That might end up happening. If Phil is in NY, Kobe for Melo might happen. Melo isn't going to take anyone to the promised land, but Phil has the power to get more help in NY and if the Lakers can dump Kobe for Melo, Phil can dump Melo and retire Kobe to some ty minutes in meaningless moments or just waive him after it's obvious he cannot play the game. Or maybe Kobe can play and becomes a decent spot up shooter. Either way, Lebron is a free agent after this year and I halfway expect some major movement in the league.The Lakers won't remain useless for long, too much money involved so other teams will collude to get the excitement back into LA where their profit sharing money originates.