Jerry West; "So, uh, hey.. We'd like to trade you two cartons of cigarettes for Kobe Bryant"..

 
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ContagiousInspiration
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 5:32 am    Post subject: Jerry West; "So, uh, hey.. We'd like to trade you two cartons of cigarettes for Kobe Bryant"..

The Magic of Jerry West

Quote:
With the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant out of Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia. Then, in a draft day trade that would change the course of NBA history, they dealt him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. This much is indisputable.

How it all happened, however, is not.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/kobe-bryant-and-the-draft-day-trade-that-changed-nba-history/

I didn't even know this part

Poor poor Charlotte fans

Quote:
From ESPN's Baxter Holmes:

"Charlotte never wanted me," Bryant said. "[Hornets coach Dave] Cowens told me he didn't want me. It wasn't a question of me even playing here. They had a couple of guards already, a couple small forwards already. So it wasn't like I would be off the bench much. "

"I mean, I had grown up watching basketball," Bryant said. "I knew who Dave Cowens was and [was] pretty excited [to play for him]. Then I was like, 'Oh, all right.' I quickly transitioned from smiley kid to killer instinct."

"Cowens told me, 'We don't really need you here,'" Bryant said.

Bryant tweeted a similar stance in 2014:

On this day 18yrs ago the hornets told me right after they drafted me that they had no use for me and were going to trade me #thanku #lakers
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 1, 2014
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Mike@LG
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 6:39 am    Post subject:

Charlotte used the draft out of need.
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:35 am    Post subject:

That's why you always draft the BPA
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wolfpaclaker
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 7:45 am    Post subject:

Crazy.

First time I saw Kobe play, and he was far from the player he became 1-2 years later, let alone the player he evolved into 3-4 years after that, I knew he was something. How you could watch Kobe play, at that age, so young, and not at least want him on your roster is crazy. I was the biggest Eddie Jones guy out there, and even then, I couldn't wait for Kobe to beat him for minutes. I just saw the talent and the way he tried to play, it was obvious to a non-basketball expert fan. How experts couldn't see it. Dunno. No one needed to see that he'd be an all-time great. However the kid had star power written all over him.
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 8:01 am    Post subject:

^More like I think they saw it, they just felt it was a "man's game" and he was just a "kid" that couldn't garner respect from his teammates and earn a position to succeed.
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jonnybravo
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PostPosted: Mon May 27, 2019 2:34 pm    Post subject:

No guard out of high school had been drafted before Kobe. That's a huge hurdle to overcome.
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PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2019 7:37 am    Post subject:

Completely changes the narrative that Kobe "forced his way out" of Charlotte.
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PostPosted: Tue May 28, 2019 12:33 pm    Post subject:

I remember their owner Bob Bass saying they didn't want a 17 yr old in a televised blurb around the time of the draft/trade. The pejorative part as I took it was the 17, not the "don't want" part. I think they were shell shocked at the loss of Zo and had a big ol Vlade sized hole in the middle and they thought they could compete immediately with Vlade instead of dismantling pieces to find roster balance.
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PostPosted: Wed May 29, 2019 11:11 am    Post subject:

Dr. Laker wrote:
Completely changes the narrative that Kobe "forced his way out" of Charlotte.


Beat me to it. Now for the "he drove Shaq out of town" and "didn't make his teammates better", please.
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