Hm...I seem to recall the Lakers knoodling their way into getting Kobe from the Hornets on draft day.
Managed to pull off a wacky trade to bring in Pau Gasol for what seemed like scraps (Marc Gasol turned out good, but still...)
Almost got Chris Paul (if not veto'd by the NBA who owned the Hornets at the time)
Got notable names like Ron Artest, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Karl Malone, Gary Payton to join....some worked out better than others.
Got Davis to force a trade out of New Orleans for, who....the Lakers.
ALMOST got Kawhi through his bull but Spurs balked, and so Lakers signed LeBron instead so Kawhi went to Clippers.
Should I.....should I keep going?
In t
day's NBA....players just say where they want to go and expect it to happen. It's literally happening with Kyrie right now and sadly...it works a lot of the time.