NBA Trade Rumors: Kobe Bryant Allegedly Has No Trade Value! Is The Black Mamba The Player That Can’t Be Moved? Lakers Actually Planned It That Way!

The NBA Trade Rumors also deal with trade value and according to a report, some GMs consider Kobe Bryant, arguably the second best shooting guard of all time as 'untradeable.' Is that an accurate assessment? The Lakers actually planned it that way-they want to keep the Mamba in Blue and Gold until he hangs it up.

From an extensive feature on the Black Mamba, SI.com narrates:

"Now, up in a sprawling eighth-floor suite with views of the Hollywood hills, Bryant continues to talk optimistically about what's to come. His confidence is as admirable as it is predictable. And yet on paper the Lakers look an awful lot like a lottery team that is overly reliant on one aging star. There is not much hope on the horizon, either. Seven months after he ruptured his left Achilles ­tendon -- and three weeks before he fractured his left ­kneecap -- Bryant­ signed a $48.5 million, two-year deal. The contract, widely derided as the worst in the game, makes Bryant nearly impossible to move, even were the Lakers to try. Asked about Kobe's value on the market, one GM answers definitively: 'Zero. Look at that number. Who takes him?'

That does not sound very good, but if it's in the context that the Lakers actually planned it that way, maybe not. Besides, 48 million dollars would be enough to console anyone's pride.

Still from SI: "This is by design, of course. It ensures that Bryant accomplishes something very few pro athletes have: playing an entire career with one team. Bryant's plan is to retire in two years, though he says he reserves the right to change his mind. Thus one of the game's greatest players and one of its two fiercest ­competitors --Michael­ Jordan being the ­other -- will likely exit the league laboring for an undermanned squad in a stacked conference."

Besides, 'untradeable' is not entirely accurate. Both New York teams (Knicks and Brooklyn Nets) would trade for Bryant in a heartbeat. Phil Jackson, the Knicks president knows what the Mamba brings to the table-or the locker room. The Knicks have lacked competitiveness for years.

The Brooklyn Nets would also send Deron Williams and some assets for Kobe Bryant. Even the Sixers, a team who doesn't seem to have immediate plans has the cap space to take on Kobe's contract. Kobe played high school ball in Philly before getting drafted.

In any case, there isn't any scenario where the Lakers would agree to trade Kobe unless he himself would demand it.