Charlotte never would have drafted him if it weren't for the pre draft deal they made with the Lakers to trade him for Vlade Divac. That's all do ented. So, a team drafting 14-23 might have taken him, pending no more deals.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1996.html
If no one does, Lakers draft him with pick 24 and may pass on Derek Fisher. The 13th pick was as high as Jerry West could deal for. I am sure he could have made a deal for a better slot than 24, we just don't know which one. New Jersey was going to take him at #8, but West talked them out of it.
The Knicks had 3 selections, 18, 19, 21. Maybe they take him. Cleveland picked Ilgauskus at 20, maybe since they chose a center, they take Divac and trade with LA. Nash was taken after Kobe, maybe the Suns grab Byant and Steve ends up in LA. Maybe if the dog hadn't have stopped to he catches the fox.
Not true. Had Shaq actually embraced Kobe instead of snubbing him the Lakers win 6 or 7. Kobe was one of the first to come out so early and unlike today where teams coddle the young stars, the Lakers Vets, staff, and Shaq made it as difficult as they could for him. They wanted the kid to prove his worth.
+1 sign of the times.
I wanted him traded when he threatend to leave like many Laker fans. In hindsight as you said, the times have changed. You either speak up or get left behind.
Yup, there are even examples of back further when speaking up proved to be beneficial. Magic Johnson mighta looked like a getting Paul Westhead fired after Westhead coached him to a championship but it's hard to argue replacing Westhead with Riley wasn't a forward move.
I can't remember if Jordan played a role in getting Doug Collins out of Chicago (but I'm pretty sure he did), and like the Magic Johnson situation it's hard to argue against the results that coaching change produced.
As a fan, when you see your team drag its feet for 2-3 straight years without any real plan or apparent effort to get better, you naturally get pissed off. When a player sees the same thing he's gonna have the same reaction.
Especially when your owner has made the promise of moves to keep you employed there (2 years prior) with none having been attempted since. Like I said, I was furious at the time and wanted him gone. IN hindsight, he did what had to be done. Simple as that and the results are pure proof.
Wow, you have to be a real Kobe sucker to credit him with the Gasol trade.
Embarrassing.
Be that as it may. Bryant's decisions and actions in the scope of basketball have proven to be midas.
Thank you.
Winning NBA Championships is like making sausage:::it ain't pretty.
yeah basically what jam said, he'd be another t-mac
imho
That whitewater done gone to your head, boy. Can't believe you sick s would take a time-honored tradition like whitewater rafting and turn it into some gay sex act.
Reprehensible, really... SMGDH
Directly related to the Denver incident though, and subsequent stories about him being a jerk to teammates. Remember before that, Kobe was the all American professional athlete on McDonald's and Sprite commercials. Very squeaky clean image, very likable and charismatic personality. Your opinion about how his personality being hard to take traction even as a Laker has come over time since the Denver incident and with the over publicized bad press he's gotten about berating teammates. His personality with teammates wouldn't have gotten as publicized if he played for the Hornets. And unless he still sexually assaulted a girl as a Hornet and it got out in the media, he could have at least still had that squeaky clean image and likable personality.
He wouldn't have gotten the hype because of the organization he played for and the city he played in, but not for lack of being able to sell his personality.
The point's to ask how much of Kobe's success and standing in the league is tied to being a Laker. There's always been the media/fan push to find the next Jordan and Kobe is certainly the closest we've seen since, but Jordan's largely viewed as the GOAT - and Top-3 or so by those that would disagree.
But if Kobe's believed to be a Wilkins or McGrady had he not found his way to LA, how can he be considered a Top-10 player of all-time? That seems to be conventional wisdom these days.
I'm not ting on Kobe or saying he doesn't deserve to be in the discussion as a Top-10 player, but I would like to hear the argument. If he's a McGrady or Wilkins without the benefit of LA, should he be rewarded with praise of All-Time Top-10 degree?
Which was a godsend. Kobe needed that tough-love and veteran presence to check him. Kobe had to prove himself. He wasn't handed the keys to a franchise the way a LeBron was. He was surrounded by great players on the court, legends in the front office and around the team, and he had the benefit of stable ownership from Day 1. One of the most prolific and storied franchises in all of sport.
To me, squeaky clean, clean-cut and likable was code for: he doesn't go out much, we don't know much about him, he's an introvert, he's yet to show up on the police blotter and he's a star player on a marquee team.
I didn't get charismatic or likable. It was extremely manufactured, in my view. And had he not been in LA, those handlers wouldn't have existed and the shine that comes from the Lakers organization wouldn't have been there to aid him in finding endorsements and marketing campaigns.
Kobe's just not the cult of personality that grabs a public's attention. Mad game, but if he's on an also-ran or non-contender just putting up numbers and being the aloof introvert he was coming into the league, and still is a bit to this day, it's hard to imagine him as much more than a great basketball player. Not the star he's become - and certainly not being put in such lofty company looking down on a guy like Nique.
Yeah you're dumb. No point for anybody to ever read anything else you post.
What's positively incredible is Bryant's goal(s) at 17 is what has taken place in the interim:::the "countless" championships, the development of his personal game to fine precision, the stark separation from his contemporaries, and then his "replacements" in all facets of game, especially the mental aspects; the early loss of [fear of failure]...I don't believe any NBA player after Jordan lost that debilitating anguish quicker than Bryant. It has enabled him and the franchise to make the hard choices with clarity & finality.
Bryant has surpassed himself.
Whatever you do, don't read this.
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