Stephen A. Smith: You're still under contract with them. Are you saying right here, on this show, that you want to be traded?
Kobe Bryant: Yeah, I would like to be traded, yeah.
A few seconds later...
Stephen A. Smith: Are you saying now emphatically, regardless of what they done, you want out of Los Angeles?
Kobe Bryant: Yeah. I would like to be traded...as tough as it is to say that, as tough as it is to come to that conclusion. There's no other....there's no other, there's no other alternative, you know? They obviously want to move in a different direction in terms of you know rebuilding, I wish they would have, you know, told me that, you know, prior to me resigning with the team.
Shortly after, the nail in the coffin...
Stephen A. Smith: Is there anything that the Los Angeles Lakers can do to make you change your mind and decide that you do not want to be traded?
Kobe Bryant: No
Stephen A. Smith: Nothing?
Kobe Bryant: No
Convincing enough, right? Kobe is demanding a trade! Holy shit! This is big news. I wonder if Isiah is giving Mitch Kupchak (Lakers GM) a call right now. Wow, I can't believe this!
Later though, Bryant talked to Dan Patrick on ESPN Radio and seemed to reconsider.
"I'm so tired of talking," Bryant said. "It's tough. I always dreamed about retiring as a Laker. I just hope and hope that something can be resolved. Something can be figured out. Just something so I can stay here and be in this city and be with the team I love."
Wait a mintue? Didn't Kobe say earlier today that under no circumstances would he change his mind about demanding a trade? All of a sudden, he flip-flops as much as John Kerry did in the 2004 presidential debates?
"When Phil and I spoke, he was optimistic and determined that we'll both be back," Bryant told Patrick. "Phil is somebody I listen to. I lean on him a lot. He assured me things are going to be OK. Things are going to be all right. Don't go full bore just yet. Take a deep breath and let us work these things out and everything will be all right. Which was very encouraging.
I don't want to go anywhere else. I want to be here for the rest of my career. It was encouraging to hear that."
Confused yet? Great. Things get even better.
Earlier in the day, Bryant said Buss masterminded the trade of Shaquille O'Neal -- and Shaq later confirmed Kobe's account.
"I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent."
Woah! Did Shaq just back up Kobe? This has been one fucked up day. Does this mean they are like screwing each other? I guess we'll know for sure if Kobe has to buy his wife another expensive diamond ring.
So what the hell is going on? No one seems to know for sure except the superstar himself. One thing is for sure though, if Kobe truly demands a trade to the Lakers, Isiah Thomas better be ready to do whatever is necessary to bring the whiny bitch to New York. I don't care if he has to blow Mitch Kupchak in the process. Anything it takes Isiah. Bring Kobe to NY.
Kobe has a trade kicker in his contract that will add $9.5 million to his total contract value, a cost to be absorbed by any team that acquires him. Thankfully, absorbing contracts is what the Knicks do best.
Yes, it's a huge longshot at best. The Knicks have some good young talent (Curry being the biggest piece, the one guy we'd try to keep in any Kobe deal to re-create a Shaq-Kobe kind of thing), but let's be real, other teams can offer more in that department.
Kobe wants NY though. The endorsements are there and he'd be playing on the biggest stage. The two serious threats the Knicks would face in the Kobe Bryant sweepstakes are the Celtics (very good young talent to offer along with the 5th pick in the draft) and the Bulls (top-notch prospects and probably the most attractive destination for Kobe since the team would be a contender with him and he'd still be playing in a huge market).
Still, if there is any truth to this Kobe wanting to leave crap. Isiah better do everything and anything he can to try to get him. I don't care if that means offering Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Channing Frye, and the 22nd pick in the draft for him (Lee is my favorite Knick, but this is Kobe we're talking about, the best wing player in the game right now). If the Lakers want Curry, I'd gladly trade him for Kobe (although I wouldn't add much to that, definitely not Lee).
Anyway, should fun to see how this plays out. Odds are this day will produce a whole lot of nothing. The Lakers will find a way to satisfy Kobe (not that way you sick bastards) and he'll probably stay in LA. Still, we can't dream, can't we?
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