As much as I hate to admit it, he's the present and future of the NBA for the next decade or so.
It's not just the Christmas game I'm talking about; if you watched him this season, you'll see how what he did in Cleveland was not a fluke and if you look at the Cavs' record this year (worst in the East...my golly!) from how they had the best record in the league the past two years with LeBron, you get a good idea of what this young man brings to the table.
We have a good month before the trade deadline to make this work. I think a fair trade would be LeBron for Kobe and Andrew Bynum. There is no way Miami would take a straight LeBron-for-Kobe deal, but Drew would entice them to strengthen their interior against Boston, who are having their own troubles with injuries right now.
I know the salaries won't be balanced, so Miami would have to throw in some of their minimum salary players, which is basically anyone not named James, Wade or Bosh.
So, we have our pick from Juwan Howard, Eric Dampier, Carlos Arroyo, James Jones, Big Z, etc. Or Mike Miller, who's a $5 million man, and Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem, who are both making $3 million-plus.
Draft picks probably won't come into the equation, since Miami's draft picks will be garbage for the next 10 years.
I know Kobe has a "no-trade clause" in his contract (bad move Jerry), but there has to be a way to convince him. In Miami, he plays for the best team in the East, almost a shoo-in to get into the Finals this year.
With the Lakers, we'd be lucky to get out starting at the second round, getting matched up with the Mavs or if our season really tanks we'll see the Spurs, both teams playing better than we are when healthy.
We might even see a first round matchup against the Thunder again, which could prove fatal.
So...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
