I'm sorry, I can't help but follow this saga. Marc Stein chatted up his latest thoughts on the Kobe rumors. Quotes after the break.
Phil (Nations Capital): How real is the rumor that the Wiz are going to trade for Kobe?
Marc Stein: Real enough that I wouldn't call it a rumor. Washington's interest, I'm told, is definitely genuine. What we don't know yet is whether Kobe would be amenable to Washington or exactly how much the Wiz would be willing to part with. But the Lakers would be hard-pressed to do better than a package that features Gilbert Arenas and (if they're lucky) Andray Blatche . . . as long as Gil were willing to agree to a contract extension with his hometown Lakers as opposed to opting out at season's end.
I am no way saying that this is imminent. But our man Sam Smith reported in today's Chicago Tribune that there's a growing buzz about the Wiz getting involved in the Kobe Sweepstakes and I've since heard that there's legit smoke here. We'll have to see what Kobe thinks of sharing a city with the president, since he wields more power than anyone in the NBA with the league's only active no-trade clause.It would be a trio in the East, for starters. Which makes a huge difference. Plus teams are going smaller and smaller now -- smaller than they were three years ago -- so Butler and Jamison are big enough to work with. The Lakers might not be having so much friction with No. 24 if they had held onto Butler. I have to admit that I thought it was the right move at the time to gamble on Kwame, but Butler proved me (and the Lakers, more importantly) way wrong. Butler, Odom and Kobe would be a decent core now with the way Caron has developed.