Kobe - "Cleveland is making the same mistake that Charlotte made with me"

[unbreakable]

:eek: :eek:

Da GAWD has spoken!

Wiggins = Kobe
Lebron/Love = Divac

:bowdown: :bowdown:

https://twitter.com/2014mrbasket/status/499949154232459264
http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/2dkfi5/2014mrbasket_kobe_bryant_cleveland_is_making_the/

[LoneyROY7]

:applause:

Wiggins will carry on Kobe's legacy.

[Droid101]

Wiggins = Kobe
Lebron/Love = Divac



This made me giggle for some stupid reason.

[JT123]

Difference is Wiggins wasn't demanding a trade like a little biotch.

[SupermanOnSteroids]

didn't Kobe FORCE his way out of Charlotte to get to the Lakers?

[Trollsmasher]

Kobe with some revisionist history:lol

[dubeta]

LMAO kobe trying to play the "innocent bystander act"


Kobe FORCED his way out of Charlotte, threatened to play in Italy unless he went to a big market team

Cant believe these stans believe him :oldlol:

[unbreakable]

Difference is Wiggins wasn't demanding a trade like a little biotch.


Word just came out that Wiggins also wanted out because Lebron would hinder his development

[ArbitraryWater]

lmao at Kobe trying to sound like a victim after forcing his way to LA

[Nuff Said]

LMAO kobe trying to play the "innocent bystander act"


Kobe FORCED his way out of Charlotte, threatened to play in Italy unless he went to a big market team

Cant believe these stans believe him :oldlol:
Kobe himself has stated otherwise. No one from Charlotte has disputed. Wtf you talkin bout?

[SpecialQue]

didn't Kobe FORCE his way out of Charlotte to get to the Lakers?

Damn, how alpha is Kobe if he was making teams bend to his will while still in high school? :bowdown:

[Levity]

didn't Kobe FORCE his way out of Charlotte to get to the Lakers?

kobe FORCING entry since '96

:banana:

[JT123]

Word just came out that Wiggins also wanted out because Lebron would hinder his development
Of course he is saying that now. :lol Do you expect him to beg Lebron and the front office to let him stay? Kid is clearly trying to save face.

[riseagainst]

inb4 "kobe forced his way outta Char."

[WindmiLL]

Lol Kobe seeking for some attention it seems :lol

[dubeta]

kobe FORCING entry since '96

:banana:

:oldlol: :oldlol:

[JT123]

Lol Kobe seeking for some attention it seems :lol
When is he NOT seeking attention? :rolleyes:

[choppermagic]

I would love to see Wiggins go bad ass and play with a big chip on his shoulder for his entire career. Might be good for him.

[r0drig0lac]

haha :facepalm

[Lebronxrings]

:facepalm kobe so jealous of lebron right now.

Kobe: "I wish love and irving came to my team!"

[chazzy]

Who is 2014 Mr Basket? OP has an extremely poor track record of making fake threads: http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7990833&postcount=16

[FireDavidKahn]

:oldlol: Kobe forced his way out of Charlotte. The dude is a narcissist.

[casual_fan]

Dumbest comment since his " Jealous of Duncan " tweet. Seems like the old man is suffering from dementia.:(

[zoom17]

lmao at Kobe trying to sound like a victim after forcing his way to LA

He isn't fooling no one.

[Rolando]

Just trying to create tension between him and 'Bron.

I think Kawhi Leonard is where the tension will ultimately be. And, of course, KD.

[navy]

Is this a confirmed quote?

[chazzy]

Is this a confirmed quote?
No. 2014MrBasket?? ISH falls for unbreakable's shit threads every time

[unbreakable]

No. 2014MrBasket?? ISH falls for unbreakable's shit threads every time

check the link from reddit kiddo:hammerhead:

[chazzy]

check the link from reddit kiddo:hammerhead:
It's the same shit source. Stop posting here

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282631

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214893

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202844

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251914

[WindmiLL]

He isn't fooling no one.


Yep. In this case he sounds like typical Lebron even though he's supposed to be old and ''wise'' :oldlol:

[unbreakable]

It's the same shit source. Stop posting here


reddit is never wrong. suck my dikk nikka

[chazzy]

reddit is never wrong. suck my dikk nikka
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=282631

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=214893

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202844

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251914

[Sakkreth]

LeBron could of been Wiggins' Shaq then.

Kobe forced the trade though.

[SexSymbol]

It's funny how most of the first page posts are written by idiots with theories that have no evidence whatsoever

[Hey Yo]

It's funny how most of the first page posts are written by idiots with theories that have no evidence whatsoever
There's plenty of evidence of Kobe telling NJ not to draft him cause he wouldn't play for them. Only wanted to play for LAL

[aboss4real24]

kobe has a big as s mouth with his rapist asz

[oh the horror]

Can someone post any source where it states Kobe forced his way out of Charlotte? Because I've never seen anything to indicate such

[inclinerator]

go back to reddit ******* neckbeard

[chazzy]

Can someone post any source where it states Kobe forced his way out of Charlotte? Because I've never seen anything to indicate such
Here's the former Hornets GM's take on what happened: http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2009/03/former_hornets_gm_bob_bass_liv.html

"Let's start out this way, " Bass said. "There had never been a high school player come into the league that didn't play in the front court."

Bass offered examples such as Moses Malone, Darryl Dawkins and Kevin Garnett.

"Secondly, 12 other teams passed on Kobe Bryant; 12 other teams said, 'I don't want him.' The Nets even got a workout. He refused to work out with us. He didn't work out with anybody. We had talks on the trade, but we didn't make it for about 3 1/2 weeks. We had a chance to get a 7-foot-(1) center who had been very successful in the league.

