As if falling to 6-7 on the second night of back-to-backs wasn't bad enough, the Boston Celtics now get to face a scary thought:
What if Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant team together in Los Angeles, this season?
The Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets have begun discussing a trade centered around a Carmelo Anthony-for-Andrew Bynum swap, according to sources sited by ESPN. The Nuggets reportedly are not interested in Ron Artest, and show faint interest in Lamar Odom. The trade could legally be made straight up, but the Nuggets would prefer to shed more salary.
Anthony and Bryant are tight friends, and have been teammates before with the U.S. National Team. Anthony has already reached out to Bryant for advice regarding his future, and Bryant said, " 'Make sure you're sure about what you want to do.' That's the only advice I gave him."
The thought of an Anthony-Bryant pairing brings to mind Batman and Robin, only if Robin were 6'8, 230 pounds and possessed a scorer's repertoire rivaled by only one or two others in the NBA. Guarding Anthony or Bryant alone is tough enough. Defending them both at the same time, in Phil Jackson/Tex Winter's triangle offense, could remind of trying to find a needle in a haystack. While wearing a blindfold. Anthony would especially be an upgrade in Los Angeles because he'd be taking Ron Artest's spot. This season, Artest has looked either disinterested, unhappy, lacking confidence, or D) All of the above.
Of course, getting rid of Bynum would minimize Los Angeles' strongest quality: its length inside. Lamar Odom would be pressed into the starting lineup, and while that alone is not bad for LA, the thought of Derrick Character, Joe Smith and Theo Ratliff being the only viable bigs off the bench certainly would not inspire smiles in Laker Land.
The discussions are only preliminary, so we'll try not to get ahead of ourselves. But, at the very least, the potential Anthony-Bryant pairing is interesting. Interesting, indeed.