Kobe Bryant Un-Undemands a Trade, and The Jermaine O'Neal Deal May Be Dead

- Tomorrow is Father's Day, of course, and we're celebrating with a BBQ! Ribs, chicken, beef short ribs, two types of sauce, mixed greens, potato salad, and French bread...I can't wait!

(There's a 50/50 chance that I will not be able to blog tomorrow, due to the impending food coma.)

- So, the big story of the day involves the circus that is the Los Angeles Lakers and their star player. According to an anonymous report, Kobe met with Dr. Jerry Buss in Spain, and reiterated his request to be traded from the Lakers. According to the source,

Buss wanted to appeal to Bryant, reassuring him that winning remains the team's focus and that trades take time to engineer, but that Bryant remained concerned about the team's direction and did not budge from his desire to leave L.A.

The Lakers still do not plan on trading #24, but if he keeps pushing, they may have no choice.

What a disaster for the Lakers! If they break down and decide to trade Kobe, there's no way that they'll get close to equal value for the guy. Chad Ford (ESPN Insider subscription required) discussed two possible three-way trade scenarios for the Lakers. Either Gilbert Arenas or Paul Pierce goes to the Lakers, Chicago gives up Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, P.J. Brown, and the #9 pick (only the pick goes to the Lakers; the rest go to the third team involved), and Kobe goes to Chicago.

Setting aside the huge impact that Kobe will have on Chicago, the Lakers aren't going to get anywhere close to equal value in either trade. Both players are shoot-first guards, neither of which match the explosion and dominance on the offensive end as #24. Also, neither one is a particularly good defender, a characteristic that is often overlooked when people talk about Kobe's game.

If I was forced to take one of the two, I'd take Arenas. He fills a need (PG), he's five years younger than Pierce, and I'd argue that he's a more marketable player than Pierce.

- What might have triggered Kobe to once again demand a trade from the Lakers? Perhaps it's the Pacers' insistence that Andrew Bynum AND Lamar Odom be included in any deal for Jermaine O'Neal. In fact, the Pacers want Bynum, Odom, and Kwame Brown for Jermaine O'Neal and Troy Murphy! That trade is absolutely ridiculous, in my opinion; Indy can't realistically expect the Lakers to give up their two tradeable chips and a big expiring contract, AND take on the mammoth contract that Troy Murphy has.

(Troy Murphy, of course, only got badly overpaid after a pair of double-double seasons, when his Golden State teams were full of players that were allergic to rebounding.)

The Lakers have to give up on a Jermaine O'Neal deal, and try to look elsewhere for help. Meanwhile, the longer they wait to pull a deal, the angrier #24 will get. Boy, what an absolute mess the Lakers are!

(Hey Minnesota, are you sure you don't want to trade Kevin Garnett?)