Via Bulls.com blogger Sam Smith:
The obvious reason this never gets discussed is no one can see James hooking on with Bryant. I really cannot understand why not.
How good a team would that be with Bryant, James, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom? Supposedly it would look like James searching out a place to win a championship instead of lifting his team to one. Allegedly a no-no.
But Bryant is 31; James is 24. Bryant has probably three really high level seasons left before some sort of a transition. It was the transition Shaq could never accept and why I think the Lakers dynasty broke up. Not because of Kobe. But because Shaq refused to be viewed as a supporting player to Bryant, and the Lakers understood that. So they traded him. Clearly the right move.
The Lakers are no sure thing to win the championship with the Celtics healthy and the Magic deep. But you add LeBron and it’s hard to imagine anyone beating them the next three or four years.
No way, no way, no way.
Despite what Smith says, LeBron joining the Lakers is akin to LeBron saying - "I'm not good enough to win a title on my own, I need Kobe's help."
The egos are too big to co-exist. Maybe if Kobe was a few years older, in a declining stage of his career.
The Lakers don't have the cap room to outright sign James during free agency. The only way this could happen financially, is through a sign and trade. Smith throws around names like Bynum, Artest, Farmar and draft picks.
Enough with this fantasy.... although watching the Celtics beat a LeBron and Kobe tandem in the Finals would be the greatest thrill in sports.