Wild West

UPDATE: Now Kobe's asking to be traded for sure. Goodbye, Lakers. You better get something good in return, but something tells me you'll screw this one up as well.

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While this travesty of an NBA playoffs continue, I just wanted to point out that the latest basketball news to be making its way around the sportscasters is the drama of the Los Angeles Lakers. After a dismal showing in the first round a noticeably frustrated Kobe Bryant threw down with a very pointed challenge at the front office that changes needed to be made, and soon. What were the possibilities that such a line of questioning would come back during the NBA semis and rear its ugly head?

Very good, since now Kobe is throwing out the possibility that Jerry West (the Logo, as some people call him) should be at the helm for the franchise. What makes this even more dramatic is that Mr. Bryant supposedly has even thrown his name about in the ring as a trade possibility if they don't bring back Mr. West as General Manager.

Hogwash! Anyone the Lakers could deal for Kobe Bryant would be a downgrade in my opinion. Even now that Kobe is backpedaling on the seemingly accurate statements, I think the team would be even more crippled than before. Trading Kobe for another superstar and some additional parts might work, but whatever you get in return could never be compelling basketball theater and isn't that what Hollywood is all about?

At this point, is he untradeable though? Not likely, I don't think. If he were to demand it, I'm sure the organization would have no problem shipping him elsewhere, but I believe it would be at great cost. If you look at the supporting cast, who do you have to build around? Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown? Sure, injuries have slowed the promise of an overachieving season, but seeing Kobe lob countless alley-oops at Amare Stoudemire during the All-Star game really showed me the kind of big man Kobe's looking for. Someone who's not afraid to be aggressive. Someone who's not afraid of taking it to the rack. Is that Lamar or Kwame? Hardly.

At any rate, what it really shows is how "exciting" these NBA playoffs really are when a team who isn't even participating in an ongoing series still manages to make headlines.

More to come...