Kobe to Chicago

Apparently (reading between the lines of the Mitch Kupchack/ Jim Gray interview) KG is not gonna be a Laker, and Kobe will not relent from his trade demand. LA might have to strike quickly to trade Kobe to Chicago, as the Bulls have interest in KG, but I'm sure they would prefer Kobe - younger, a better fit and (unbelievably) a salary (after KG's trade kicker) of about $10 million less, making the salary cap and player implications much easier to manage.

Here's a deal I think the Lakers would swallow hard, but accept for Kobe:

Tyrus Thomas, Chris Duhon, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Ben Gordon

That would still leave Chicago (if they're willing to spend to re-sign their own players) with a very strong, vet-heavy lineup: Ben Wallace/ Aaron Gray, PJ Brown/ Sweetney/ Malik Allen, Nocioni/Khyrapa/ (maybe Grant Hill!), Kobe/ Sefolosha/ JamesOn Curry, Hinrich/Andre Barrett. They could let Nocioni go if need be to sign Grant Hill, who is making noises about playing another year or 2 for a title contender - Detroit and the Spurs are the most rumored. If the Kobe deal occurred, I'm sure Chicago would qualify.

The Bulls would no doubt try to offer Brown and/or Nocioni in sign and trade deals before including Thomas/ Noah and especially Deng, but I don't believe the Lakers would bite for a second - if they trade Kobe, they're rebuilding. Likewise, I can't imagine the Lakers taking the huge and long contract of Ben Wallace back in any deal.

But the Lakers could sell getting Deng, Gordon, Thomas and especially Noah (a charismatic figure perfect for Hollywood) as a bounteous return for Kobe, portending a return to greatness in a few years. To me, the real question is if GM Paxson would make the deal. Should he, if this is what it would take (and assuming Reinsdorf opens the wallet to resign the other pieces to make it work)?