Should Kobe Bryant Opt Out?

If things don’t go Kobe Bryant’s way this year, and right now they don’t look like they will, Kobe Bryant needs to move on, or he can forget that fourth ring.

The only ring he will get in Los Angeles is a phone call from his agent begging him to opt out. But if the Houston series continues the way it’s going and with the high-powered Denver Nuggets waiting in the wings, his agent won’t have to beg.

Should the Cavaliers make the finals, which looks like a done deal, Lebron James won’t be going anywhere. There is no reason for him to leave Cleveland. He is surrounded by a young team with a championship on the horizon and possibly a dynasty beyond that.

So all that cap space that teams in the East have been freeing up to sign King James in 2010, now can go somewhere else.

And that somewhere might just be Kobe Bryant’s bank account.

Even though he has been in the NBA for ten years, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. Enough to push a young team that is one player shy of being a championship contender over the hump.

So, where should he go? Well, if you can’t beat them, join them. The Lakers couldn’t beat Orlando this year in two tries. Could the Magic be a fit for Bryant?

Although Orlando isn’t finished their series with Boston yet and still has a chance to win it all, they nevertheless appear to be one player shy of winning a championship.

Bryant could play either shooting guard or small forward and would be a seamless fit with Rafer Alston at point guard and Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis at the forward spots with Dwight Howard in the middle. Amazing just might happen.

There were two Eastern teams that beat the Lakers in the last month of the season – Atlanta and Philadelphia. If you saw any of the Cavaliers sweep of the Hawks, you know the Hawks need an outside presence to hit those three-point shots.

Bryant could play small forward in Atlanta and spread the floor for Josh Smith and Joe Johnson.

Philadelphia is Bryant’s hometown. There he could join another L. A. exile, Elton Brand, along with Andre Igoudala and Andre Miller. Bryant could play small forward with Miller and Igoudala in the backcourt. If Brand comes back healthy, he can play opposite Bryant at power forward with Thaddeus Young and Theo Ratliff alternating at center.

A couple of years ago, when Bryant asked to be trade, he had his sights set on Chicago. Well, it just might be his kind of town, and the Bulls are not Bryant’s kind of team.

Now that the Bulls have the Rookie of the Year, Derek Rose, at point guard, Ben Gordon at shooting guard and John Salmons at small forward, there’s no spot in the lineup for Bryant.

But there is a spot for him in Washington. He can reunite with former Laker, Caron Butler, and join Gilbert Arenas in the backcourt with Butler at small forward and Antawn Jamison at power forward. Teams will have to decide who they want to double team, and that will open up the middle for Andray Blatche or Brendan Haywood.

As far as teams out West are concerned, all the former power houses, San Antonion, Phoenix, Dallas and the Lakers are looking pretty long in the tooth and will need more than one player to make a difference.

If it were just a matter of one player like Kobe Bryant, the Lakers should have swept Utah and Houston. Instead, they are struggling to play with consistency and intensity.

Bryant was asked recently what aspect of his game has improved the most this season. He said he thought it was his ability to raise the level of play of the players around them.

Except for Lamar Odom, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, the other players around Bryant have lowered the level of his play. If for no other reason, that is why Bryant will not win his fourth ring in L.A. and why he must get out of town.

Hate to see you go, partner. Gonna miss you. But believe me, it’s for the best.