The Kobe Bryant Solution: Enter the Atlanta Hawks

It's time for the Hawks to make themselves relevant again.

It's time for the Hawks to trade for Kobe Bryant.

Impossible, you say? Not as impossible as you might think.

The Hawks have more young talent than any NBA team other than the Bulls, and are desperate to put themselves back on the basketball map.

Not to mention that the city of Atlanta needs something to feel good about after the Michael Vick disaster—and something tells me that Thrashers hockey isn't gonna do the trick.

It seems like a good match—if the Hawks could ever convince Kobe of that.

Admittedly, it's debatable whether acquiring Kobe could really be considered "something to feel good about." Bryant comes with considerable baggage, and based on his track record probably wouldn't even get along with himself...if he didn't think so highly of the man.

That said, there's no arguing that the deal makes sense.

Kobe wants out of L.A.—and the team he had his heart set on, the Bulls, thought higher of Luol Deng, whom they refused to include in any deal.

As it stands, the market for Kobe is shrinking by the day—and though I'm sure Isiah Thomas is at this very moment concocting a scheme to bring Bryant to New York (officially driving every female employee out of the Garden), nothing appears imminent.

Mitch Kupchak and Shaq can tell you that nobody wants the headache of an unhappy Kobe. David Stern would probably rather field questions about his most recent trip to Vegas than have to deal with the ongoing soap opera.

Enter the Hawks.

Atlanta has the right combination of young talent and veterans to make the deal work in terms of both personnel and salary numbers. The Hawks could presumably swing a trade without shortchanging the Lakers—and without gutting their own roster.

Kobe would enter Atlanta as the veteran leader of an up-and-coming young team. He'd be free to shape the Hawks in his image, and could lead them back to prominence without sacrificing his personal goals of chucking up 35 shots a night and only passing to his own reflection.

A potential deal: Speedy Claxton, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, Sheldon Williams, and cash to the Lakers for Kobe—with the centerpiece being Marvin Williams, who's averaging 19 points and 5.5 boards in a crowded at Atlanta frontcout.

Sheldon Williams would provide the Lakers with a better interior option than Kwame Brown to play alongside Andrew Bynum, and Childress and Claxton are nice role players.

All told, a deal like this would give the Lakers young superstars and supporting vets to build around. Make no mistake: The deal wouldn't make the Lakers better—but it's a far better value than any of the possibilities floated so far.

A trade for Kobe would vault the Hawks to the upper-echelon of the Eastern Conference with the Celtics, Bulls, and Pistons—especially if they could swing it without giving up Josh Smith or Joe Johnson.

Pair those two with Kobe, and the Eastern Conference would have to start worrying about the Hawks again.

Now, if Kobe would just consider waving that pesky no-trade clause...