http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakersider18jun18,1,5119954.story?coll=la-headlines-sports

Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said Thursday he would not accept a sign-and-trade offer for Kobe Bryant under any circumstances — a hard line against the likes of New York Knick General Manager Isiah Thomas and Bryant agent Rob Pelinka — but might be forced to listen to bids for Shaquille O'Neal.

A sign-and-trade arrangement would allow Bryant to get maximum money over seven years and still leave the Lakers.

"We're not going to trade Kobe," Kupchak said. "We're just not going to do it. Period."

Asked if he'd risk getting nothing in return if Bryant chose to leave the Lakers, Kupchak said, "He's going to have to just go."

Asked why, he said, "Because we're not going to trade him. We're going to do everything we can to keep him."

And if they can't, he said, "Well, we're not going to do a sign-and-trade."

The general manager insisted he believed Bryant eventually would re-sign with the Lakers, who by collective bargaining agreement guidelines will offer a longer and richer contract than any other team.

O'Neal's situation is different. He cannot leave the Lakers until after next season, but he has grumbled about demanding a trade if his contract is not extended or if the roster quality falls below his expectations.

O'Neal has interpreted owner Jerry Buss' in-season remarks as support for Bryant at the expense of Jackson and himself. So he would be unhappy if Jackson left, his contract went untouched and it appeared the organization was shifting its emphasis to Bryant.

To that, Kupchak said Thursday that if O'Neal came to him with a trade demand, he would have to consider it.

"He can dominate this game for years to come still," Kupchak said. "But that's something he has to decide to do. As you do age, it becomes harder and harder to do that. That's probably a big question he has to address."

Asked then if he foresaw a day he would trade O'Neal, Kupchak said, "Well, um, he has a lot to do with that as well. OK? That would not be a good day in this club's history. We do plan to talk to him. As you know, there's another existing issue with Shaquille, the extension…. Those are issues that do have to be addressed. I have not addressed them … with his representative in the last month or two. That's probably something that's going to come up."

By Thursday evening, according to team sources, O'Neal had been relayed Kupchak's remarks, took them to mean the Lakers were eager to trade him, and as a result canceled an exit meeting scheduled for today with Kupchak and Jackson.

hmm, trouble brewing in Hollywood these days i see.

If I'm Isiah I make an attempt to get Kobe for the MLE. Just try to convince him that he will not be taking that much of a paycut with endorsements and convince him he can achieve greatness in NY, etc. I'm glad though that Isiah is not going to waste all of his time going after Rasheed and Kobe, it seems like he is just going to let NY sell itself to the superstars while he will be working hard to get other players to compliment the team. This should be a good offseason...

Posted by Caseloads:

trade houston, kt, tt for o'neal and rush?

i'd do that to get o'neal

our line up

Marbury
Penny
Whoever at SF
Nazr
O'neal

works for me

I posted a similar trade yesterday, albeit tounge in cheek. Mine was TT, KT, H20 for O' Neal and George. George has a somewhat more expensive contract, making him more desirable for the Lakers to trade. He'd also be that "whoever" at SF.

Anyway, back to reality, if Shaq is getting to traded its to Orlando for the no.1 pick, Juwan Howard (and whatever expensive non-TMAC contracts they have) and maybe some more draft picks.

Lakers would be dumb to trade Shaq & not get a stud bigman in return imo...& i'm not talking about just any allstar PF, i mean he has to be a dominant player & he has to be worth giving up a franchise talent.

The lakes should do a Shaq for No1 pick, grant hill, and howard.

At 29mil a season, I can't see how they can move him. The lakes should think of rebuilding with youth around Kobe. Grow the talent.

Shaq in NY is a Starphuchers wet dream.

actually, that trade makes the most sense. the lakers are over the cap anyway so having grant hill, who could play this year, and howard, who is still a decent pf, would'nt be that bad. the reall key is the number one pick. if they get okafor, the lakers would be back in the mix again. an okafor- bryant tandem would be great for years to come. okafor won't be as dominant as shaq but he would be more athletic and defensive minded on a team that needs it. plus he and kobe are young. buss will celverly build a team around them. if i were the lakers, i would definately do that in a heartbeat. this would be the best deal they can make with shaq's value.

jazz74
Posts: 325
Joined: 12/24/2002 Posted - 04/28/2004 : 11:15:09
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Originally posted by Panos:


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Originally posted by Bobby:

After this championship run Shaq will have nothing to look forward to unless he is heading east. Shaq would be the most dominating force in the easy east. What the heck, if he takes NY championship his MVP cannot be denied, and he will be considered the greatest center ever....yup, MVPs & championships in both conferences....WOW!
We always knew Ewing's replacement had to be equal or better for NY to go championship. Why settle for less, anything else is a compromise. Can you imagine a team stating to go championship as a season goal?...I almost forgot, the cliche is rebuilding



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You are delusional. Getting Shaq would NOT win us a championship. The best it would do would get us to the conference finals. LA, with a MUCH better supporting cast than anything we would be able
to offer Shaq did NOT win the championship last year. What makes
you think a team of FW, Shandum, TT, Sweetney and Shaq (notice
no second all-star?!) could come out of the East, let alone win
the championship?

P.S. - the above is predicated on the fact that I believe H2O is
done. And even if he's not, he's no Kobe.



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just the thought that we have anything the lakers want to trade for shaq is delusional. shaq is untouchable. they won't let him go especially with the cloud looming over the future of kobe, payton and malone. shaq is also slowing down. don't get me wrong. he is still hands down the best center in the league but for how long? a year or two? yao is having a good series and going tooth and nail with shaq. when was the last time a center did that against shaq? he has many injury issues to contend with. i don't know. there seems to be a lot of great players available ( ai, mcgrady, kobe, carter, etc.) but all of them have baggage that i don't know we should fool with whether it is health issues or chemistry issues. we should just hope new jersey knocks detroit out of the playoffs and get rasheed or else sign swift or camby. but we have to keep marbury, a point guard with his caliber is rare.

Caseloads, I had that deal a few months ago without Rush, but that will work

Mark my words, Shaq will go to Orlando for the number 1 pick, Hill, Howard, and maybe some extra picks. It all makes perfect sense, Shaq unites with his friend T-Mac and goes back to Orlando to have a shot at winning another title. McGrady will definitely stay with Orlando if they can somehow land Shaq and O'Neal has already made it clear that he would love to come to Orlando.

I was originally tongue in cheek about trading for Shaq, but if they really have to move him, we're one of the only teams that can give them 3, maybe 4 starters to put around Kobe, while taking back the bad contracts of guys they do not want (Fox, perhaps George). They'll want youth and more flexible contracts, but we might be able to offer the most legitamate starters....

One destination I forgot about that probably has a better chance of getting Shaq is Dallas. They could offer package including some combo of Walker, Finley, Jamison, Howard, Daniels Bradley etc. Either way they should be able to keep Nash and Dirk and make a legitamate offer for Shaq, which would be scary.

i cant see shaq coming back to the staple center.....as a clipper?

does anybody know what billy knight is up to