Rumors About Kobe Bryant's Future

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Concerned that trade rumors involving Kobe Bryant are becoming a distraction to his club, Bulls general manager John Paxson feels he has to squash the notion that the Lakers'

Thursday, November 1st 2007, 4:26 pm

By: News On 6

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Concerned that trade rumors involving Kobe Bryant are becoming a distraction to his club, Bulls general manager John Paxson feels he has to squash the notion that the Lakers' superstar is headed to the Windy City.

John Paxson says the teams were never on the verge of a deal and talks are over, at least for now. He feels that all the things that were out there were really unfair to all parties involved. He says the misinformation "gets in the way of the process."

Speculation picked up Wednesday, with one report saying the Bulls, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers were discussing a three-way deal that would bring the superstar to Chicago.

That scenario had Paxson sending Ben Gordon and a signed-and-traded P.J. Brown to Sacramento, Chicago's Ben Wallace and the Kings' Ron Artest heading to Los Angeles and the Bulls landing Bryant.

The trade deadline isn't until February, so it's possible talks between the Lakers and Bulls could resume.