Lakers Trade Rumors: Is Ric Bucher Right About Saying Lakers Should Trade Kobe?

Here's a short answer to that question: Absolutely not.

ESPN's Ric Bucher has said some dumb things in the past, including his comment about Utah Jazz fans. In a radio broadcast he said this:

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"Let's be honest. They're Mormon. And they're in Salt Lake. And there's nothing else there," he said. "You've got to smile and be happy all the time. This might be one opportunity for fans to get vicious."

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It's hard to tell which comment is more ridiculous, trading Kobe or thinking every single person at a Jazz game is Mormon.

Bucher's argument hinges on the idea that the team will fall into the doldrums of the Western Conference once Kobe Bryant retires from the team, so they need to get what they can out of him now.

Is 28.7 points per game not getting enough out of him?

He doesn't actually make any suggestions as to who the Los Angeles Lakers could get back for the face of their franchise, but he might be thinking they could get a team's first-round pick for the next, I don't know, 15 years. 

Lakers fans, don't let Ric Bucher's preposterous suggestions get you nervous about your beloved superstar being dealt away.

It could really never happen. KB24 has a no-trade clause, and he hasn't been asking for a trade this year.

The Los Angeles Times' Mark Medina gave another reason why this won't happen. This one seemed to be even further out of Bucher's mind than the no-trade clause part.

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Even packaging Bryant for another superstar wouldn't work. Bryant's $25.24 million salary exceeds other stars' pay, such as Dwight Howard ($17.88 million), Kevin Durant ($16.32 million) and LeBron James ($16.02 million).

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The one thing that gives a trade like this any sort of legs is the fact that the Lakers front office kept Kobe in the dark when they hired Mike Brown, souring their relationship a bit.

On second thought, that notion gives this trade newborn baby legs. Unable to pick up and run anywhere, it'll never happen.

Bryant leads the league in scoring. He's done it with a bad wrist, a masked face and a 33-year-old body.

There's just no way the Lakers can do this.

It would be exactly like the "Midnight Massacre" in which the New York Mets traded an aging (but still effective) Tom Seaver for a used jock strap and a bucket of balls.

It would look like the 1992 Los Angeles riots were underway again if Kobe Bryant was traded.

Bryant could feasibly play for another five or six years. It seems as if age doesn't matter to him, and the only thing keeping him going is passing Wilt, MJ, Malone and Kareem on the all-time scoring list.

Bryant is a machine. He's a stone-cold killer. An assassin in the clutch. 

He has no rivals.

By saying he hasn't had a rival in this league, he's saying that nobody is on his level. It's that kind of confidence that makes him who he is.

So rest easy, Lakers fans. The Black Mamba isn't going anywhere.