"You add all those three things together, that's why the decision was made. Plus, he couldn't make a jump shot when he first came into the league. We won 54 the first year Divac was there and 51 the next year. The only problem with that (Hornets) team was Michael Jordan was in his hey-day and Patrick Ewing had that great New York team. And we were in the Eastern Conference. That's what happened on that."

The first year the Hornets had Divac in the post, as Bass pointed out, they won a then-team record 54 games but ran into Ewing's Knicks in the first round of the playoffs and were swept in three games.

The next season, the Hornets won 51 games, beat Atlanta in the first round, but lost to Jordan's Bulls in the conference semifinals in five games.

In 1996, Lakers General Manager Jerry West was hoping to free the team's salary cap of the rest of Divac's $8.3 million salary over the next two years so the Lakers could make a play in free agency for Orlando center Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers, who were mired in a funk, hadn't made a playoff run since the Showtime-era of Magic Johnson.

Armed with the knowledge that the Hornets were in the market for a post player, West made a pre-draft deal with Bass in which the Hornets would draft Bryant if he were still available and later swap his rights to Los Angeles for Divac.

"We had the deal, " Bass said, "but who in the world thought (Bryant) would be there at No. 13? And the Lakers, regardless of what they said after they had (Bryant), but they wanted space on the cap to sign Shaquille O'Neal. And devious as I am, I thought it would be a good way to get Shaquille out of the Eastern Conference. If we'd have gotten Michael and some others out, that would have been something."

Bryant canceled a workout with the Sacramento Kings, who had the No. 14 pick in the first round in 1996 and declined to work out for the Hornets. His agent, Arn Tellem, also told the Hornets, according to Bass, that Bryant did not want to play in a small market such as Charlotte.

"The biggest part about it when people start criticizing you . . . is what about those 12 other teams?" Bass said. "Look at who they took. They didn't get any Vlade Divac, I tell you that.

"Allen Iverson went No. 1 that year (to the 76ers) and the strange thing about it was (Bryant) grew up in Philadelphia and they saw him play in high school two years and they took Iverson ahead of him."
It was a mutual interest deal it seems. Hornets wanted a win-now big man and weren't high on Kobe in the first place, Kobe didn't want to play in a small market.

[sportjames23]

kobe FORCING entry since '96

:banana:


:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Nikka, you lucky I wasn't drinking near my laptop screen when I read that.

[Meticode]

Kobe trade demand rumors aside, Cleveland isn't trading for a 16/11 center towards the end of his prime. They're trading for a 26/12 stretch four which they exactly need with the type of line-ups they'll be running that is 25 years old and just entering his prime.

Also Charlotte didn't have the best basketball player in the NBA on their team like the Cavaliers do either.

Kobe should worry about what's going on in Kobeland. And from the looks of it rightnow, it's not much.

[OldSchoolBBall]

Difference is Wiggins wasn't demanding a trade like a little biotch.

Seriously. LMAO @ Kobe's revisionist history re: Charlotte. Dude forced his way out and basically said he'd only play for LA, and would play overseas for a year if they didn't trade him. :oldlol:

[navy]

Again. Where was this quote confirmed?

[Solid Snake]

Wait what does he mean "that Charlotte made with me." Am I wrong, did Kobe and/or his agent NOT force a trade to the Lakers?????

[RedBlackAttack]

I actually made this comparison when people were saying that the Lakers always won by "taking risks" on going after "free agents" in an effort to "win now." The drafting of Kobe Bryant by giving of Divac, who was still a damn good player in his prime, shows that LA has had success with both the "win now" method and the long game.

I'm on record as wanting to keep Wiggins and forcing the Timberwolves into making a decision of either losing Love and getting nothing in return or taking some other (very good) pieces we have to offer.

However, outside of the "win now" model vs. the long game, these two deals have nothing in common. Divac was good, but he wasn't Kevin Love good. And, he also wasn't 25.

In fairness, Kobe also wasn't the No. 1 pick in the draft, so you can argue it evens out... but I don't think there is much to this comparison when you scratch beyond the surface.

[WindmiLL]

Kobe didn't want to play in a small market.

Quick Lebron stans, make a thread where Kobe can't be compared to other all time greats since he demanded to be traded and play for a team which will in the future almost certainly have more talent than small market team Charlote. And all that drama before he even played his first NBA game.

We hear everyday how Lebron can't be compared to other all time greats because after 7 years for playing for a small market team he decided to seek some major talent.

[dazzer87]

How is it the same, rapist force his way out of Charlotte...:confusedshrug:

[secund2nun]

Wiggins is the most overrated bball prospect of all time. Kobe is the most overrated bball player of all time. They have much in common :oldlol:

[JT123]

Wiggins is the most overrated bball prospect of all time. Kobe is the most overrated bball player of all time. They have much in common :oldlol:
/thread

[russwest0]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Damn lol didn't 9'er already compare Wiggins to Kobe too?

[NBAplayoffs2001]

:eek: :eek:

Da GAWD has spoken!

Wiggins = Kobe
Lebron/Love = Divac

:bowdown: :bowdown:

https://twitter.com/2014mrbasket/status/499949154232459264
http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/2dkfi5/2014mrbasket_kobe_bryant_cleveland_is_making_the/
:kobe: Why ain't I GM. I speak the truth

[Optimus Prime]

It's like, one idiot says something totally wrong, then all the trolls and alts repeat the same thing over and over again even though it's been proven to be completely false. In this case, "Kobe forced his way out of Charlotte to LA", even though someone posted the article with the quote from the Charlotte GM proving that wasn't the case at all.

