Kobe Rejected a Trade to the Pistons!

My dreams almost came true late tuesday night, even though I didn't know about it until today. According to Realgm.com, The Pistons and Lakers consumated a trade involving the disgruntled Kobe Bryant late Tuesday Night, but Kobe vetoed it the next day because apparently Detroit was not on his list of desired destinations.

The trade would have landed the Pistons Bryant in exchange for Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson and a future 1st Round draft pick.

This trade would undoubtedly have been a steal for the Pistons. They would have been able to maintain their depth in large part, and merely would have substituted the more than capable Jarvis Hayes in at the Small Forward Position while Kobe took over as the Shooting Guard.

While most will contest that Tayshaun is one of the Premier defensive players in the league and that Amir Johnson has the potential to be an All-Star forward, it cannot be denied that Kobe is one of the best players of the history of the NBA and is only 28 years old. Kobe is also regarded as one of the best defenders in the league and can guard all three backcourt positions, and has the scoring output to more than make up for the departure of all three players.

As for Amir, he has the most dangerous word in sports basically engrained in his nameplate, "Potential". As Detroit fans we think he could be great, but we KNOW Kobe is great. The chances that Amir will ever amount to that are slim to none. The loss of Rip is cancelled out because Kobe is a Shooting Guard and would simply replace him.

This Blogger is both devastated and confused by the disintegration of this deal. Why Kobe would not want to join a team with Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and a very solid bench is beyond me. The Pistons would have topped the Celtics "Big Three" because they have the thing that will ultimately lead to the downfall of the Celtics and that is a bench and role players.

Kobe missed out on a chance to be a God in the greatest sports city in the world, and to win multiple championships. Have fun in Atlanta, Kobe. It'll be your team and I hear Zaza Pachulia is a real stud.