Henry Abbotthasa typically excellent essayonTrueHoop今天,研究未来什么瞧s Angeles Lakers and guard Kobe Bryant. At the essay's conclusion, Abbott wonders whether the Lakers might be better off under a new Collective Bargaining Agreement without the massive financial commitment due to their face of the franchise All-Star. --------------------------- Then there's the final, unthinkable option: It has been discussed that the new CBA may have an amnesty clause, that lets teams buy out players and send them on their way. Depending how it's negotiated, this could include salary cap relief. And if so, would the Lakers use it on Bryant? They'd be laughed out of the gym for letting one of the best players in the league go, and future free agents may punish the Lakers for abandoning a good soldier. There are plenty of reasons not to. But the reason to consider it seriously is that keeping Bryant, at this age and those prices, virtually guarantees the team's decline -- unless Bryant can manage the magic trick of playing the best ball of his life after turning 33. --------------------------- -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter