Lakers Rumors: Trading Kobe Bryant Would Send Franchise into Downward Spiral

Los Angeles Lakers superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant has become fed up and will eventually demand a trade from the team. At least, that's what ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is predicting based on a report from Larry Brown Sports.

While a Bryant trade demand isn't unprecedented, the Lakers would send the franchise into a downward spiral that would take years to rectify if they moved the basketball icon.

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“It’s not just because [the Clippers] got Chris Paul, which is a guy that he expected to have. It’s because Jim Buss seems to be doing the inexplicable,” Smith said. “It makes no sense. It’s one thing for the team not to have improved [after losing to the Mavericks], it’s another thing entirely for them to regress. If you know anything about Kobe, that is the last thing that he wants to do.”

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The Lakers are already losing ground in their own city after the Clippers were able to acquire Chris Paul. The tandem of Paul and Blake Griffin has the potential to rule Los Angeles for the foreseeable future. Trading Bryant, even in exchange for a solid package of young players, would set the Lakers even further back in the public relations battle.

There is no player in the NBA that wants to win more than Bryant. That's why he was mad that commissioner David Stern vetoed the Lakers' attempt to get Paul and was disappointed when the team traded Lamar Odom to their Western Conference rivals, the Dallas Mavericks.

He doesn't take lightly to watching potential championship pieces walk out the door. Even though he's 33 years old, Bryant has a lot of mileage on his legs from all of those extended playoff runs. He understands his title window is creeping toward its conclusion.

To put it bluntly, the Lakers' roster as it is currently constructed isn't good enough to win an NBA championship. Not with the rise of super teams taking the league by storm.

If Bryant doesn't think the team's brass is doing enough to build a winning roster around him, he won't be shy about making those thoughts public. His sole goal is winning more rings. Therefore, Smith predicting that he will ask for a trade isn't all that outlandish.

It's a scenario which would put the Lakers in a tough spot. Not only would trading Bryant hurt the team's marketability, but it would also be tough to get a reasonable offer for him since potential trade partners would know they have their hands tied.

On the flip side, an unhappy Bryant isn't somebody the Lakers would want to deal with either. He can be quite moody when things don't go his way.

The team must spend the next couple of weeks illustrating to Bryant that they are legitimately trying to upgrade the roster. A lack of action will not make the story go away, it will only make Smith's prediction more likely to become reality.

Usually, when one player has the potential to hold an entire franchise hostage with a trade demand, they should rid themselves of the headache.

Not with Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers understand the consequences of trading their biggest star and can't allow it to happen.

The front office needs to get cracking on some potential moves before Mount Kobe erupts.