentially dominant center. And Lamar Odom isn't quite chopped liver, either. The Lakers have too many role players, but there certainly are some useful ones in the bunch.
Beyond Kobe and other star players taking lightly contractual obligations, what makes Kobe think it's such a small task to build a championship caliber team? Sure, it's easy to put together a contender when the NBA's best player is shipped off in a lopsided trade, but there have been teams - big-market teams, at that - toiling in mediocrity for years. The Bulls were a legitimate contender last year for the first time since the Jordan era ended almost A DECADE AGO. And still their young team got knocked out in the second round. Look at the Knicks for crying out loud. How 'bout the other team in L.A., the Cippers, or Atlanta.
The disgruntled players that handle themselves intelligently are the ones whose gripes we never hear about. Sure there are franchises out there players have a right to want out of (cough, Milwaukee). But their chances of being traded in a realistic deal are exponentially better when they don't advertise that their team is desperate to unload them.
LINGO: The worst part about all of this is the toll it takes on the teams and their fans. The star player, by forcing his team's hand, is ensuring that the team can never get fair value in any trade for that star player, hurting the team in the long term. In the short term, the antics that these players use to force their own trade are even more destructive to the team and disrespectful to the fan base. How could they not be. They are done intentionally to hurt the team, like blackmail. Trade me or I'll ruin you. And how do they do it? There are a many handy ways... Vince Carter, the Michael Jordan of me-first athletes, faked injuries and tanked his way through a season or two. Kobe, who is too competitive to tank, has chosen to take very public shots at the Lakers management, thereby poisoning his relationship with them, his teammates, as well as the fans. Despicable.