Oh wait, ISH. Nevermind. :facepalm

[russwest0]

He's right tho. You take the athletic player with tremendous two way potential over the one way empty stats man every day of the week.

that ain't what bran wanted tho so that ain't what happened :lol

cleveland is now bran's bitch :lol

[JT123]

cleveland is now bran's bitch :lol
Just like Durant. :banana:

[stalkerforlife]

It will be so funny if the Cavs don't win a single title and Wiggins turns out to be a superstar.

[Angel Face]

MJ passed the torch to Kobe then Kobe to Durant. Wiggins the next successor.

[kennethgriffin]

kobe was traded to LA long before shaq signed with them.

kids need to learn their history.

the lakers needed a salary dump to go after shaq.


so stop saying kobe forced all of this...unless kobe haters wanna attribute all this to him instead of jerry west. if thats the case then kobe is the greatest GM in nba history

[Hey Yo]

Couldn’t Bryant be a Hornet? Could he grow to love Southern sweet tea?

“That is an impossibility,” Bryant’s agent, Arn Tellem, said at the time. “There are no ifs. It would not happen. He is going to be a Laker, and that’s the only team he’s playing for.”

[Meticode]

To whoever negged me with this...


Ever since Lebron came back you've crawled out of your hole and become really annoying.

...I've been posting well before LeBron ever came back and before you ever started posting here. :pimp:

[Meticode]

MJ passed the torch to Kobe then Kobe to Durant. Wiggins the next successor.
Incorrect. Kobe passed the torch to Duncan, then Duncan to LeBron stating "This will be your league soon." afterl losing in the 2007 Finals and now it is his league.

No offense to Durant, it will be his league soon next, but he wasn't won anything yet.

[04mzwach]

lmao at Kobe trying to sound like a victim after forcing his way to LA
He wasn't throwing shade on anybody. He was complimenting Wiggins and that's it.

[talkingconch]

When is he NOT seeking attention? :rolleyes:
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/lebron-james-decision.jpg

[Hoopz2332]

Seriously. LMAO @ Kobe's revisionist history re: Charlotte. Dude forced his way out and basically said he'd only play for LA, and would play overseas for a year if they didn't trade him. :oldlol:


saw this somewhere else but it hits the nail right on the head

"The giant shadow surrounding everything related to Wiggins is LeBron. LeBron's basically the one who wants him traded, and there's no reasonable assessment of Wiggins in Cleveland that doesn't involve discussion of LeBron. And then there's the matter that Kobe sees LeBron as his rival not Wiggins.

So when we deconstruct stuff from Kobe, if he had said, "I think LeBron & Wiggins together is just something you can't pass up.", we could take it pretty much on face value.

Instead Kobe here criticizes the LeBron's decision while inserting himself into the conversation in a way that celebrates himself. Even before the matter that he ignores his own primadonna behavior, it's hard to imagine a statement more perfectly crafted for an athlete to praise himself under the guise of praising someone else."


:lol

[Dragic4Life]

Bitter. Salty. Sour.

Kobe tasting so much at the same time.:oldlol:

[G-train]

I actually made this comparison when people were saying that the Lakers always won by "taking risks" on going after "free agents" in an effort to "win now." The drafting of Kobe Bryant by giving of Divac, who was still a damn good player in his prime, shows that LA has had success with both the "win now" method and the long game.

I'm on record as wanting to keep Wiggins and forcing the Timberwolves into making a decision of either losing Love and getting nothing in return or taking some other (very good) pieces we have to offer.

However, outside of the "win now" model vs. the long game, these two deals have nothing in common. Divac was good, but he wasn't Kevin Love good. And, he also wasn't 25.

In fairness, Kobe also wasn't the No. 1 pick in the draft, so you can argue it evens out... but I don't think there is much to this comparison when you scratch beyond the surface.

I admire your wisdom in this, despite what other Cavalier fans think.

However I think the long term impact of this trade will be a worse mistake than the Hornet trade for Divac.

Firstly, the Cavs are giving up Wiggins AND Bennett AND a protected first.

Secondly, Love value to Cavs isn't defined by 25/14 on Wolves.
3 out of 6 seasons he has injury plagued seasons.
He is a below average defender, no matter what cavs and media say. As a Pek fan, I watched many wolves games.
He is a selfish player and poor leader.
And he won't average 20 points with the Cavs with Lebron and Irving, and he wont average more than 12 rebounds with Andy V and Lebron.

Wiggins on the other hand will be a superstar in a few seasons.
Bennett will be an all star.
First round pick is still unknown.

The trade should have been Bennett and protected first for Love.

If no, then get lost Wolves.

[Ass Dan]

That young buah needs to get himself to Orange County and working out with Bean ASAP. Wiggins can work Bean back into shape and Bean can teach Wiggins how to be an Uber Alpha.

Let me teach you the ways son.

Let me work you back into shape oh great one.

[VIntageNOvel]

Peter Vecsey


HOOP DU JOUR

Second of two parts.

Friday, when Kobe Bryant led the Lakers into Madison Square Garden, we looked back at the 1996 NBA Draft, and how so many teams could have been so wary/wrong about someone so gifted.

Today, Kobe discloses other draft dodgers and dissers.

John Nash’s needle isn’t the only one stuck on the 1996 draft. That time period remains equally entrenched in Kobe Bryant’s consciousness. He finds some stuff that happened funny, other things exasperating and a couple occurrences outright incomprehensible.

I didn’t raise the subject; he did.



REUTERS

DEEP ’96’ed: Kobe Bryant felt shafted by a number of teams during the 1996 draft, leading eventually to his selection at No. 13 overall by the Hornets and immediate trade to the Lakers.




