Not Drafting Kobe Ruined John Calipari's Career

[Koolaid_Man]

I felt goose bumps and a tingle up my leg just reading this article. It is a rare treat for all Laker fans..

Here are some excerpts on Kobe before draft day:

“I worked him out three times and I thought I was losing my mind. Obviously I wasn’t. He was really good. I’d brought him in a third time because I just said, ‘I’ve got to see this kid again because this is ridiculous.’ “ - John Calipari

Then the Lakers stepped in and requested a workout. L.A. was picking 24th, but Tellem was interested – better franchise, bigger market, more Adidas flying off the shelves. The Lakers set it up at the old Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, Kobe matching up with Dontae Jones, a big, physical, 6-foot-8 senior who had just led Mississippi State to the Final Four. It was no contest; Kobe destroyed Jones from the word “go.”

“I remember [Lakers general manager] Jerry West coming down from the stands after just a little while and saying, ‘Shut down the workout,’ ” Vaccaro said. “He didn’t need to see any more. That was it. Game over.”

There was no way to get Bryant to drop all the way to the Lakers, so West began working potential trades. If Kobe could get to Charlotte at 13, he said, the Lakers could trade Vlade Divac for the young phenom. Team Bryant wanted it to happen.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketb...ecision_032411

[redzero]

[LkrFan]

Yeah, Calipari and their whole organization ed up big time. They should have called Kobe and his agent's bluff. But what I don't get is they saw Kobe a lot and saw the same things that Logo saw in Kobe. Legend has it Kobe used to bust 76er players asses during practice. Why in the would they not select Kobe? It's funny looking at the class of '96. Other than Ray Allen, where are the rest of them at? They actually took Kerry Kittles over Kobe?

This is why Logo is the best GM of all time (and MK is making a name for himself by learning from him - more on that later ). He had the balls to take a chance on a skinny 17 year old kid straight out of high school. He traded away his starting center for Kobe. He absolutely swindled the Hornets on that one*. IIRC this was before he knew Shaq would bounce from Orlando.

*Then MK did the same to Memphis over a decade later. The rest (2 more rings on his watch) is, well, history. The NA is ed again.

[Koolaid_Man]

Yeah, they ed up big time. They should have called Kobe and his agent's bluff. But what I don't get is they saw Kobe a lot and saw the same things that Logo saw in Kobe. Legend has it Kobe used to bust 76er players asses during practice. Why in the would they not select Kobe? It's funny looking at the class of '96. Other than Ray Allen, where are the rest of them at? They actually took Kerry Kittles over Kobe?

This is why Logo is the best GM of all time (and MK is making a name for himself by learning from him - more on that later ). He had the balls to take a chance on a skinny 17 year old kid straight out of high school. He traded away his starting center for Kobe. He absolutely swindled the Hornets on that one*. IIRC this was before he knew Shaq would bounce from Orlando.

*Then MK did the same to Memphis over a decade later. The rest (2 more rings on his watch) is, well, history. The NA is ed again.

well Calipari was unsure he was new to the game and didn't want to gamble on a high school kid...it takes Vision to pull off what Jerry did...Jerry traded away Vlade a major fan favorite at the time...it was ballsy and gutsy move...the NBA landscape and history has been altered because of it.....

[djohn2oo8]

Yeah, Calipari and their whole organization ed up big time. They should have called Kobe and his agent's bluff. But what I don't get is they saw Kobe a lot and saw the same things that Logo saw in Kobe. Legend has it Kobe used to bust 76er players asses during practice. Why in the would they not select Kobe? It's funny looking at the class of '96. Other than Ray Allen, where are the rest of them at? They actually took Kerry Kittles over Kobe?

This is why Logo is the best GM of all time (and MK is making a name for himself by learning from him - more on that later ). He had the balls to take a chance on a skinny 17 year old kid straight out of high school. He traded away his starting center for Kobe. He absolutely swindled the Hornets on that one*. IIRC this was before he knew Shaq would bounce from Orlando.

*Then MK did the same to Memphis over a decade later. The rest (2 more rings on his watch) is, well, history. The NA is ed again.

The entire league got swindled b/c Kobe made it clear he wanted to play ONLY for the Lakers. I agree that someone should have called the bluff

[baseline bum]

[LkrFan]

How original.

[baseline bum]

How original.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

[LkrFan]

Good artists copy, great artists steal.

[Greg Oden]

good song, tbh.

[LkrFan]

1 Iverson, Allen
2 Camby, Marcus
3 Abdur-Rahim, Shareef
4 Marbury, Stephon
5 Allen, Ray
6 Walker, Antoine
7 Wright, Lorenzen
8 Kittles, Kerry
9 Walker, Samaki
10 Dampier, Erick
11 Fuller, Todd
12 Potapenko, Vitaly

^All of these clowns were taken over Kobe Bean!!