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Is Kobe Headed for Dallas?
By Daniel Dessinger | October 23, 2007
God, I hope not! That would mean we’d have to change the banner image of our site!
Hmm… maybe I could survive the tragedy. In the meantime, let’s discuss why you’re wrong and I’m right. You’re wrong because you think the Kobe trade will NEVER happen. I’m right because I’ve always thought it’s very possible, and that the end result will depend on something relatively small.
Let’s take a look at MVN’s Showboating blog. According to Matt Carter, it could be a done deal on the Lakers’ side and merely an issue of getting Dallas to comply.
Here’s what Matt wrote a few days ago:
An unidentified source within the organization tells me that Dallas is in communication with Mitch Kupchak and Jerry Buss over the future of Kobe, but it is actually Dallas, and not LA, that is keeping a deal from going down. Supposedly Los Angeles wants a package including Josh Howard, Jason Terry, draft picks, and filler for Bryant, and Dallas is unwilling to part with certain pieces of the team. It may ultimately boil down to who exactly makes up the “filler” in the trade–as in whether we’re talking about DeSagana Diop or Nick Fazekas.
Kobe sat for a week during pre-season due to tendinitis in his knees. Everyone made a big deal about him cleaning out his locker, which was a bit presumptuous on the media’s part. All indications from the Los Angeles media is that a trade is much more likely to occur AFTER this season, which would be reasonable and understandable, but sorely disappointing to me, a Dallas sports fan desperately wanting a Cowboys’ or Mavericks’ team worth cheering for.
Mark Cuban recently told the press that trading Dirk isn’t an option. Dirk is untouchable. So the potential for a Josh Howard / Jason Terry / etc trade for Kobe Bryant is obviously the only option possible. If Matt’s sources are correct, I applaud the Mavericks for caring about the particulars of such a trade. Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Devin Harris make a pretty ridiculous combo, but I think Dallas desperately needs to keep a player like Diop for presence in the paint. Brandon Bass could be a quality starter within the next year or two, allowing for the option of Dirk at center or small forward. Let’s look at the roster possibilities for the Mavs next year:
Devin Harris /JJ Barea
Kobe Bryant / Eddie Jones / Devean George
Jerry Stackhouse / Trenton Hassell
Dirk Nowitzki / Brandon Bass
Erick Dampier / DeSagana Diop
Not a bad little lineup, assuming Dallas keeps Diop and parts with Fazekas (still not sure why they didn’t pick Big Baby - mark my words, he’ll be better than Fazekas by far).
So it may be complete speculation, but the Mavs would have a killer lineup. Stackhouse, Jones, George, and Bass could all start in that 3 position, giving Dallas an excellent set of options. It’s lights out if this trade gets done. Knowing our luck, and by “our” I mean “my”, nothing will happen and we’ll enter this and next season in much the same fashion as we appear now.
It isn’t the end of the world. It just isn’t terribly exciting either.
Topics: Trade Talk |
October 23rd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
As a side note, it is possible that Dallas and Los Angeles could make the trade happen after this season.
We’ll hold out hope for that to happen, since a trade mid-season isn’t likely to be made by conservative Dallas.