Kobe Veto's Deal To Detroit

Report: Lakers Had Agreed To Kobe Bryant Trade
Deal With Pistons Would Have Sent 3 Players Plus First-Round Pick To L.A.
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― Radio station 1270 AM in Detroit is reporting that earlier this week the Lakers and Pistons came to an agreement to trade Bryant to the Pistons.

However, Bryant used his no-trade clause to veto the trade.

Detroit would have sent Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Amir Johnson and a first-round pick to the Lakers.

The report claims the deal was completed late Tuesday night.

http://cbs5.com/sports/Kobe.Bryant.trade.2.568444.html

vblade2003 wrote:He'd only have Chauncey and Sheed, but at this point he shouldn't be picky (if he really wants to get shipped out).

KyleCleric wrote:

vblade2003 wrote:He'd only have Chauncey and Sheed, but at this point he shouldn't be picky (if he really wants to get shipped out).

That's not really true. The Pistons have a very good group of role players on that team, Antonio McDyess, Ronald Murray, Jarvis Hayes, Nazr Mohammed, Jason Maxiell, Rodney Stuckey, and Arron Afflalo. You take Chauncey and Sheed away, and just put Kobe with those role players and he would still have a better team than the Lakers. You put him with Chauncey and Shee, what more can you ask for? KG and Ray Ray?

Two league sources confirmed Friday night that the Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers were never close to reaching a deal. In fact, the two teams hadn't discussed the possibility of Bryant coming to Detroit since training camp began in early October.

"According to radio station 1270-AM in Detroit, the Lakers and Pistons came to an agreement to trade (Kobe) Bryant to the Pistons. However, Bryant used his no-trade clause to veto the trade. The report claims the deal was completed late Tuesday night. Detroit would have sent Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton, Amir Johnson and a first-round pick to the Lakers." Thank goodness I didn't hear that live while driving my car. I would have run off the road. There isn't a speck of truth in that report. Yet, from what I heard, the pros and cons of the "trade" were debated on the airwaves most of the day. Pistons president Joe Dumars hasn't had a conversation with the Lakers about Kobe Bryant since before training camp. Dumars made a call to the Lakers when he first heard that Bryant might be available. Any president or general manager that didn't do at least that should be fired. It's what they call due diligence -- something certain radio stations might want to invest in.

And at that time, the Lakers were asking for significantly more than the Pistons were willing to part with. In addition to Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, two separate league sources confirmed the Lakers were also asking for either Jason Maxiell or Rodney Stuckey, in addition to a pair of first-round picks. The Lakers' asking price clearly indicates their desire all along has been to keep Bryant in the fold. "They know what they're asking for, nobody is going to give them all that ... not even for Kobe," said a third league source, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. "And from what I understand, they were asking for a lot more from Chicago than you media guys have been reporting, too."

The one shoe on his desk that stands out among the rest is the red and black Zoom Kobe IIIs. Is that an indication that Kobe Bryant could soon be wearing those in Chicago? "No," said Yamaguchi. "These are actually for the Westchester High basketball team, but they would look nice if he ever went to Chicago."