Kobe Bryant Could Rise in Phoenix

As far as I am concerned there is only one team out there that has the ability to make a trade for Kobe Bryant a reality. That team is the Phoenix Suns.

Now, before everybody starts barking that there is absolutely "no way the Lakers will trade within their own division", remember that if there is any team in the NBA who historically should understand what chemistry on a basketball team means, it's the Lakers. They need only look at the amazing team of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy to see that it all depends on having the best players who have no problem playing together, not the absolute best player in the league. Kobe Bryant has said way too many things just in the past few months for him to move forward with the Lakers. Whether the Lakers like it or not, there is no way they can keep Bryant. They will lose too much if they do in terms of overall team respect. If Dr. Buss believes that Mitch Kupchak is a lame duck now, wait until we see what happens if they don't trade Bryant. The rest of his team will turn on him and all won't be sunny in Laker land.

The truth about the Lakers is that they have a fairly decent nucleus. Lamar Odom has always been an underrated player. There is no reason for Justin Farmar not to improve and Luke Walton is turning into a very valuable utility man, able to pretty much do anything that Phil Jackson would want him to do.

If they can make a trade for one of the best young guards in the league in Leandro Barbosa and get one of the best overall players in the league in Shawn Marion, not to mention picking up a great defender in Raja Bell, why wouldn't they? They would automatically win more games and they would continue to sell-out the Staples Center like they always have.

Imagine this line-up, Laker fans: Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell at the guards, Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom at the forward spots, and Andrew Bynum, who Mitch Kupchak appears to love above all others, at center. That's a pretty daunting line-up. Talk about defensive pressure!