It's been mentioned once or twice around the internet, with the recent buzz of free agents becoming available this summer, the idea of trading Kobe for one Mr. Lebron James. After violently reacting, saying horrible things about their mothers, their mental stability and putting voodoo curses on any writer I saw write such blasphemous statements, I then calmed down, put the voodoo dolls away and decided to give the articles another shot. Since it was merely an intellectual exercise, I managed to come to terms with everything and even see some of the points they made. I think it's only fair that I do the same since, I so adherently disagree with such a trade I need to explain why. So, after running down the hallways screaming 'unclean, unclean' and whipping myself with a branch, I was finally able to form the words and write this article. Now, let's get this unpleasant business out of the way.
This one's going to go into some depth, normally I'd say grab a beer and make yourself comfortable but not this time, not with this subject. Instead I want you to stand up, and hark back to the time when the priest told you that the thoughts you had when you spied on your sister in the shower, aren't natural, it's not ok and you're a bad, bad man that's going to hell. Feeling dirty and ashamed yet? Good.
We have to approach this the way a general manager would, the most obvious place to start is which player is better? That's quite a question, considering the two players and it's a question that rages in offices and chat rooms around the world. I can't count the times I have heard people argue this. Let's talk stats. Lebron James has averaged 27.8 ppg, 7 rpg, 6.9 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.9 Bpg, 3.3 TOpg over his career. Goodness me! Kobe Bryant has averaged 25.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.6apg, 1.5 spg, 0.6 bpg, 2.9 TOpg over his career. Yeah Buddy! There isn't much difference in the stats between these two but Lebron edges Kobe in most areas. However, Kobe's career is twice that of Lebron's making these numbers that more impressive, but this isn't the Hall of Fame induction, we want to know who is going to put the most numbers up in the future. This is where we come to the factor of Kobe's age.
Kobe is thirty one years old while Lebron is twenty five. Kobe will probably retire in four or five years (well, most mortals would anyway) where Lebron has many more years in front of him. In this sense it seems that you should go for Lebron and try to lock him up for as long as you possibly can. However, we know that we can keep Kobe and that he will be competitive for as long as he graces us with his presence on the court. How long would Lebron stay and would he definitely come to LA? We would definitely have to let Kobe go before Lebron would come just to show him we're serious. What if he falls into the snares of Miami or New York. The Lakers would spend the next five years looking over their shoulder to watch Kobe build up his own team and come and crush the Lakers any chance he could get. That's not a warm fuzzy thought because all Laker fans know that he is more than capable of doing just that. Then we have the problem of salary size, with Kobe relieving some of the financial burden with him leaving, would Lebron want an even bigger slice of the pie. With the current sentiment around the league being that owners wanting to keep their wallets sealed up tight, I doubt Jerry Buss would want to get into a bidding war for Lebron.
We already know Kobe's price tag.
Kobe knows the triangle offense that the Lakers run, inside and out (get it!) and is playing his best basketball this year by running it to mere perfection. That's something that doesn't show up in the stats. I've often wondered how Lebron would fit into such a system especially with Bynum and Pau. Lebron needs a lot of space in the paint that the Laker bigs might not be willing to give up, nor should they be expected to. I don't think Lebron's post moves are anywhere near that of Pau, Bynum or Kobe's for that matter, which is essential for the triangle offense. To make this work you would have to shift Lebron to the guard position and have an over sized guard, similar to Magic Johnson. Oooooh, now we're getting interesting. We know Lebron is a good passer and we know he handles the ball well, so it seems logical that he could handle the role of a guard, though his jump shot still needs work it would make a terrifying match-up difficulties for any team. As interesting as this sounds, for Lebron to fully be effective in the triangle as a guard it would take him a few years to get used to it, would Mitch be willing to wait that long for such a high price tag, would Laker fans?
Kobe is one of the most competitive athletes out there and he has already won four championships for the Lakers and is on the road to win more. Lebron hasn't won any and has failed multiple times at playoff level basketball. You could argue that Lebron hasn't had the players around him to make a serious championship run, I think that is perfectly legitimate reason but does he have that hunger Kobe does to win again and again, for me it doesn't seem like it is on the same degree as Kobe. When Kobe is not winning he is unhappy, the losses haunt him and he makes sure that he is in a position to win. That drive rubs off on team mates and spurs them on to become better. The fire and passion are indispensable to a team, perhaps it is what's missing on Lebron's teams.
The speculation is endless but I think it comes down to the fact that there is no reason to trade Kobe, the team is happy, the basketball is effective and beautiful. Lebron doesn't offer anything (besides a little more longevity) that Kobe doesn't have. What kind of team would cast away one of it's greatest of all time for something a little younger? Kobe is great and will be until the end of his career and that's because he has a huge skill range. Much more than that of Lebron, who still rely's on his explosiveness, athleticism and strength to do what he does. Will he still be able to this in four or five years time when he is a little older? Only time will tell but it's just another risk the Lakers would be banking on to turn out in their favor.
There is just too many ifs and buts for the Lakers to seriously consider the Lebron/Kobe trade. Kobe is our man and continues to prove himself, what more must a player do? That is why this whole idea is just plain blasphemous. I know there is room for more arguments but I think it's a clear cut case. The speculation was fun but it's at an end now. I know I didn't go into all the different individual awards and all that good stuff but they're not that important when you're looking at the team as a whole and if you're still not convinced by the article I only have one thing to say to you, 81 POINTS!
Good Day!
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