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Authored by Brent Diggins - 24th September, 2007 - 9:16 pm
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Training camp is rapidly approaching, and with that, there will be no bigger story than the pending saga of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Basketball journalists are getting their pencils sharpened, making room on their digital recorders and limbering their typing fingers all in anticipation of the looming questions that will be fired at Kobe on Day 1 of training camp. In rapid succession they will come with video rolling, cameras clicking and pens scribbling.
Kobe do you still want to be traded? Kobe are you happy with your team? Are you going to opt out when after 2008-09? Are you going to sit out this year until the Lakers trade you? And it will drone on day in and day out for the entire month. Kobe, the savvy media man he is, unless it is citizen media in the parking lot of a mall, will produce some canned answers expressing his trust in the Lakers? front office, in the Busses and in Kwame ?Buster? Brown and Andrew Bynum.
While Kobe is answering his questions, TVs will be tuned in around the league?s front offices and GMs like John Paxson, Steve Kerr and Donnie Nelson will be sitting in large leather chairs, turning pencils in their fingers thinking of ways to get Kobe, and the championship he would almost certainly bring with him, to their fair cities. All the while, the Lakers? Mitch Kupchak will be sitting, rolling his sweaty palms together, and waiting for the black phone sitting on his desk to ring with trade offers.
And the offers are certain to come; there will be ?conversations,? ?discussions,? denials and rumors, but if anything is going to happen, it will come down to timing, negotiating and leverage. These elements are the fundamentals of a business deal, and the wheels are spinning as you read. Let?s look at who has the leverage now and into the future in the poker game with the Kobe Bryant grand prize.
Who has the leverage now?
As of the end of September in 2007, two full seasons before Kobe can opt out of his contract, the Lakers sit in control of their yellow and purple tractor.
The Lakers have leverage over Kobe because Kobe can complain, he can whine, but with that comes the reputation, of well, a whiner and complainer; something Kobe really doesn?t need to add to his perceived personality resume. He can threaten to sit out, something he won?t do, and the Lakers know this. Kobe has too much pride; he loves the game of basketball too much and has respect for it. Plus he has lots of money on the table, and 20 million dollars isn?t worth proving a point over. Kobe is stuck traveling the country with his borderline playoff team, scoring points, charging for an MVP and wowing crowds. He can and will do all that, but he?ll find little internal fulfillment, something only a championship run can bring the heart of a player like Kobe.
In regard to other GMs, until the trade deadline of this year, the Lakers have as much leverage as they are going to get. Kobe is in his prime, he is healthy, he is slimmed down, and at the peak of his trade value. The Lakers can, and should, ask the world for Kobe. Without hesitation, they can ask for young players, other superstars and draft picks, and other GMs will have little place to protest the Lakers? requests. If a team wants him bad enough right now, they better be willing to part with great pieces. However, as each day passes, the Lakers power grows weaker as Kobe and the other GMs grows stronger.
How and when can Kobe get the leverage?
Kobe is the most dynamic player in the world. While some may argue others are better, nobody brings the entire package that Kobe does. He is an MVP candidate year in and year out, and has the electric personality that draws fans and haters alike. He would be a boon for any organization. Jersey sales, ticket sales and revenue would follow, but one must understand that Kobe cares about one thing; winning. Kobe wants to cement his legacy by winning another championship as the lead man, and if he wants his place in history, which I believe he does, money won?t be an issue for him, especially since he has gobs of it in the bank already.
So how does Kobe tip the scales in his favor for good? He shuts his mouth the entire 2007-08 season, plays hard and continues his canned answers. If trade rumors heat up, he just needs to say it isn?t something he?s thinking about, and continue playing. Nobody will be able to fault him one bit, and some people, even Kobe haters, won?t be able to do anything but feel sorry for him as the Lakers flounder. In fact, on all sorts of basketball message boards and blogs, including the realgm.com message boards, you can find threads, created by the staunchest Kobe haters and Lakers? fans alike, with titles like ?Kobe deserves to be traded.? The momentum is shifting and Kobe can grab it in less than a year.
After the 2007-08 NBA season is over, the Kobe rumors will be scorching, especially with his prominence on the USA Olympic team. The 2008-09 season will be the last season before his pending opt out, and questions will fly. To gain the ultimate leverage, in the summer of 2008-09, Kobe needs to say the following (Kobe, I?ll be sending the bill to you):
I?m officially requesting a trade from the L.A. Lakers . I love the city of Los Angeles and the fans, but the Lakers have failed to keep their promises to me. I am unhappy and frustrated, and nothing, except an immediate trade, will change that. I?ve provided a list of teams that I?d be willing to go to, and if I?m not traded to one of those teams, I will be opting out after this season, and will consider taking less money, to go to a situation where a championship in the near future is a real possibility. I?ve given the Lakers a chance, I?ve kept my word, but they have failed to keep theirs, something I cannot forgive.
That is the bombshell Kobe needs to drop. He already wants out and he made that clear this summer, but he had no leverage. Next summer, with his opt out season looming, he will have all the leverage in the world. What are the Lakers going to do? Have him play his final year, have him opt out and lose him for nothing at all? Like Kobe sitting out, it is not worth mortgaging a franchise and losing millions upon millions of dollars to prove a point. The Lakers will be forced to trade him, and will be forced to trade him to who he wants. As the leverage shifts to Kobe, so it does to the other GMs, and they are waiting over the Kobe steak with bibs tucked in and fork and knife in hand.
How and when can NBA GMs win their leverage?
Any successful GM takes a look at his present situation, but more importantly, his future situation. With a Kobe trade almost certainly looming within the next year, you can rest assured that countless GMs around the league, while resting their heads on their soft pillows at night, have imagined Kobe Bryant on their team. Kobe could be the key to elevating a GM to the level that he aspires; that of a championship team architect.
Right now, the Kobe front is quiet, almost too quiet. Certainly GMs have looked at who is expendable, who needs to be resigned, and when certain salaries kick in all to line up their trading power in hopes of a Kobe Christmas. They, like Kobe, just need to plot, say the right things and wait.
If the Lakers want to get max value for Kobe, they?ll need to make a trade before this year?s deadline. If they don?t and Kobe explicitly makes a statement demanding a trade or confirming an opt out, the other teams will have tremendous leverage. Other teams will know that the Lakers need to trade Kobe before he walks, and therefore will offer the Lakers as little as possible. The Lakers, of course, need to accept something, or else they will lose Kobe and have nothing at all to show for it.
It all can become quite a bit complicated, but such is the nature of business. Negotiating is a skill, and the timing and leverage, which usually go hand in hand, are the two most important factors. So sit back, get your popcorn and soda, and get ready for the Kobe Bryant soap opera to play out before our eyes. It will have all the drama of the best Hollywood stories, and this basketball fan can?t wait.
Brent Diggins is a freelance writer, an avid NBA fan, and the President of Diggs Communications, a Phoenix based marketing firm. You can reach him at brentd@diggspr.com. He is a media relations expert, so Kobe, give me a call if you need help. |