The one rubbing Bryant the rawest implicates Dave Cowens, then the Hornets’ coach. At some point soon after the Hornets selected Bryant with the No. 13 pick, the two had a private phone conversation that went something like this.

Cowens: “You know what the deal is, right?

Kobe: “Yes, I do.”

Cowens: “Well, that’s good, because we don’t need you anyway.”

Kobe is as stupefied and infuriated now as he was then.

“Can you believe someone would say something like that to a 17-year-old!” he says, his face one-third smile, one-third scowl and one-third sinister. “That really threw me. It really hurt. Especially since it came from him. I knew about Dave Cowens. I knew what a great player

he was. I followed his career. I looked up to him because he played so hard and showed so much passion. That spit just blew me away!”

Then again, by then, Bryant should have been accustomed to being disillusioned by Hall of Fame players. Twice he worked out for Clippers’ GM Elgin Baylor … and coach Bill Fitch. After the second, the two dream weavers invited Bryant to lunch.

“They told me it was the two best workouts they’d ever seen,” he said. “That’s it, I figured, I was going be a Clipper and play in L.A. I was pumped!”

Before Bryant had finished his fantasy, his magic carpet ride crashed. Out of nowhere, Baylor and Fitch flipped the switch.

“Your skill level is off the charts. Your athleticism is exceptional. And your energy and enthusiasm are remarkable,” they gushed. “But we can’t draft you.”

Huh? What! Why not?

“Because people out here won’t think we’re serious if we draft a high school kid at No. 7.”

So, Baylor and Fitch showed they meant business by plucking Memphis center Lorenzen Wright (whose July 2010 murder remains unsolved).

Bryant never had any reason to believe he would wind up playing in nearby Philadelphia for the 76ers, holders of the draft’s oceanfront lot. There was little doubt Allen Iverson would be the top pick. Yet GM Brad Greenberg invited Kobe in, anyway, for a test run.
“I guess they saw some of my high school games. That was the only explanation I could think of for not being asked to shoot or dribble or demonstrate any of my skills” Bryant said. “All they wanted me to do was to sprint the court. They timed me on a stop watch.”

Greenberg told Bryant him Iverson had run faster.

“So?!?!” Kobe exclaimed.

On the day of the draft, or just before it, Philly columnist John Smallwood implored the Sixers to draft Kobe.

“He said they’d regret it forever if they didn’t,” Kobe recalled.

“The funny thing is, he was on my ass for one thing or another my whole senior year. The Sixers were so bad I guess that’s why he turned his attention on me. And then in the end, for some reason he changed his opinion about me. He’s looking pretty good.”


DEEP ’96’ed: Kobe Bryant felt shafted by a number of teams during the 1996 draft, leading eventually to his selection at No. 13 overall by the Hornets and immediate trade to the Lakers.


Greenberg disputes Bryant’s version. In an email he said the workout consisted of more than running.

“He did shooting drills and other stuff ... had a great workout,” Greenberg wrote. “I just thought Iverson [was] a better selection at the time. I wasn’t comfortable going with a HS kid for the No. 1 pick vs. Iverson.”

Bryant estimates receiving well over 500 scholarship offers. Some were from colleges in places he never knew existed whose courses and schedules are completed online. Each day during a break, he would glide into Lower Marion H.S. coach Gregg Downer’s office and pick up the latest batch of recruitment letters.

One jutted out above the rest. It was from Dean Smith, not a form letter from the University of North Carolina, mind you, but a hand-written message from the aristocrat coach.

“I couldn’t wait to read it, but I didn’t want to do it with people looking over my shoulder,” recounted a roused Bryant . “So I opened it quietly during English class while the teacher was talking.”

Smith said he had heard how well Kobe had played against UNC’s Jerry Stackhouse (third pick of ’95 draft, by the 76ers) and knew it was all but certain he would turn pro when he graduated.

“However, by any chance, if you change your mind, I want you to know I’m holding a scholarship for you.”

Does Bryant still have the letter?

“Are you kidding, bro! Of course, I still have it! It’s from Dean bleepin’ Smith!”

If Dean Smith couldn’t entice Bryant to play for UNC, what chance did John Calipari and the Nets have of getting him to New Jersey vs. skipping off to Italy, which was the threat by agent Arn Tellem?

“Naw,” Kobe countered, “had the Nets drafted me, I would’ve played there and wouldn’t have tried to force a trade. I was 17, bro, I just wanted to ball.”

Oh, great, now he tells them. So, what would have happened had he become a Net?

“Calipari probably would still be coach,” Bryant said.

[VIntageNOvel]

http://www.journalnow.com/archives/article_e7a4ddee-ed8d-5be1-9b81-723b924628ec.html


Revisionist history is always fascinating.
It's not always accurate, but it's fascinating.


The Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.
Over the years, that story has been told, retold and embellished so much that the reality of that trade and the current perception are farther apart than, oh, Charlotte and Los Angeles. It's a timely topic because throughout this year's NBA Finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics, we've heard all the revisionist history again. We've heard how Kobe and his agent shunned the Hornets, threatened that Kobe wouldn't play for the Hornets, and therefore orchestrated the trade to the Lakers. There has been more talk in Charlotte about Kobe and the Hornets the past two weeks than there has been about anything concerning the Bobcats.
A look back into the archives shows that the notion that Kobe orchestrated the trade is bogus. Kobe, in an interview during the 2000 Finals when the Lakers beat Indiana for the NBA title, said emphatically that he would have gladly played in Charlotte. Sure, he wanted to play for the Lakers, but who wouldn't? He also said that had he gone to college, he would have signed with Duke, so he liked the area.
And those who were involved in the wheeling and dealing at the time of the trade shoot down all the legends that have developed over the years.
"The deal was actually done a day ahead of time, and it was Vlade for a player to be named," said Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time who still operates out of Charlotte as a scout for the Seattle-now-Oklahoma City Sonics. "If I remember right, they didn't even tell us who they wanted us to pick until about five minutes before the pick was made. So it was never a matter of us actually drafting Kobe."
The trade was more about the Lakers' pursuit of Shaquille O'Neal in free agency and the Hornets' need to acquire a center than it was about Bryant.
In order to get far enough under the salary cap to make a valid pitch to O'Neal, the Lakers needed to unload Divac's contract, preferably to a team under the salary cap and preferably for a draft pick. The Hornets had traded Alonzo Mourning the previous year, were without a bona fide center, and were well under the cap after renouncing the rights to free agent Kenny Anderson. They would trade Larry Johnson to New York for Anthony Mason later that summer.
The Hornets reasoned that they could come out of the draft with no better than Vitaly Potapenko or Todd Fuller if they drafted a center, and jumped at the chance to trade the 13th pick for Divac.
"When you look back at it, when we made that trade, here was a 17-year-old kid who had played in high school," said Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations at the time. "Twelve other teams passed on him. We made a decision to win now and not later. We had Dave Cowens as our first-year coach, and I wanted to give him a chance to win. I knew if we got Divac in here, we'd win. I didn't feel the same about Bryant. Without Divac, I thought we might have won 25 games."
The Hornets won 54 games, then a franchise record, the next season with Divac.
The Lakers might have been high on Bryant, but this was more about clearing up the cap room to make a run at O'Neal, whose contract was up in Orlando. Marc Fleisher, Divac's agent, remembers that the Lakers had a trade worked out to send Divac to Atlanta for the 25th pick if anything fell through with the Hornets. Had that scenario played out, there's little or no way that Bryant would have fallen all the way to the 25th pick, so Bryant and the Lakers couldn't have orchestrated anything.
"There were three teams involved at first -- Charlotte, Atlanta and Sacramento," Fleisher said. "Sacramento didn't work out for whatever reason, and then it was basically Charlotte or Atlanta. They asked us where Vlade would rather go, and he said Charlotte."
Divac later threatened to retire shortly after the deal was announced, and that would have nixed the trade. But Cowens talked him out of that threat, and the trade became official. After a few more minor deals and cap moves, the Lakers had enough cap room to sign O'Neal -- with Bryant, 17, as icing on the summer-acquisition cake.
Branch scouted Bryant twice for the Hornets while Bryant was at Lower Merion H.S., but he said that the Hornets "never even considered him" as a player they would draft and keep. Bass was an old-school GM who liked to deal but didn't usually gamble on young players.
Branch recalls how difficult it was to gauge Bryant's talents against inferior high-school competition. This was an era before it became fashionable to draft high-school players, before Kwame Brown, Dwight Howard and LeBron James were No. 1 picks straight out of high school.
Branch believes that the Lakers' Jerry West was probably gambling on Bryant to a degree, because that was West's style. And if Bryant didn't pan out, the Lakers would still get O'Neal in the process.
"Jerry West might be the only person who can really answer that, but I just think it (Bryant's stardom) would be very hard to predict, because you've got stories of guys who turned out good and stories of guys who turned out bad," Branch said. "The year before, L.A. wasn't even in the draft and they made a move to get into the second round at the last second, and they picked Frankie King out of Western Carolina. They specifically made a move to get one kid. So when you see moves like that and then they go for Kobe, you've got to think they're taking stabs.
"And I don't mean that negatively. I just mean for someone to say now that they knew Michael Jordan was going to be what he was, they're kidding themselves. We all thought Kobe was going to be good. But how do you really know?"
You don't. And that's why the Hornets were never anything but facilitators for the Lakers.
Twelve years later, obviously, it has worked out well for the Lakers. But the Hornets didn't get coerced into anything.

[JohnFreeman]

Kobe forgetting key parts of the story :lol

[Meticode]

And now the tweet is deleted. :lol

[gts]

Posted: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:00 am | Updated: 7:40 pm, Wed Dec 12, 2012.
John Delong

Revisionist history is always fascinating.
It's not always accurate, but it's fascinating.

The Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Over the years, that story has been told, retold and embellished so much that the reality of that trade and the current perception are farther apart than, oh, Charlotte and Los Angeles. It's a timely topic because throughout this year's NBA Finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics, we've heard all the revisionist history again. We've heard how Kobe and his agent shunned the Hornets, threatened that Kobe wouldn't play for the Hornets, and therefore orchestrated the trade to the Lakers. There has been more talk in Charlotte about Kobe and the Hornets the past two weeks than there has been about anything concerning the Bobcats.

A look back into the archives shows that the notion that Kobe orchestrated the trade is bogus. Kobe, in an interview during the 2000 Finals when the Lakers beat Indiana for the NBA title, said emphatically that he would have gladly played in Charlotte. Sure, he wanted to play for the Lakers, but who wouldn't? He also said that had he gone to college, he would have signed with Duke, so he liked the area.

And those who were involved in the wheeling and dealing at the time of the trade shoot down all the legends that have developed over the years.
"The deal was actually done a day ahead of time, and it was Vlade for a player to be named," said Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time who still operates out of Charlotte as a scout for the Seattle-now-Oklahoma City Sonics. "If I remember right, they didn't even tell us who they wanted us to pick until about five minutes before the pick was made. So it was never a matter of us actually drafting Kobe."

