Suns clear cap, will they come after Kobe?

The Suns traded away Stephon Marbury for cap room. Will that cap room land them Kobe Bryant next summer?

Updated: January 5, 2004, 2:23 PM ET

By Chad Ford | NBA Insider

A supernova just hit Phoenix. The Suns are blowing up again. Suns GM Bryan Colangelo read the writing on the wall. His team, once considered the best young squad in the NBA, was floundering. Attendance was dwindling. The luxury tax was looming. The chances of making the playoffs dimmed by the day.

What to do? Trade away problem child Stephon Marbury, get Penny Hardaway's millstone off your neck and try again next year. The prize? Enough cap room to make a run at the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, the rights to the best young point guard in Europe, Milos Vujanic, and a chance to to go from a being a good team to a great one next year.

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