NBA Trade Rumors: Carmelo Anthony To the Los Angeles Lakers?

It looks like Kobe Bryant may have a new teammate to share the ball with in the near future.

ESPN's Chris Broussard is reporting today that the Los Angeles Lakers have begun preliminary talks with the Denver Nuggets about acquiring disgruntled star Carmelo Anthony.

The report suggests that the Lakers would use young but oft-injured center Andrew Bynum as the centerpiece of a deal.

It is uncertain as to whether the Nuggets would want Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak to include another player, like sixth man Lamar Odom, or whether a straight-up swap of Bynum for 'Melo would work under the current collective bargaining agreement.

Don't expect Ron Artest to be an option, as his deteriorated game and bloated salary make him somewhat anathema to Denver GM Masai Ujiri and his attempt to rebuild the Nuggets.

The question remains, why would either team agree to this deal?

The Nuggets have been trying to get rid of Anthony for months, ever since he turned down the team's offer of a three-year, $65 million extension.

Most of the speculation since that time has centered around Anthony going to the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets, with a move to the Meadowlands seeming imminent up until recent weeks, when Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov pulled the plug on a three-team deal with Detroit after things got out of hand.

That deal would have netted Denver a veritable boatload of draft picks and young players, including big man Derrick Favors, thereby accelerating the Nuggets roster reconstruction.

This deal would presumably gain the Nuggets only Bynum, lest the powers that be in the organization decide to take on salary, which seems unlikely considering previous attempts by the front office to dump salary along with Carmelo.

At 23-years-of-age and 7'0" tall, Bynum still has tremendous upside to go along with his considerable actualized skill and ability, though he has been limited over the years by a series of rather serious knee injuries.

If one were to compare Bynum to 'Melo in a purely objective sense, outside the context of their teams, then the Lakers would clearly win out in this trade.

After all, Anthony is still only 26 and has averaged nearly 25 points and more than six rebounds over the course of his career, which has included four All-Star selections.

With Anthony around, the Lakers would finally have a clear successor to take over Bryant's throne once he retires/is finally ready to cede his primacy on the team.

In context, however, this move could be a net loss for the purple and gold, at least in the immediate present.

Bynum gives the Lakers an enormous advantage in size, especially on the defensive end, where he provides a shot-blocking and rebounding presence that transforms the team from an average defensive squad to a potentially great one.

Swap in 'Anthony, and you end up with quite possibly one of the worst defensive front lines in the NBA, as Anthony is notorious around the league for his lackadaisical play on defense.

Sure, the Lakers would have an abundance of scorers, with the trio of Bryant, Gasol and Anthony rivaling that of any other in the league, including the threesome of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

However, what the NBA's other great conglomerations of star power have that this group of Lakers would not is a strong defense. The Heat and the Celtics may get plenty of publicity for their offensive exploits, but it's their collective ability to shut down the opposition that makes these teams, and just about every other top team, truly elite.

Switching 'Melo in for Bynum would potentially weaken the Lakers' team defense to the point where they would no longer be a legitimate threat to complete Phil Jackson's fourth three-peat.

Then again, who would be able to outscore them?

So, SHOULD the Lakers make this deal?

The answer: Yes. As much as the Lakers may love Bynum for his defensive presence and may still see him as a budding star, the history of basketball is replete with stories of tremendous big men whose careers were sidetracked by injury after injury.

Look no further than Yao Ming, whose attempted comeback from a foot injury this season resulted in yet another fracture, and possibly the end of his playing days.

Anthony, on the other hand, has had some injuries here and there, but nothing close to a torn ACL or a subluxation of a kneecap.

And he's a bona fide star who could become the next franchise guy when Kobe's days of dominance are over, assuming they aren't already.

Of course, these talks are simply preliminary and may lead to nothing more than a short feeding frenzy among the sports media.

A deal may be far from done, but it sure would shake things up a bit in the NBA for years to come.