The trade was more about the Lakers' pursuit of Shaquille O'Neal in free agency and the Hornets' need to acquire a center than it was about Bryant.

In order to get far enough under the salary cap to make a valid pitch to O'Neal, the Lakers needed to unload Divac's contract, preferably to a team under the salary cap and preferably for a draft pick. The Hornets had traded Alonzo Mourning the previous year, were without a bona fide center, and were well under the cap after renouncing the rights to free agent Kenny Anderson. They would trade Larry Johnson to New York for Anthony Mason later that summer.
The Hornets reasoned that they could come out of the draft with no better than Vitaly Potapenko or Todd Fuller if they drafted a center, and jumped at the chance to trade the 13th pick for Divac.

"When you look back at it, when we made that trade, here was a 17-year-old kid who had played in high school," said Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations at the time. "Twelve other teams passed on him. We made a decision to win now and not later. We had Dave Cowens as our first-year coach, and I wanted to give him a chance to win. I knew if we got Divac in here, we'd win. I didn't feel the same about Bryant. Without Divac, I thought we might have won 25 games." The Hornets won 54 games, then a franchise record, the next season with Divac.

The Lakers might have been high on Bryant, but this was more about clearing up the cap room to make a run at O'Neal, whose contract was up in Orlando. Marc Fleisher, Divac's agent, remembers that the Lakers had a trade worked out to send Divac to Atlanta for the 25th pick if anything fell through with the Hornets. Had that scenario played out, there's little or no way that Bryant would have fallen all the way to the 25th pick, so Bryant and the Lakers couldn't have orchestrated anything.

"There were three teams involved at first -- Charlotte, Atlanta and Sacramento," Fleisher said. "Sacramento didn't work out for whatever reason, and then it was basically Charlotte or Atlanta. They asked us where Vlade would rather go, and he said Charlotte."
Divac later threatened to retire shortly after the deal was announced, and that would have nixed the trade. But Cowens talked him out of that threat, and the trade became official. After a few more minor deals and cap moves, the Lakers had enough cap room to sign O'Neal -- with Bryant, 17, as icing on the summer-acquisition cake.

Branch scouted Bryant twice for the Hornets while Bryant was at Lower Merion H.S., but he said that the Hornets "never even considered him" as a player they would draft and keep. Bass was an old-school GM who liked to deal but didn't usually gamble on young players.

Branch recalls how difficult it was to gauge Bryant's talents against inferior high-school competition. This was an era before it became fashionable to draft high-school players, before Kwame Brown, Dwight Howard and LeBron James were No. 1 picks straight out of high school.

Branch believes that the Lakers' Jerry West was probably gambling on Bryant to a degree, because that was West's style. And if Bryant didn't pan out, the Lakers would still get O'Neal in the process.

"Jerry West might be the only person who can really answer that, but I just think it (Bryant's stardom) would be very hard to predict, because you've got stories of guys who turned out good and stories of guys who turned out bad," Branch said. "The year before, L.A. wasn't even in the draft and they made a move to get into the second round at the last second, and they picked Frankie King out of Western Carolina. They specifically made a move to get one kid. So when you see moves like that and then they go for Kobe, you've got to think they're taking stabs. "And I don't mean that negatively. I just mean for someone to say now that they knew Michael Jordan was going to be what he was, they're kidding themselves. We all thought Kobe was going to be good. But how do you really know?"

You don't. And that's why the Hornets were never anything but facilitators for the Lakers.

Twelve years later, obviously, it has worked out well for the Lakers. But the Hornets didn't get coerced into anything.

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.

http://www.journalnow.com/archives/article_e7a4ddee-ed8d-5be1-9b81-723b924628ec.html

[TheMarkMadsen]

Posted: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:00 am | Updated: 7:40 pm, Wed Dec 12, 2012.
John Delong

Revisionist history is always fascinating.
It's not always accurate, but it's fascinating.

The Charlotte Hornets drafted Kobe Bryant with the 13th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac.

Over the years, that story has been told, retold and embellished so much that the reality of that trade and the current perception are farther apart than, oh, Charlotte and Los Angeles. It's a timely topic because throughout this year's NBA Finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics, we've heard all the revisionist history again. We've heard how Kobe and his agent shunned the Hornets, threatened that Kobe wouldn't play for the Hornets, and therefore orchestrated the trade to the Lakers. There has been more talk in Charlotte about Kobe and the Hornets the past two weeks than there has been about anything concerning the Bobcats.

A look back into the archives shows that the notion that Kobe orchestrated the trade is bogus. Kobe, in an interview during the 2000 Finals when the Lakers beat Indiana for the NBA title, said emphatically that he would have gladly played in Charlotte. Sure, he wanted to play for the Lakers, but who wouldn't? He also said that had he gone to college, he would have signed with Duke, so he liked the area.

And those who were involved in the wheeling and dealing at the time of the trade shoot down all the legends that have developed over the years.
"The deal was actually done a day ahead of time, and it was Vlade for a player to be named," said Bill Branch, the Hornets' head scout at the time who still operates out of Charlotte as a scout for the Seattle-now-Oklahoma City Sonics. "If I remember right, they didn't even tell us who they wanted us to pick until about five minutes before the pick was made. So it was never a matter of us actually drafting Kobe."

The trade was more about the Lakers' pursuit of Shaquille O'Neal in free agency and the Hornets' need to acquire a center than it was about Bryant.

