Ok, this is my first post on my NBA Analysis blog, and what better way then to kick this blog off then by discussing Kobe Bryant.
Recently, Kobe went off on Andrew "Ship his ass out" Bynum, emphatically pushing for the Lakers to trade Bynum for Jason Kidd. When asked about Bynum's upside, he replied "Mitch Kupchak [Laker's General Manager] had the nerve to ask me that same question." (http://thekobevideo.com)
After wandering Orange County parking lots looking for rogue film crews to tape his latest rant against the Lakers, Kobe demanded a trade.
I get the sense that Kobe really hates big men. First, dude runs Shaq out of town, calls him a fatass, and wants to be the man. Kobe becomes the man, wants the Lakers to build around him. Lakers accede to his demands, try to build around Bynum, another big-man, (where it should be noted, that Phil Jackson is coach of the Lakers, runs the triangle offense, which is dependant on a big man.)
Dude's trade demand has basically sunk the Lakers for at least the next 5 years, for several years.
There is no way that Bynum is going to grow to be the projected player he could have been with Bryant over his shoulder. Reminds me of how Michael Jordan decimated several of the big men he did not want in Chicago, chosen by Jerry Krause. MJ made it a living hell for those guys, and cost them their development. Most recent example of that is Kwame Brown, aka the ***** fag, and the giant pussy.
Next, the Lakers are definitely not gonna be able to build with Kobe. The Lakers have no decent trade assets to trade for Kobe. Who do they have? Lamar Odom? Andrew "ship his out" Bynum? Although Odom is a good player, no one is going to give equal vlue for him, especially since he is entering his prime, and has not shown any signs of being a dominant player (partly because he was such a good teammate, by deferring to Kobe, and partly due to injury problems). Bynum will not bring any equal value back because no GM would give equal value considering that they know he is not welcome with Kobe helming the Lakers.
The Lakers other option is to trade Kobe. BUt to whom and for what? Kobe has limited his choices to only a few teams, like the Bulls and Knicks, but there is no way those teams will give up, or have enough assets to pry KObe away. Next, I am going out on a limb by saying hat no team on the cusp of winning would trade anything have decent for Kobe because Kobe is the ultimate locker room killer (See Kobe's history with Shaq, Karl "I'm hunting Mexicans" Malone, Andrew Bynum, etc.)
In the end, the Lakers are not going anywhere for the next 5 years. If I were them, I would try to release Bryant (without a buyout), or just let him rot away at the end of the Lakers bench. At least, that will show the other Lakers that Kobe-isms will not be tolerated, and maybe, once Kobe's contract is done, the Lakers can build properly without guys who will rip the organization that his shown him so much.
