Kobe Bryant, by the way, can play.
Sometimes that’s a lesser part of the whole Kobe universe, because, yes:
1) He is fairly crazy;
2) He consistently engages in (he can’t help himself) particularly high-profile feuds, screeching behavior and uncomprisingly infantile activity and probably still wants the Lakers to trade him, though he hasn’t said so in a while.
But then you watch Bryant infuse Team USA with defensive energy from the jump at whatever the hell that international tournament is the new-fangled US team is dominating right now…
You hear what the other superstars are saying about him and how much Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski respect and are counting on him…
And you have to conclude:
* Kobe hasn’t won a title since Shaq departed the Lakers, barely made the playoffs the last few years, has never won the MVP (or ever really come close), has watched Tim Duncan take four championships.
But despite all that, Kobe has to be–HAS TO BE–considered the most dangerous player in the NBA, which I’ve said before, through the craziness and the more craziness and the extra craziness bonus time.
And probably the most valuable, if you’re looking at realistic trade options.
Which is why the Lakers can’t trade him–they’ll probably never have a player like him again (Wilt, Elgin, West, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, at some point it has to end, right?).
And they’ll never get full value for him in a trade.
Because there is no equal value for Kobe.
My measuring stick: If everybody in the league was put up for trade, and if you pull out the rookies (Greg Oden) and Spurs (Tim Duncan), which player would lure the best offers?
Kobe. It’d be Kobe.
* Steve Nash is an incredible player, but he’s four years older than Bryant and doesn’t play much defense.
If you put them both on the trade market, I think you’d get much more Kobe Interest than Nash Interest.
* LeBron James is getting there, but isn’t close to Kobe on the defensive side. (Think of it this way: Switch Kobe onto last year’s Cavaliers. Are they better or worse? Better. They’re definitely better.)
* Dwyane Wade, either.
* Amare Stoudemire, either.
* Dirk Nowitzki, last year’s MVP, vs. Kobe is not even worth a discussion. (Again, switch Kobe for Dirk in last year’s playoffs. Do the Warriors blow away Dallas? Are you kidding?)
* Jason Kidd has remained at the top of his game for a long time, and has looked great in this tournament, but he’s older than Kobe and is a problematic outside shooter.
* Duncan is the Man, and I think he has more value than anybody in the league and that will continue until Greg Oden comes into his own. But Duncan’s not going anywhere.
* Dwight Howard might become the Man, but he’s not close yet.
* Kevin Garnett vs. Kobe… that’s an interesting one, and it might be very comparable in a year or so, when Kobe’s opt-out is coming near.
KG is a premium–a long, versatile, shooting 6-11 who fits into any system. I think I’ve typed that before, somewhere.
But Kobe is two years younger, has won three more titles, can absolutely overwhelm you on offense (obviously) and, when the mood strikes, can also obliterate most perimeter players on the defensive side. If Kobe lands on the trade market, I’m telling you, the Lakers would not be happy about it, but they’ll also be offered more than Minnesota got for KG–Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair and draft picks.
A lot more than that.
And because of that, unless and until Kobe forces the Lakers’ hand in some incredibly dramatic way (hold out? hard to imagine), the Lakers cannot trade him.
Can’t even consider it, the way he’s playing and the way he’ll play, probably, for the next three or four seasons, at the very least.
He’s playing on a team of superstars right now, and there’s nobody on that court or is as good as he is. That means the Lakers could never get enough for him.
(The Lakers got Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant for Shaq. Again: Proof that you never get enough for transcendant players.)
So Kobe’s doing a lot to reclaim his image (again) after all the trade demands of a few months ago… and he’ll probably have to reclaim his image in another few months all over again if he does some more crazy stuff…
And more than anything, he’s showing the Lakers exactly why they can’t trade him. Oops!
By Tim Kawakami
NBA.COM
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