To trade or not to trade. That is the question for a handful of NBA teams when it comes to disgruntled Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. After finishing 7th in The Western conference, only to be bounced out of the first round of the playoffs for two straight seasons... Kobe voiced his frustrations. Kobe said He and the Lakers have two different visions of the future. Recently during training camp, Lakers owner Jerry Buss told reporters that he's listening to offers for The League's Leading Scorer. So makes no if, ands or buts about it... Kobe will not be a Laker for life.
So who will be the lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) team to pull the trigger on the trade? Chicago, New York, Charlotte and Philadelphia have all been thrown in the mix. They all have young talent and draft picks to offer, they are all Eastern Conference Teams, so The Lakers would only see Kobe twice a year and more than likely they can get Kobe under the salary cap.
However there is one Western Conference team who may be able to make a move for Kobe. That's right my friends... The Dallas Mavericks! I know what a lot of you guys are saying... "We won 67 games last year." "We played in The NBA Finals two seasons ago." "Why should we trade for Kobe?" My question is... why not?
Bottom line... The Mavericks blew a two game lead to Miami two seasons ago during The NBA Finals... losing in 6 games. Last year, The Mavs had the best record in all of The NBA... only to be mollywhopped by Don Nelson and The Golden State Warriors. THEY'RE LOSING PEOPLE! The ultimate goal is to win a championship. The Mavericks will still be a contender in The West with its current team but Kobe can take The Mavs to the next level.
Lets examine the positives in acquiring Mr. Kobe Bryant. Last season, Kobe was the only player in the league to average 30 ppg (31.6 to be exact). In Kobe, you get an All NBA First Team Selection as well as an All NBA Defensive First Teamer. Don't you guys think we could have used a lock-down defender when Baron Davis and Jason Richardson were scoring at will against The Mavs last season during the playoffs? When The Mavs couldn't find their offensive rhythm... when The Mavs needed a big shot... when Dirk seemed to disappear... Kobe would have accepted the challenge and passed with flying colors.
You can call Kobe a lot of things but you cannot call him soft. I don't know if you can say that about The Mavericks in their current state. By no means am I saying Kobe is Michael... but he has a will to win that's very similar to his airness. I hate to be too critical of the Mavs because I am a fan… but… that will to win, the killer instinct that all champions have, was missing from Dallas, a year ago.
Now in order to make it happen, The Mavs are going to have to give up a lot. Mavs Owner, Mark Cuban has gone on record, saying he will not trade Dirk Nowitzki. So throw that scenario out the window.
More than likely, The Mavs would have to give up Josh Howard, Devin Harris, Jason Terry and maybe DeSagana Diop. Yeah that is a lot! But think about it for a second. Dirk Nowitzki (the reigning league mvp) playing alongside Kobe Bryant (maybe the most gifted player in the league) would be an untouchable duo.
You’re not going to need much to go around that type of talent. The Mavs would still have Eric Dampier and young power forward, Brandon Bass to do most of the dirty work. By the way, watch out for Bass. He’s played well during The Summer League and preseason. He’s going to make an impact… just ask Mavs Head Coach, Avery Johnson. The Mavs still have some scoring punch with Jerry Stackhouse and Eddie Jones. Put that with the 56 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assist that Dirk and Kobe will average…
So I say to owner Mark Cuban, now that he’s no longer Dancing with The Stars, make the trade! I think you’ll have a team that may not win 67 games but will definitely advance past the first round of The NBA Playoffs and possibly to The Finals. That’s more than I can say for last year’s team.