WISH UPON A STAR TRADE FOR GARNETT MIGHT BE A LONG SHOT, BUT ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE DURING THE SUMMER OF KOBE.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

And that, as Bogie told us, is the stuff dreams are made of.

Strap in tight, buckaroos, the offseason rollercoaster that is Kobe Bryant is fully under way, and there are nothing but dips and sharp turns ahead.

This breathless ride won't end today, not on draft day Thursday and maybe not after Jermaine O'Neal and Kevin Garnett and Paul Gasol and Amare Stoudemire all land or don't land on new teams.

This is the Summer of Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles and in the NBA, and it's about as escapable as mega-movie sequels and Paris Hilton.

The latest Kobe-related report that had the NBA world spinning off its axis was the Lakers and Timberwolves were in negotiations to bring Garnett to L.A.

A pause now, while everyone takes a deep breath. A really, really deep breath.

This is fanciful stuff, and if it seems to border between too good to be true and fat chance, there is good reason.

Kobe and K.G., of course, would be the greatest NBA duo since, oh, Kobe and Shaq.

It would be a pair for the ages, or at least those ages since Shaq and that chip on his shoulder were shipped to Miami.

Since then for the Lakers, it's mostly been a lot of painful disappointment, a lot of one-and-out in the playoffs and a lot of frustration for our man Kobe.

That all led to Kobe's media schizophrenia, which ranged from asking to be traded on one radio show, to saying he actually would like to stay on another, to insisting he wanted to die buried in purple and gold on another. All within one nifty afternoon.

Kobe has since belatedly, if wisely, disappeared from public view, unless you count those exclusive parking-lot interviews. Still, the latest reports had Kobe back to demanding a trade.

Nobody really knows for certain, because that would assume Kobe really knew. And it's best not to make that assumption, because anyway, there is always tomorrow.

The Lakers, naturally, have no interest in trading the biggest star in the league, not to mention the only one who comes close to justifying those outrageous Staples Center prices for the Hollywood set.

Their other choice is to try and make him happy by acquiring more star power for their roster, like they wouldn't have anyway if Kobe hadn't gone into foot-stomping mode.

It would be difficult to acquire a bigger star than Garnett, who would give the Lakers the kind of inside presence to match what Kobe brings from the perimeter.

Garnett is 31 and still a force, having averaged 22.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists last season.

There are plenty of reasons to believe Garnett would welcome a trade to the Lakers: He's never, and likely never will, win a title in Minneapolis; he grew up a fan of the Lakers and his cousin is Lakers guard Shammond Williams; and his wife, Brandi, is from Southern California and they own a home in Malibu.

Garnett, however, has never asked to be traded and reportedly already shot down one Timberwolves deal to the Celtics.

If a move to L.A. seems a no-brainer to Lakers' fans, there are also plenty of reasons to believe Garnett would frown upon it: he's spent his entire career in Minneapolis and is very comfortable there; the ball always goes through his hands with the Timberwolves and would not with the Lakers; he may not be ready to play second fiddle to Kobe; and all that Lakers drama has to be unsettling to someone content to be out of the limelight.

There are two major assumptions being made in K.G.-to-the-Lakers conversations -- that he would welcome the deal and that it would make a difference to Kobe. And no one can be certain as to the answer to either.

Garnett is in serious danger of being the modern Karl Malone, a superstar forward who never won a title. At least Malone made it to the Finals three times.

In Garnett's 11 seasons, the Timberwolves have advanced out of the first round of the postseason once. They failed to make the playoffs the past three years and finished 32-50 last season.

For Garnett, it's simply a matter of how hungry he is for a title.

For Kobe, who knows? Would the addition of Garnett make him change his mind? Make him pull his latest 180, start talking nice and begin his next makeover?

At this point, Kobe has trashed everyone on the team and organization but the Laker Girls, though that could be simply because no one's asked him about those latest dance routines.

The Lakers can only hope that should they beat the odds and actually acquire K.G., the volatile Kobe again changes his mind. Then they can all go on a company retreat and have a big group hug.

Just understand the obstacles to the trade are serious.

The first report of the trade Thursday was by the Los Angeles Times Web site, which said a four-way deal was being discussed that included Indiana and O'Neal and Boston. Hours later, the Web site said the Celtics had backed out and talks were now just between the Timberwolves and Lakers.

The Lakers are reportedly talking about sending Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum to Minneapolis for Garnett, although with K.G. earning $22 million next season that would still leave them over $5 million shy of equaling his salary. Another Laker would have to include another player for salary-cap reasons.

Garnett is no bejeweled Maltese Falcon, but sparkles with championship potential if matched with Kobe. The stuff of dreams, indeed.

If as likely, it amounts to nothing, fear not. The next rumor or report or double-secret negotiation will be upon us momentarily.

It's the Summer of Kobe, and it figures to be a long run.

[e-mail]

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Kevin Garnett)

(2 -- color) LAMAR ODOM

(3 -- color) KWAME BROWN

(4 -- color) ANDREW BYNUM

Box:

TRADE BAIT?