Kobe Talks Off (For Now)

Sun Times reports:

Bulls general manager John Paxson said Thursday that the Kobe Bryant trade talks between him and the Los Angeles Lakers never came close to a deal and are over for the foreseeable future.

‘‘We were never on the verge of a deal,’’ Paxson said. ‘‘There was never a time limit to get something done. We never got down to the nuts and bolts because there was never a deal to be done.

‘‘A lot of the things that were mentioned were not based in any fact whatsoever. That’s the unfortunate part.’’

Paxson said he could not rule out a scenario that would resurrect the negotiations.

‘‘Who knows?’’ he said.

Sounds to me like the Bulls are going to wait it out till the Lakers are a little more desperate to move him. Probably smart. The Bulls don't need to make a move. They can compete as they are constituted right now. They don't need to blow it all up for Kobe. The Lakers will twist in the wind a little longer then something (probably a 3 team deal) will get done and the Lakers will get hosed.