What would you do for Kobe?

Kobe for this? Where do I sign?

As you may recall -- because no one's reporting on it -- yesterday Kobe went on ESPN radio and formally requested a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hours later on the Dan Patrick Show, he backtracks after a "talk" with coach Phil Jackson and states that he wants to retire in L.A. This means two things:

A) When the Lakers trade him this summer, Kobe will be the true team player that wanted to stick it out but the team didn't want him;

B) The Lakers told him to chill with the trade talk so their bargaining power would be exhausted because it would be pretty obvious that he wants out no matter what.

All of this is pretty evident and the way Kobe handled it makes it look all the worse.

Well, ESPN is on it and Bill Simmons has a number potential deals that meets the financial requirements for an NBA trade and the logical needs and wants of both teams involved. Ranked in order, this Mavs deal (sans Dirk):

Deal No. 4: Dallas trades Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse (sign-and-trade starting at $7.3 million per) for Kobe.

Comments: I'm intrigued by this one because (A) the Lakers would be competitive with a Howard-Terry-Odom-Bynum nucleus; (B) Kobe would solve all of Nowitzki's toughness/crunch-time problems; and (C) Dallas could probably win a title with Kobe, Nowitzki, the Diop/Dampier combo, Devin Harris and seven guys they found on the street. But would the Lakers ever trade Kobe to a Western contender? And would Cuban ever admit that Dirk was irrevocably damaged by the 2006 Finals and the Warriors-Mavs series, to the degree that he needed to acquire another crunch-time guy? If the Mavs didn't have the testicular fortitude to pull off a Shaq trade three years ago, they won't have the gulliones to go after Kobe.

This is very, very intriguing. Before, the scuttlebutt from the media had a potential Dirk-for-Kobe straight up swap. This trade, however, is very different. It matches moneywise. It leaves the league MVP alone. Dallas gets it's cut-throat scorer. The Lakers get some depth. Everyone's happy, right?

Losing Howard would be very, very tough. He's a Mav draft pick. A guy developed here. He has a swagger and a decency lost in the today's Association. But he's a second fiddle and with this trade, Mark Cuban would be admitting that Dirk, too, is a second fiddle. And in order to get a player like Kobe, second fiddles must be exchanged. Of course, is Howard really a second fiddle? Could he score 28 a night with the Lakers? Would you bet against it.

And nothing against Stack or Terry. Both were very valuable parts of this team's renaissance and I completely respect their game -- pockmarks and all -- but Stack is most likely out anyway as a free agent and Terry is a point guard who can't pass and a shooting guard who's too small.

So, you know what? Do it. If this trade is out there and the Lakers are willing to bite, take it and let's move on and win a championship the next year. Who could beat this team?



Devin Harris
Kobe Bryant
Devean George
Dirk Nowitzki
Erick Dampier

Bench:
Greg Buckner
Mo Ager
DeSagna Diop
J.J. Berea
The Moose

Plus whatever else the Mavs decide to sign in free agency like a Gerald Wallace or Mikki Moore to go into that No. 4 spot.



Do it now. Do it fast. Let's get this thing going! At the very least, Cuban must do something to prevent Kobe from being sent to Phoenix where he and Steve Nash will conjure the seven dark magics and rule the NBA for the next decade.