partlycloudy
05-30-2007, 11:28 PM
Kobe wants to be traded
Increasingly upset over the direction of the team since its outster from the playoffs, the Lakers icon says he needs to move on.
Continuing a week that has been as close to unforgettable as any in the Lakers' rich history, Kobe Bryant has said he wants to be traded from the Lakers.
"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant told ESPN radio. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative."
Bryant, who turns 29 in August, has four years and $88.6 million left on his contract. Bryant's frustration has continued to boil since the Lakers were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in five games earlier this month, and Bryant has been increasingly vocal with his displeasure, which started with his acknowledgment to The Times last Saturday, when he said he wanted the team to acquire more pieces around him.
"We are aware of the media reports," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said in a statement. "However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded. We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career. We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."
Despite Bryant's declaration, it will not be as easy as it appears to move him to another team.
Bryant will obviously waive his no-trade clause, but he has a trade kicker in his contract that is believed to add about $13 million to his total contract value, a cost to be absorbed by any team that acquires him. The money would be paid like a signing bonus and would not count toward the salary cap. The Lakers had to pay a similar fee to Lamar Odom when they acquired him from Miami three years ago, paying him about $8 million.
Bryant was acquired as a fresh-faced teenager in 1996 and the Lakers had the nucleus of a three-championship run when Shaquille O'Neal was signed a week later as a free agent. Together, at the best of times, O'Neal and Bryant were an unbeatable tandem. But, at their worst, they bickered incessantly and brought an end to what could have been a long-running dynasty.
The Lakers have not won a playoff series since O'Neal was traded in July 2004. Most recently, Bryant was seething after the Lakers were eliminated by the Suns, saying they had to make changes as quickly as possible.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-kobe31may31,0,7482410.story?coll=la-home-center
Increasingly upset over the direction of the team since its outster from the playoffs, the Lakers icon says he needs to move on.
Continuing a week that has been as close to unforgettable as any in the Lakers' rich history, Kobe Bryant has said he wants to be traded from the Lakers.
"I would like to be traded, yeah," Bryant told ESPN radio. "Tough as it is to come to that conclusion there's no other alternative."
Bryant, who turns 29 in August, has four years and $88.6 million left on his contract. Bryant's frustration has continued to boil since the Lakers were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in five games earlier this month, and Bryant has been increasingly vocal with his displeasure, which started with his acknowledgment to The Times last Saturday, when he said he wanted the team to acquire more pieces around him.
"We are aware of the media reports," Lakers owner Jerry Buss said in a statement. "However, Kobe has not told us directly that he wants to be traded. We have made it very clear that we are building our team around Kobe and that we intend for him to be a Laker his entire career. We will speak directly to Kobe and until we do that, we will not comment publicly about this."
Despite Bryant's declaration, it will not be as easy as it appears to move him to another team.
Bryant will obviously waive his no-trade clause, but he has a trade kicker in his contract that is believed to add about $13 million to his total contract value, a cost to be absorbed by any team that acquires him. The money would be paid like a signing bonus and would not count toward the salary cap. The Lakers had to pay a similar fee to Lamar Odom when they acquired him from Miami three years ago, paying him about $8 million.
Bryant was acquired as a fresh-faced teenager in 1996 and the Lakers had the nucleus of a three-championship run when Shaquille O'Neal was signed a week later as a free agent. Together, at the best of times, O'Neal and Bryant were an unbeatable tandem. But, at their worst, they bickered incessantly and brought an end to what could have been a long-running dynasty.
The Lakers have not won a playoff series since O'Neal was traded in July 2004. Most recently, Bryant was seething after the Lakers were eliminated by the Suns, saying they had to make changes as quickly as possible.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-kobe31may31,0,7482410.story?coll=la-home-center