Prediction: Russell will retire a Laker

[Kobr]

with more than one ring.

[Kobr]

I don't think he'll be quite on Magic's level, but let's just say comparisons will be invited.

[Riley Martin]

That level of loyalty doesn't really exist these days. Kobe, Dirk and Duncan are rare elders in that regard. A dying breed.

[Bimbo Coles]

Prediction: Russell will improve immeasurably as soon as Kobe goes... so will the Lakers.

[Raymone]

That level of loyalty doesn't really exist these days. Kobe, Dirk and Duncan are rare elders in that regard. A dying breed.

It just seems that way because of the LeSuperFriends mentality, which won't last.

[dubeta]

True, he'll be out of the league within a year though

[Mr. Jabbar]

D'ICKANGELO is the MAN

[SugarHill]

True, he'll be out of the league within a year though
haha

[Westbrook0]

That level of loyalty doesn't really exist these days. Kobe, Dirk and Duncan are rare elders in that regard. A dying breed.

Yup, Kobe led the Hornets to the promised land and is still with them even through tough times.

[Mr. Jabbar]

haha

how was that funny? please delete your post

[Riley Martin]

Yup, Kobe led the Hornets to the promised land and is still with them even through tough times.

Weird, wikipedia is missing Charlotte Hornets under Kobe's "Career History". It just says "1996–present Los Angeles Lakers". I should fix it.

How many games did he play for them? How many minutes?

[Levity]

[QUOTE=Riley Martin]Weird, wikipedia is missing Charlotte Hornets under Kobe's "Career History". It just says "1996

[Raymone]

[QUOTE=Riley Martin]Weird, wikipedia is missing Charlotte Hornets under Kobe's "Career History". It just says "1996

[Braincells]

Did Kobe really bail on the Hornets or did they just want a proven all-star center (Divac) instead? Players from high school weren't exactly sought after, though Garnett and Kobe paved the way for others.

Obviously the Hornets wouldn't make that same trade today, but the times are very different.

[FKAri]

Did Kobe really bail on the Hornets or did they just want a proven all-star center (Divac) instead? Players from high school weren't exactly sought after, though Garnett and Kobe paved the way for others.

Obviously the Hornets wouldn't make that same trade today, but the times are very different.

He bailed

[Raymone]

How do you bail on a team you've never played for? And if that's bailing, what's the word for LeBron's 2010 fiasco?

[Mr. Jabbar]

i can confirm your prediction

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Vegas has championships o/u at 2.5. MVPs at .5

[gts]

Did Kobe really bail on the Hornets or did they just want a proven all-star center (Divac) instead? Players from high school weren't exactly sought after, though Garnett and Kobe paved the way for others.

Obviously the Hornets wouldn't make that same trade today, but the times are very different.

Hornets never wanted Kobe.. it was a trade worked out before the draft, they drafted Kobe for the Lakers in exchange for Divac.. this by the way comes straight from the Hornets FO people involved at the time

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

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.

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.

[LeFraud James]

Vegas has championships o/u at 2.5. MVPs at .5

Source?

Couldn't find anything on google.