Let me just say that I've really never had a huge problem with Ric Bucher. That changed yesterday when he proposed that the Lakers consider trading Kobe Bryant. Yeah, you read that right, Bucher suggested that the lakers consider trading KOBE BRYANT!!! This had to be one of the most bone headed ideas that I have ever heard. His logic was basically that the team isn't gonna win as they are constructed now, and that Kobe's value is only going to decline from here on out. He went on to say that the lakers should trade him now for young pieces rather than lose him in a few years to retirement with nothing in return for him. If you're an unintelligent person, or maybe if you are just a laker/kobe hater than I can see why you would like to see this happen. If you know anything at all about sports, then you know why this is just an idiotic suggestion.
The mistake that Bucher is making is that he is looking at the situation in the way that the Cleveland Cavaliers should have approached the Lebron situation. The thing is, the Los Angeles Lakers are NOT the Cleveland Cavaliers!!! The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most, if not THE MOST storied franchise in the NBA. They've won 17 championships spread out fairly evenly throughout the entire history of the NBA (unlike the Celtics that won most of there games when there was like 10 teams in the league). Not to mention they play in sunny California, where Lakers games are as much a Hollywood spectacle as they are basketball games. What I'm getting to is that no matter who is on the team, they will have no problem attracting big name players to come there. They have the history, the money, the weather, and provide the opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages in sports. When Kobe leaves, that will be 25 million extra dollars they have to play with, and they will no doubt find stars that want to play there.
I just can't believe that Bucher would be so stupid to act like this would not be the case? Who did they have when Shaq left Orlando to play there? Nick Van Exel? Eddie Jones? They had the money and everything else that a big star could want. Kobe Bryant continues to play at a high level and it would be a shame to ever see him in another uniform. He's said himself that he never wants to play for another team, how about rewarding his loyalty by surrounding him with some pieces to fit around him. The way I've read him lately, is that he feels like they can win pretty much with what they have. Whether he's right or wrong remains to be seen, but I think he's patient enough to know that the moves they may need to make may not happen before the trade deadline. The Lakers have shown him that they are willing to deal to improve the team, shit, they had Chris Paul but the commissioner threw a wrench in it. Their involvement in Howard talks are obvious as well, Kobe can see that they are trying and I think he's ok with the effort they have put forth. He's not gonna demand a trade anytime soon, no need to push the panic button and trade one of the greatest players of all-time, especially with him playing at such a high level. I just wanna say SHUT UP BUCHER!!!! I think he's just trying to make a splash so he can get some more twitter followers, or maybe he has a book coming out soon, I don't know!!!!! Trading Kobe would be a Huuuuuuuuuuge mistake, and one that the rest of the league should hope that the lakers make.
