Bryant-to-Bulls just a fantasy deal

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If Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant becomes available this summer on the trade market -- and that's a big ''if'' at this point -- the Bulls would appear to be the most likely destination for him.

Kobe Bryant, who has a no-trade clause and could veto any deal, wants to go to a team that can be a contender immediately, and the Bulls certainly would be a contender with the addition of a big-time go-to scorer. More important, the Bulls have the kind of young talent necessary to swing a deal for an All-Star

Still, working out a trade for Kobe Bryant would be a huge challenge for Bulls operations chief John Paxson because of NBA regulations and the Bulls' glaring need for an inside scorer.

For a trade to be approved when both teams are over the salary cap -- which the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers both are -- the salaries of the players switching teams have to be within 25 percent. That's no easy task because Kobe Bryant made $17.7 million this season and is due to make $19.5 million next season.

Aside from center Ben Wallace, who certainly won't be a part of any trade proposal, no one on the Bulls' roster that the Los Angeles Lakers would be interested in makes anywhere near that amount. Perhaps the only way the deal could work would be for the Bulls to re-sign P.J. Brown -- an unrestricted free agent who's considering retirement -- and include him in the package.

The other problem for Paxson is deciding exactly how much he's willing to give up. Because he'll likely have to make a deal this summer for a big man, Paxson can't use up all of his assets in a trade for Kobe Bryant.

A package of Ben Gordon ($4.88 million next season), Chris Duhon ($3.25 million), Viktor Khryapa ($1.93 million), Brown, the ninth pick in the upcoming draft and a future first-round pick might be as high as Paxson can go. Would that package be enough to entice the Los Angeles Lakers? Maybe -- but only if management feels it has to make a deal for Kobe Bryant this summer.

Right now, Kobe Bryant doesn't seem interested in forcing the Los Angeles Lakers' hand. He backed off his assertion that he wanted to be traded and made it clear he'd prefer to stay in Los Angeles -- if Los Angeles Lakers management can convince him it's serious about building a contending team this summer.

The Los Angeles Lakers could do that by re-hiring Jerry West -- the longtime executive responsible for building the Los Angeles Lakers' last eight championships -- but West has said he's not interested in taking another job when he leaves the Grizzlies at the end of the month. Whether he can be talked into returning to the Los Angeles Lakers -- and whether owner Jerry Buss can be strong-armed into stripping general manager Mitch Kupchak of his power -- remains in serious doubt at this point.

The Los Angeles Lakers, though, might be able to appease Kobe Bryant without bringing back West. A trade for Jason Kidd of the Nets might be enough to make Kobe Bryant happy. The Los Angeles Lakers weren't able to swing a deal for Kidd at the trade deadline back in February because they weren't willing to include 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum in the package. If they're willing to deal Andrew Bynum now, the Nets likely would make the move.

So while it's nice to dream of Kobe Bryant in a Bulls uniform, right now it remains nothing more than a fantasy.

[More at www.suntimes.com]