KOBE: THE FINAL CHAPTER?

I don't think so. Kobe rumors are heating up again, but earlier reports that had his locker cleaned out are getting no confirmation whatsoever. My guess? If he's not traded in the next 24 hours, then we're right back to where we were yesterday: Kobe doesn't get traded unless someone finally sucks it up and wows Jerry Buss with an offer.

Buss is clearly sick of Kobe and is supposedly a rash kind of guy, but I think he learned from the Shaq situation that you can't just auction off a top 25 player of all time to casual bidders unless you absolutely have a gun to your head. He'll have a gun to his head in another 12-18 months, but not now. I'd hold steady and bet that somebody will break sometime this season--like Chicago when they're looking at yet another 45 win season and 2nd round playoff exit, or Phoenix next summer after they once again fail to get past the Spurs.

Laker fan opinion on several proposed offers:

1. Josh Howard, Jason Terry and two #1s

No chance. No chance in hell. I love Josh Howard's game, but I think he's close to maxing out his potential and that leaves him in a jockstrap-carrying position vis a vis Kobe. Howard's a great #2, but he's a solid tier below the superstar level. Terry's a smart, solid player, but he's nothing special and the Lakers already have two promising young PGs in Javaris Crittenton and Jordan Farmar. And the two #1s would be in the 30s, those are almost useless.

2. Luol Deng and some combination of Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni.

Now we're talking, but I still need to get Gordon (an elite scorer and game finisher) or Thomas (athletic freakshow/potential superstar), I'm not taking Deng, Hinrich and Nocioni/draft pick. Deng is already very, very good at age 22 and could keep getting better, but he also might top out as a 22/7 Josh Howard-type. Let's put this into perspective here; forget Kobe, Deng has a long way to go to get to the Shawn Marion level--and you're probably not going to win championships with Shawn Marion as your #1.

3. Amare Stoudemire and Raja Bell

Now we're really talking. Any trade that involves Amare Stoudemire is fine by me. I'd literally take Amare straight up. The key to trading Kobe is that you need to get another *true superstar* in return. Josh Howard or Luol Deng might turn into one, but Amare's already there. He's a 24-year-old center who's the 2nd most athletically gifted big man in the league (Dwight Howard) and has a skill set that calls to mind a young Karl Malone. The way Amare has turned into an absolutely money 15-foot shooter tells you everything you need to know about the guy--Nash or no, Amare can really, really hoop. He can shoot, he can finish on the break or pick-and-roll as well as anyone in the league, he can take the ball to the rack, he can get to the FT line (where he's turned himself into an 80% shooter), he rebounds, and he's becoming a better defensive player all the time. If I had to list the 10 guys I'd currently want to build a franchise around, Amare would be high on the list--in fact the only guys I'd definitely take over him are Wade, Lebron, Carmelo and Dwight Howard, with Bosh and Yao right there.

And I do honestly think this deal works for both teams. I think having an elite finisher like Kobe makes it more likely they get past San Antonio (plus it gives them a *real* defensive stopper, something they're obviously lacking after Ginobili once again showed up Raja Bell for the overrated hack he is). I'd put Boris Diaw back at center and go small all the time. They won 54 games with Diaw at center in 2005-2006, and now you have a bit of an upgrade with Kobe over Raja Bell--I think that team is one of the all time nightmare matchups in NBA history.

A friend suggests throwing Leandro Barbosa in the deal instead of Raja Bell with the Lakers giving up Andrew Bynum. I think it works on paper from a talent standpoint, but I don't think Bynum can play the D'Antoni system. His conditioning has improved a lot since he came into the league, but he's not going to run the floor 35 minutes a night like Amare, there's just no way. But at least he'd give them a better defensive matchup with Duncan, who also eats Phoenix alive.

So that's about it, I'm guessing Kobe doesn't get dealt to Dallas period, and not to Chicago unless Deng is involved. I just can't peg Phoenix's mindset--it seems like if Amare really were on the table, a deal would have been made by now. And it would be perfectly understandable if they wanted to give the current lineup one more shot. Without David Stern and his series-throwing decision to suspend Amare, who knows what would have happened last year.

The Lakers have months and months before it's panic time and they're forced to make a move, there's just no reason to rush anything. Sure, the Lakers have less bargaining power as we get closer to Kobe's opt-out date in the summer of 2009, but these teams still have to compete against each other (and how many of them are even close to having the cap room?) I'm hoping Buss just stands pat and waits for someone to get fed up with the status quo and finally decide to roll the dice. It'll happen.

I'm pretty sure.