In order to get far enough under the salary cap to make a valid pitch to O'Neal, the Lakers needed to unload Divac's contract, preferably to a team under the salary cap and preferably for a draft pick. The Hornets had traded Alonzo Mourning the previous year, were without a bona fide center, and were well under the cap after renouncing the rights to free agent Kenny Anderson. They would trade Larry Johnson to New York for Anthony Mason later that summer.
The Hornets reasoned that they could come out of the draft with no better than Vitaly Potapenko or Todd Fuller if they drafted a center, and jumped at the chance to trade the 13th pick for Divac.

"When you look back at it, when we made that trade, here was a 17-year-old kid who had played in high school," said Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations at the time. "Twelve other teams passed on him. We made a decision to win now and not later. We had Dave Cowens as our first-year coach, and I wanted to give him a chance to win. I knew if we got Divac in here, we'd win. I didn't feel the same about Bryant. Without Divac, I thought we might have won 25 games." The Hornets won 54 games, then a franchise record, the next season with Divac.

The Lakers might have been high on Bryant, but this was more about clearing up the cap room to make a run at O'Neal, whose contract was up in Orlando. Marc Fleisher, Divac's agent, remembers that the Lakers had a trade worked out to send Divac to Atlanta for the 25th pick if anything fell through with the Hornets. Had that scenario played out, there's little or no way that Bryant would have fallen all the way to the 25th pick, so Bryant and the Lakers couldn't have orchestrated anything.

"There were three teams involved at first -- Charlotte, Atlanta and Sacramento," Fleisher said. "Sacramento didn't work out for whatever reason, and then it was basically Charlotte or Atlanta. They asked us where Vlade would rather go, and he said Charlotte."
Divac later threatened to retire shortly after the deal was announced, and that would have nixed the trade. But Cowens talked him out of that threat, and the trade became official. After a few more minor deals and cap moves, the Lakers had enough cap room to sign O'Neal -- with Bryant, 17, as icing on the summer-acquisition cake.

Branch scouted Bryant twice for the Hornets while Bryant was at Lower Merion H.S., but he said that the Hornets "never even considered him" as a player they would draft and keep. Bass was an old-school GM who liked to deal but didn't usually gamble on young players.

Branch recalls how difficult it was to gauge Bryant's talents against inferior high-school competition. This was an era before it became fashionable to draft high-school players, before Kwame Brown, Dwight Howard and LeBron James were No. 1 picks straight out of high school.

Branch believes that the Lakers' Jerry West was probably gambling on Bryant to a degree, because that was West's style. And if Bryant didn't pan out, the Lakers would still get O'Neal in the process.

"Jerry West might be the only person who can really answer that, but I just think it (Bryant's stardom) would be very hard to predict, because you've got stories of guys who turned out good and stories of guys who turned out bad," Branch said. "The year before, L.A. wasn't even in the draft and they made a move to get into the second round at the last second, and they picked Frankie King out of Western Carolina. They specifically made a move to get one kid. So when you see moves like that and then they go for Kobe, you've got to think they're taking stabs. "And I don't mean that negatively. I just mean for someone to say now that they knew Michael Jordan was going to be what he was, they're kidding themselves. We all thought Kobe was going to be good. But how do you really know?"

You don't. And that's why the Hornets were never anything but facilitators for the Lakers.

Twelve years later, obviously, it has worked out well for the Lakers. But the Hornets didn't get coerced into anything.

■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.

http://www.journalnow.com/archives/article_e7a4ddee-ed8d-5be1-9b81-723b924628ec.html

Somebody should sticky this as much as "Kobe forced a trade" comes up on insidehoops.

[Meticode]

Kobe is God, but he can't force trades? :facepalm

[TheMarkMadsen]

Kobe is God, but he can't force trades? :facepalm

What is this suppose to mean

[Meticode]

What is this suppose to mean
It means nothing, just like me. Go on your ****ing way.

[Smoke117]

I admire your wisdom in this, despite what other Cavalier fans think.

However I think the long term impact of this trade will be a worse mistake than the Hornet trade for Divac.

Firstly, the Cavs are giving up Wiggins AND Bennett AND a protected first.

Secondly, Love value to Cavs isn't defined by 25/14 on Wolves.
3 out of 6 seasons he has injury plagued seasons.
He is a below average defender, no matter what cavs and media say. As a Pek fan, I watched many wolves games.
He is a selfish player and poor leader.
And he won't average 20 points with the Cavs with Lebron and Irving, and he wont average more than 12 rebounds with Andy V and Lebron.

Wiggins on the other hand will be a superstar in a few seasons.
Bennett will be an all star.
First round pick is still unknown

The trade should have been Bennett and protected first for Love.

If no, then get lost Wolves.


Just because you say that...it doesn't make it true.

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

didn't Kobe FORCE his way out of Charlotte to get to the Lakers?

No. That's a common ISH myth. The Hornets had agreed to trade Kobe before they had actually drafted him. The deal was already in place. The Lakers wanted to move Divac to have space to get Shaq.

[gts]

It means nothing, just like me. Go on your ****ing way.

banned

[gts]

Won't say if it's a mistake or not, obviously the Cavs have shifted to win now mode, the plan they had going into the summer is going to be nothing like the plan they need to put in place now..

That being said I think Wiggins is the next real big thing and any team is lucky to have him on it

[TheMarkMadsen]

It means nothing, just like me. Go on your ****ing way.

Uhhhhhh okay... :confusedshrug: :confusedshrug:

[chazzy]

And now the tweet is deleted. :lol
Can't believe how far this actually went considering the source. ISH, Reddit, Alex Kennedy, and Dimemag all citing this "2014MrBasket" twitter account :oldlol:

[houston]

ok learn something new everyday

[Soundwave]

Could be a huge mistake. Can't wait to see Wiggins posterize Bran in a couple of years. :lol

[Bigsmoke]

The Cavs gotta 25 year old 26/13 player.


