Despite the consensus that it must be done, trading Kobe Bryant, arguably the NBA’s best player, may be the league’s hardest deal to execute. Lakers Owner Jerry Buss wants to trade Kobe, Kobe would like to move on to another team, and Phil Jackson has even said that he wants the distraction to be resolved one way or the other. So why is it so difficult to deal Kobe?
Kobe Bryant and his $19.4 million salary for the 2007-2008 season (roughly 30% of the Lakers’ payroll) alone are hard to move under NBA’s trade guidelines. Add to that his full no-trade clause, only two guaranteed seasons remaining on his contract, and the fact that he wants to go to a team that post-trade will be better than the Lakers are currently, and you’ve got a nearly immovable object.
If history is any indication, the Lakers need to be prepared to accept a less-than-perfect deal. Trades for superstars in their productive years almost always leave the superstar’s old team on the losing end of the transaction. That is one reason very few superstars are traded in basketball. Over the past four decades, future hall-of-famers traded in or near their prime, including Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal (past his prime but still helped win a title), Charles Barkley, Moses Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain have returned their old teams less value than was lost. The trades may have worked for other reasons, such as a star wearing out his welcome, but the on-court production rarely comes close.
While speculation swirls around the Bulls, Mavericks and Wizards, with several other teams trying to “low-ball” the Lakers, according to Lakers management, something has to give. If this trade is to be made everyone needs to be willing to sacrifice; Kobe will have to agree go to a team that will give up talent to get him, the team that acquires Kobe will have to incorporate him into a mediocre squad that will resemble the pre-trade Lakers, and the Lakers will have to be prepared to receive less value than they are giving up.
But then happiness comes at a price.
2 comments:
Kobe is a bad guy and a bad teammate. Nobody wants to play with him and he doesn't make anyone around him better. Why trade your future for this guy??
Kobe is the best player in the NBA. He can add a killer instict to any team he goes to. He should go East where the path to the Finals is much easier. No way the Lakers would trade him to a team in the West, especially not a good team.
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