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It doesn't matter whether Mark Cuban or Donnie Nelson makes the phone call, but one of them needs to contact Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak today and find out what it takes to get Kobe Bryant.
If the answer is Dirk Nowitzki, then so be it.
Straight up. No frills. A simple blockbuster.
One first-team All-NBA star in his prime for another.
Bryant has been dropping subtle hints for a week that he wants out of Los Angeles. Superstars have been dealt before.
Wilt Chamberlain was traded. So was Oscar Robertson. And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Don't forget to add Shaquille O'Neal to the list.
So don't act like it's blasphemous to consider trading Nowitzki, the league's MVP. Or have you forgotten Philadelphia dealt former MVP Allen Iverson this season.
No one said it would be an easy decision. Or a popular decision. Or that Cuban even has the courage to trade his favorite player.
But it must be considered.
Mavericks/NBA Mavs blog
Taylor: Kobe worth trading Dirk
Tell Us: Move Dirk?
More Mavericks
This is not a knee-jerk reaction to Nowitzki's performance in the Mavericks' shocking first-round playoff loss. This is about positioning the Mavericks to win a championship by acquiring a player who embraces pressure and plays best in big games.
Besides, I've already made the trade on a Web site that analyzes the feasibility of trades to make sure there wasn't any problem with the salaries.
There isn't.
Kobe is scheduled to earn a little more than $17 million this season, while Nowitzki is supposed to get about $15 million. According to this Web site, the deal is fine. Just to make sure, I proposed a deal of DeSagana Diop, Greg Buckner and Jason Terry for Bryant and the computer GM promptly rejected it.
Over the holiday weekend, an ESPN report quoted Bryant as saying he would consider waiving his no-trade clause unless the Lakers re-hired Jerry West and gave him full control of the organization.
As you would expect, he's denying the story.
Too late.
Bryant is mad at the only franchise he's ever played for because they haven't gotten him enough help to make the Lakers a legitimate contender.
And nothing is going to change this off-season because Lamar Odom's shoulder injury means he has little trade value. Neither does Kwame Brown, the only other player on the roster worth more than a Wal-Mart gift card, though his contract expires at the end of next season.
It's Bryant's fault he's in this predicament because he's the one who chased off O'Neal, so he could be the focal point of the team. Now that it's not working out, he wants to wear a new uniform next season if he doesn't get what he wants.
We all know Cuban has a soft spot for Nowitzki because of the 7-footer's work ethic, talent and ability to lead the Mavericks from the abyss of the '90s. Nowitzki is the most decorated player in franchise history, with a low-maintenance personality to match.
Those are just some of the reasons Cuban was so emotional at the news conference to announce that Nowitzki had been named MVP. But he also loves the Mavericks and he'll be doing his club a disservice if he doesn't explore every avenue to make it a better basketball team.
You can't convince me adding Bryant doesn't improve the Mavericks. I'll worry about who's playing power forward later.
It's not that Nowitzki isn't a great player. Winning the MVP proves that just in case you weren't impressed that he averaged 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds for a team that won 67 games.
But we all know he doesn't always embrace the moment and deliver in the Mavericks' most important games. We all know he has a reputation for being soft, perhaps because he didn't learn the game on inner-city black tops, where you call your own fouls, or spend a summer playing at Rucker Park in New York.
He's had huge games in the playoffs before – 37 in Game 7 against San Antonio in 2006 comes to mind as does a 50-point performance against Phoenix – but pro sports is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
Miami's Dwyane Wade outplayed him in the final four games of the 2006 NBA Finals as the Heat rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the championship. And Nowitzki was tentative and ineffective against Golden State as Dallas became the first No.1 seed to lose a best-of-7 series against a No.8 seed.
Bryant has never won an MVP trophy, but he understands how to impose his will on a game. He demands the ball in clutch situations and consistently attacks the bucket.
He is the NBA's best player.
Others like Nowitzki and Wade are part of the discussion, but we all know Bryant is the NBA's most feared player.
He wouldn't go 2-for-13, score eight points and passively hang around the perimeter in the most important game of the season. Bryant's confidence never wanes.
Nowitzki, the best European player ever, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. But he lacks the arrogance to lead the Mavericks to a championship.
Bryant does not.
