Kobe Bryant News L.A. Lakers

Bulls would add risk in Bryant deal

Even I don't have the answer for this one.

And we all know how rare that is.

Figure this is what it takes to get Kobe Bryant from the Los Angeles Lakers: Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, a first-round draft pick and either Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah.

That would leave the Bulls with a starting lineup of something like Kobe Bryant, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Ben Wallace and Joakim Noah/Thomas/Joe Smith.

Good enough to win a championship?

It would give the Bulls the elusive star and post-up threat they are missing, the kind of player who gets you through big games and playoff series. The Bulls appear good enough as presently constructed to win the most games in the Eastern Conference this season. But can they get through those jump-shooting lulls in the playoffs that have taken them down the last two seasons?

Rarely in the history of the NBA has a team won the championship without a transcendent star who could carry a team. Kobe Bryant is that kind of talent. But he comes with questions, and are they worth it to give up the solid core of talent the Bulls have built patiently the last four years and who seem to fit so well together?

These are the kinds of questions that will be hanging over the Bulls this season, perhaps more than other teams because the Bulls have the depth to put together a big trade and Kobe Bryant's openly expressed desire to play in Chicago.

While a trade has been much discussed the last several months since Kobe Bryant's comments about leaving the Los Angeles Lakers last spring, it gained new momentum last week when Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss said the team would listen—and already has listened—to offers. Previously, the Los Angeles Lakers had been saying they had no intention of trading Kobe Bryant.

But the apparent combination of a failure to acquire another top player, like Kevin Garnett, and the frustration about Kobe Bryant's behavior prompted Buss to make the surprising comments even before the season began.

Some in the Los Angeles Lakers' organization believe the issue of Kobe Bryant's apparent lack of gratitude pushed Buss over the edge, not unlike when he soured on Shaquille O'Neal in 2004 and eventually traded him.

Remember, Kobe Bryant was leaning toward signing with Clippers before his new deal. The Los Angeles Lakers gave Kobe Bryant the maximum contract, going up to $24.8 million in 2010-11, and aided him constantly during his tribulations in his sexual assault case in Colorado.

Now from the Los Angeles Lakers' point of view, it's sort of: This is the thanks we get?

That, too, would be an issue for any new team, which would have to consider what might occur if things didn't go well after acquiring Kobe Bryant.

Kobe Bryant still talks regularly to associates about playing for the Bulls and insists he strongly considered signing with the Bulls after the O'Neal trade. Some who know Kobe Bryant believe he seeks the challenge of winning a title in Michael Jordan's city.

Kobe Bryant certainly would seek a contract extension as part of any trade, and it would start about $27 million per season, the most in the NBA. Sources have indicated that with an attraction like Kobe Bryant and a chance to win again, that kind of contract would be no issue for the Bulls.

Kobe Bryant has a rare NBA no-trade clause, which would put only a few teams such as the Bulls in the running. He also has indicated he would like to play in the Eastern Conference.

But what would it take?

When Kobe Bryant began talking about leaving the Los Angeles Lakers last spring, several teams inquired, including the Bulls.

Though there were no official discussions, the talk out of Los Angeles is the Bulls mentioned Wallace, Thomas and Gordon in a package. Buss said none of the discussions even came close to interesting the Los Angeles Lakers, thus giving the Bulls an idea of what it might take to acquire Kobe Bryant.

The Los Angeles Lakers are known to like Hinrich because they need a point guard and pretty much have made it clear to teams they are not about to give up Kobe Bryant without getting back the other team's best or most valuable player.

For the Bulls, now, that would seem to be Deng. Mitigating against a deal is that the Los Angeles Lakers feel they are under no pressure to deal because Kobe Bryant cannot leave until after next season.

If there is to be a deal with the Bulls, it would seem most likely after this season, in part because the Bulls want to see what they can accomplish without Kobe Bryant. If they stumble again in the playoffs to a team with star players, the need would be obvious.

Complicating any deal could be the contract situations of Hinrich, Deng and Gordon.

Could the Bulls be good enough to win a title without Deng and Hinrich, but with Kobe Bryant? While Gordon and Hinrich have difficulty playing together because of their size, Kobe Bryant could play with Gordon because Kobe Bryant guards well and handles the ball frequently. It would seem with the likes of Thabo Sefolosha, one of the three power forwards they have and some of the younger players the Bulls still would have the depth to play their aggressive style. Also, Wallace still would probably be a positive factor.

But is the difference between Deng and Kobe Bryant that much, or could Deng become that go-to player the Bulls lack and provide the missing inside scoring?

Ultimately it may come down to this: How often does the chance come to get the best talent in the NBA?

The Bulls had him once, and that worked out pretty well.

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