NBA Trade Rumors: Kobe Bryant's Trade Hunch Will Prove True

Here is a general rule to follow with the Lakers: If Kobe Bryant is speaking out and lobbying for something to happen, it's going to happen. 

That is basically what Bryant did on the Max & Marcellus Show in a radio interview, as was reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. 

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"I'm sure they'll do something. They'll tweak something. I don't know what. But I'm sure they'll do something."

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If he feels a trade is going to happen, it's going to happen. That tells me that the Lakers are aware of one obvious fact: They are an old team with a short window to win. If that window is going to include this year, they have to get better at a few places. 

The first is point guard. The duo of Derek Fisher and Steve Blake is not getting it done. They will not lead the offense of a championship team. The western conference playoffs will include the likes of Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Fisher and Blake will don't have the defensive skills to minimize their damage, nor can they offset the elite point guards with great offense. 

That is something that will have to change for the Lakers to compete in the playoffs. As great as Kobe Bryant is, he will never be able to carry the Lakers through postseason wins when the opponents don't have to worry about his backcourt teammate. 

You have to read between the lines a little bit, but it's not much of a reach to think that if Bryant is predicting a trade will happen, he's made the team perfectly aware that he feels one has to happen. 

If that's not reason enough, read more of what he said in the same interview.

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"They obviously tried to pull the trigger on a trade that they thought was going to improve our team with CP and it just didn't happen. But, that shows me that they're thinking in the right direction in terms of doing things to improve our ball club. So that's why I'm not really tripping on it. We have to be patient and we have to make the right moves and I'm sure we will."

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Again, acknowledging that the team is looking for a trade isn't exactly the sign of a player that's just speculating. Those kinds of players will usually say something like, "We're trying to win with the team in place. The rest is out of our control."

If Bryant is talking about a trade likely happening, it means that a trade is going to happen. The Lakers' window to win is too short to not make something happen.

Bryant knows that. He knows his own age and mileage. He also has the same knowledge about Pau Gasol. Something is going to happen. Reading between the lines, it's going to be big and will likely happen soon.

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