KennethTo

I'd be willing to trade Kobe if we fire Mitch first and get a good GM in. At least that way we would get good value for him. If chicago offers Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and Hinrich I would consider it. But if we keep Mitch, we'd probably end up getting eddy curry and steve francis.

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Fav players: Kobe Byrant, Jarrett Jack, Raymond Felton, Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa, Corey Brewer, Javaris Crittenton, Yi Jianlian, Derrick Rose

Phil Jackson: "Bowen is a tenacious defender and will occasionally stick his leg underneath a player when he's up in the air."

Causeway

When the Lakers traded Shaq, they went from a championship team to a border-line playoff team. They might get worse if Kobe gets moved, but they'd go from a team that can't get out of the first round, to maybe a team that can't get in the first round. Not as far as a fall from "grace".

PauloCatarino

3 years removed from the trade, will Shaq (paying with a siperior cast than the Lakers' of his day) ever play on the Finals again?

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Causeway

Who knows. He did already win a title with the Heat. But what does that have to do with the topic?

PauloCatarino

You are right. I misdirected my response.

Still, it wasn't the loss of Shaq that made the Lakers from a championship team to a border-line playoff team. It was the loss of Shaq AND Karl Malone AND (to a lesses extente) Gary Payton AND the inability to reshuffle that did it.

Back to the topic:

Obviously, trading Kobe would be a major error. First, you just don't trade arguably the best player in basketball. Second, if you do so, you certainly won't get equal value in return. If Kobe forced the issue, it would be even worse, it would be Shaquille all over again: teams waiting along to see how desperate the Lakers' brass would be to make something happen instead of risking playing a disgruntled Kobe.

As far as i'm concerned, this is an non-issue. Kobe won't jump ship. And the Lakers don't need a major overhaul in the roster, They just need to find a way to get Elton Brand.

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(...) we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender (...)

aznzen

chicago has the most attractive offer.

kirk, luol deng + ben wallace

ben gordon,thabo,tyrus + 1st rd pick

nocioni, gordon or kirk, luol deng


any of these packages along with probably luke, lamar odom, andrew bynum, farmar, turiaf, radmanovic (give or take one of these players may be packaged with kobe) can definitely put the lakers in a much, much better position.

if you dont think so, then you're definitely a kobe homer.

aznzen

LOL


it wasnt the loss of shaq that made the lakers from a championship team to a border line playoff team?


dude the very next season, shaq was still a monster, he was considered by many to be that years MVP (went to nash) and you're telling me that shaq wasnt the reason la became a borderline playoff team?


gary payton and karl malone was the difference you say? payton was playing on his very last dead legs the past 3 years and malone, i mean c'mon now, MALONE and Kobe are not a championship calibre duo.

aznzen

if you're a LAKER fan, then you know trading Kobe is not the stupidest idea.

PauloCatarino

Reading compreension needed, young grasshopper.

In 2002-2003, SHAQ and KOBE lost in the Semis to the Spurs.
In 2003-2004, SHAQ and KOBE ans KARL ans GARY list in the FINALS to the Pistons.

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(...) we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender (...)

Eternal

Just because someone may disagree with you, that the Lakers will be worse, their Kobe homers? Cmon now...

koberules24

Oh wow! Let's take some trash from Portland! I find it a little convenient that the Kobe haters of the world are now clamoring for him to come to their crappy franchise (just like they did three years ago: hypocrisy). Kobe hasn't even asked to be traded yet and already you guys are dealing him. As I said before Ric Bucher's ESPN report WAS VERY INACCURATE in that Bryant never said that he wants to be traded if the Lakers don't hire West but rather if they don't attempt to pursue him, which all indications thus far indicate they will!

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"All around the country people are picking up the pieces. San Francisco, however, has disappeared completely......up it's own *******."----South Park

koberules24

No that would be if you're a crack addict. There's a big difference between having a hard on for Shaq and being a Laker fan. This is pretty sad. It's like all the pathetic Shaq fans are now trying to take revenge b/c their favorite player was a sell-out.

*And if you think I'm being irrational by saying that then maybe you shouldn't come up with such insane ideas.

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"All around the country people are picking up the pieces. San Francisco, however, has disappeared completely......up it's own *******."----South Park

aznzen

how can you even state reading comprehension is an issue, when you didnt even state your case clearly to begin with? all you said is that shaq is not the reason, without fully explaining its scenario?


also La's series loss with the spurs does not justify LA's overall capability as a much lesser team than the one that preceeded them after their previous loss with the spurs.


bottom line?

Shaq is th reason la is not a contender the previous 2 years, not because karl or gary didnt play for los angeles