If the cavs traded for Dirk or Gasol then yeah but thats not the case. Love is still young as hell

[RedBlackAttack]

I admire your wisdom in this, despite what other Cavalier fans think.

However I think the long term impact of this trade will be a worse mistake than the Hornet trade for Divac.

Firstly, the Cavs are giving up Wiggins AND Bennett AND a protected first.

Secondly, Love value to Cavs isn't defined by 25/14 on Wolves.
3 out of 6 seasons he has injury plagued seasons.
He is a below average defender, no matter what cavs and media say. As a Pek fan, I watched many wolves games.
He is a selfish player and poor leader.
And he won't average 20 points with the Cavs with Lebron and Irving, and he wont average more than 12 rebounds with Andy V and Lebron.

Wiggins on the other hand will be a superstar in a few seasons.
Bennett will be an all star.
First round pick is still unknown.

The trade should have been Bennett and protected first for Love.

If no, then get lost Wolves.
I was openly opposed to this trade just based on the fact that I thought we should be able to get Love for a lot less. Guys who've made it clear they want out on the last year of their deal -- regardless how good -- haven't fetched anything even remotely close to what the Cavs are apparently giving up. It "felt" like we could have called their bluff and pushed this thing all the way to the trade deadline, if need be.

But, then again, I'm not privy to what is happening behind closed doors. And, Kevin Love is really f#cking good. And he's only 25.

Yes, this deal has the potential to blow up in our faces. I liked Wiggins' ceiling quite a bit and I'm pretty sure Bennett is going to end up being really good... potentially a better version of Millsap.

But, getting Love is nothing to scoff at, either. Players that good that young are almost never available, especially for a small market franchise. And, while this is obviously a "win now" move, it also sets us up pretty well for the future.

Four years from now when LeBron is approaching his mid-30s and likely slowing down, we'll still have Irving approaching his prime alongside Love (29), Waiters (26) and Thompson (27). I'm very high on Waiters, as you know. That could be one hell of a trio if they all reach their respective ceilings.

One thing is for sure... it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[edrick]

Love is a proven great player, and Wiggins hasn't even played a game yet. By the time Wiggins becomes great (if he even does become great), Lebron will be out of his prime.

[Bigsmoke]

Love is a proven great player, and Wiggins hasn't even played a game yet. By the time Wiggins becomes great (if he even does become great), Lebron will be out of his prime.

I'm not even sure if Wigging was even gonna star to be honest.


He may not have LeBron and Kyrie giving him pointers in Minneapolis but at least he will have no choice but to play his ass off since his team looks mediocre and the spotlight is going to be on him

[IGOTGAME]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I4fxde6z7s&app=desktop

Kobe called it...

[HOoopCityJones]

Nostradomousbe

[AnaheimLakers24]

goat analyzer of players

[MastaKilla]

Did Cleveland trade the next superstar for a free agent to be? All to make three ex gf happy?

[heyhey]

when you consider both ends of the floor, how long will it be before wiggins surpass Lebron?

wiggins on the rise and lebron on the decline. Cavs really hurt themselves with that trade

[RRR3]

ProphetBe?

[stalkerforlife]

Kobe should be the new logo for the NBA.

And both 8 and 24 should be retired.

And a statue of him should be at every arena.

[kennethgriffin]

vlade divac 1996-97 ( hornets ) = 13ppg, 9rpg, 4apg, 50%fg's
Kevin Love 2014-15 ( cavs ) = 16ppg, 10rpg, 2apg, 40%fgs


kobe bryant 1996-97 ( lakers ) = 18ppg, 4reb, 3ast, 41%fg's PER 36min
Andrew Wiggins 2014-15 ( Wolves ) = 16ppg, 4reb, 1ast, 42%fg's PER 36min




looks pretty close to me

[russwest0]

Kobe was right.

Cleveland :facepalm

[sammichoffate]

vlade divac 1996-97 ( hornets ) = 13ppg, 9rpg, 4apg, 50%fg's
Kevin Love 2014-15 ( cavs ) = 16ppg, 10rpg, 2apg, 40%fgs


kobe bryant 1996-97 ( lakers ) = 18ppg, 4reb, 3ast, 41%fg's PER 36min
Andrew Wiggins 2014-15 ( Wolves ) = 16ppg, 4reb, 1ast, 42%fg's PER 36min




looks pretty close to me

:kobe:

[kennethgriffin]

Lol @mods unbanning me a week earlier than planned cause this place is sh*t without me

[andremiller07]

Its actually even worse since Divac actually helped teams win games unlike Kevin Love.

[Mr. Jabbar]

Lol @mods unbanning me a week earlier than planned cause this place is sh*t without me

:roll:

wb kenneth

[Straight_Ballin]

Lol @mods unbanning me a week earlier than planned cause this place is sh*t without me

Good, commence with taking care of our light work.

[ImKobe]

Lol @mods unbanning me a week earlier than planned cause this place is sh*t without me

lol they banned my ass for no reason as well :kobe: and my unban date was when Kobe made his return and dominated the Nuggets

coincidence? I think not.

[Sakkreth]

Kobe should be the new logo for the NBA.

And both 6 and 24 should be retired.

And a statue of him should be at every arena.

:rolleyes:

[Dizzle-2k7]

Wow Kobe was right!

[kennethgriffin]

i called it... love = vlade divac

[Ca$H]

i called it... love = vlade divac

:cheers:

[MiseryCityTexas]

Seriously the Charlotte Hornets woulda never moved to New Orleans that one year if it weren't for the Kobe trade. Hornets traded a future Superstar for a career role playing center.