It doesn't matter whether Mark Cuban or Donnie Nelson makes the phone call, but one of them needs to contact Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak today and find out what it takes to get Kobe Bryant.
If the answer is Dirk Nowitzki, then so be it.
Straight up. No frills. A simple blockbuster.
One first-team All-NBA star in his prime for another.
Bryant has been dropping subtle hints for a week that he wants out of Los Angeles. Superstars have been dealt before.
Wilt Chamberlain was traded. So was Oscar Robertson. And Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Don't forget to add Shaquille O'Neal to the list.
So don't act like it's blasphemous to consider trading Nowitzki, the league's MVP. Or have you forgotten Philadelphia dealt former MVP Allen Iverson this season.
No one said it would be an easy decision. Or a popular decision. Or that Cuban even has the courage to trade his favorite player.
But it must be considered.
Mavericks/NBA Mavs blog
Taylor: Kobe worth trading Dirk
Tell Us: Move Dirk?
More Mavericks
This is not a knee-jerk reaction to Nowitzki's performance in the Mavericks' shocking first-round playoff loss. This is about positioning the Mavericks to win a championship by acquiring a player who embraces pressure and plays best in big games.
Besides, I've already made the trade on a Web site that analyzes the feasibility of trades to make sure there wasn't any problem with the salaries.
There isn't.
Kobe is scheduled to earn a little more than $17 million this season, while Nowitzki is supposed to get about $15 million. According to this Web site, the deal is fine. Just to make sure, I proposed a deal of DeSagana Diop, Greg Buckner and Jason Terry for Bryant and the computer GM promptly rejected it.
Over the holiday weekend, an ESPN report quoted Bryant as saying he would consider waiving his no-trade clause unless the Lakers re-hired Jerry West and gave him full control of the organization.
As you would expect, he's denying the story.
Too late.
Bryant is mad at the only franchise he's ever played for because they haven't gotten him enough help to make the Lakers a legitimate contender.
And nothing is going to change this off-season because Lamar Odom's shoulder injury means he has little trade value. Neither does Kwame Brown, the only other player on the roster worth more than a Wal-Mart gift card, though his contract expires at the end of next season.
It's Bryant's fault he's in this predicament because he's the one who chased off O'Neal, so he could be the focal point of the team. Now that it's not working out, he wants to wear a new uniform next season if he doesn't get what he wants.
We all know Cuban has a soft spot for Nowitzki because of the 7-footer's work ethic, talent and ability to lead the Mavericks from the abyss of the '90s. Nowitzki is the most decorated player in franchise history, with a low-maintenance personality to match.
Those are just some of the reasons Cuban was so emotional at the news conference to announce that Nowitzki had been named MVP. But he also loves the Mavericks and he'll be doing his club a disservice if he doesn't explore every avenue to make it a better basketball team.
You can't convince me adding Bryant doesn't improve the Mavericks. I'll worry about who's playing power forward later.
It's not that Nowitzki isn't a great player. Winning the MVP proves that just in case you weren't impressed that he averaged 24.6 points and 8.9 rebounds for a team that won 67 games.
But we all know he doesn't always embrace the moment and deliver in the Mavericks' most important games. We all know he has a reputation for being soft, perhaps because he didn't learn the game on inner-city black tops, where you call your own fouls, or spend a summer playing at Rucker Park in New York.
He's had huge games in the playoffs before – 37 in Game 7 against San Antonio in 2006 comes to mind as does a 50-point performance against Phoenix – but pro sports is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.
Miami's Dwyane Wade outplayed him in the final four games of the 2006 NBA Finals as the Heat rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win the championship. And Nowitzki was tentative and ineffective against Golden State as Dallas became the first No.1 seed to lose a best-of-7 series against a No.8 seed.
Bryant has never won an MVP trophy, but he understands how to impose his will on a game. He demands the ball in clutch situations and consistently attacks the bucket.
He is the NBA's best player.
Others like Nowitzki and Wade are part of the discussion, but we all know Bryant is the NBA's most feared player.
He wouldn't go 2-for-13, score eight points and passively hang around the perimeter in the most important game of the season. Bryant's confidence never wanes.
Nowitzki, the best European player ever, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. But he lacks the arrogance to lead the Mavericks to a championship.
Bryant does not.
It would be tough to send Damp away, so I don't realistically look at that as a possibility.