story from hoopsvibe.com

a member within the trailblazers organization called a local Portland sports reporter to leak the story out, at this point both have remained nameless so who knows how serious this rumor is.

They said they want Portland GM Kevin Pritchard to let the public know before they attach their name to this story. But anyway the member said Pritchard has considered offering up Greg Oden for Kobe Bryant. So this rumored deal would happen after the draft, the trailblazers would want to send Greg Oden, Zach Randolph, Martel Webster, and Dan Dickau to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, Maurice Evans and a future draft pick.

Let me give you my view on this crazy scenario. First off, this rumor was floating around on a random trailblazer blog, so it’s not like it has much credibility. Next if the Lakers were to trade Kobe I believe they would do the same thing they did to Shaq and that is send him away as far as possible, which would be an Eastern Conference team. Another thing is Greg Oden may be a young rare talented center with great potential, but he hasn’t played one NBA minute yet and is unproven. You don’t trade possibly the best basketball player in the world for an unproven player even if it is Greg Oden.

Also Kobe has a no trade clause which means he can dictate where he will go and I highly doubt Portland is a choice of his, they were worse than the Lakers and they still have awhile before they’re considered serious contenders. Also factor in the latest Kobe reports with this tape bad mouthing Andrew Bynum, it seems very unlikely that Kobe would accept a trade if he has to bring Bynum along with him. I also believe the trailblazers have a vision of their bright future with Greg Oden, Zach Randolph, Brandon Roy, Martel Webster, and Jarret Jack. With a solid bench of LeMarcus Aldridge, Darius Miles, Joel Przybilla, Travis Outlaw, and Serigo Rodriguez. They could be next seasons version of this seasons Toronto Raptors or Utah Jazz, a young team filled with talent that can make the playoffs and have great success.

Overall I don’t see this trade rumor happening, but the Lakers might be tempted to pull off a Kobe trade for Oden and build around him instead. After all the Lakers are no strangers to having great centers in the middle for them and having great success with Wilt, Kareem, and Shaq, could Greg Oden be next? Stay tuned to see if this crazy story develops further.