This is actually one of the myths of the Kobe/Shaq trade. 1) Kobe arrived in LA prior to Shaq, you could say Shaq joined Kobe, not the other way around. 2) The head scout at the time specifically said they had no interest in getting Kobe. They were looking to get Vitaly Potapenko. 3) Kobe never forced his way out of Charlotte, Kobe and all agents involved have repeatedly stated that Kobe would have been fine playing Charlotte. His original college choice was that he wanted to go play for Coach K at Duke (in North Carolina). This is why Kobe wanted Coach K when Phil Jackson left the Lakers the first time. 4) It was Jerry West that orchestrated it all. The Bobcats pick of Kobe Bryant was pre-arranged but they didn't even know that the Lakers wanted to pick Kobe Bryant until it was time for the pick. So really, Kobe never joined any other superstar, they joined him (both Shaq and Pau joined a team with Kobe already on it). He never forced his way onto the Lakers. And finally, there's the myth of Kobe forcing the Lakers to trade Shaq. It's a made up story. The truth is here from Kobe and Shaq...it was Jerry Buss' decision.
Dude, youre lying It is well known that Kobe and his agent basically put the word out that he was not going to work out for anybody except the Lakers. Id really like to see anywhere where Kobe said he would have been fine playing in Charlotte. What BS!! From the Charlotter Observer: "The Hornets had invited Bryant for a workout, but he cancelled the visit. The team had scouted Bryant twice but wanted a private workout to get a better feel for his potential. "He wouldn't work out with us and that bothered us," Bass said. "We couldn't meet him. His agent was trying to aim him to the Lakers and they threatened us." The Hornets got the message that if they drafted Bryant, he wouldn't play in Charlotte. They weren't the only team to be warned off taking Bryant for their own. The New Jersey Nets, coached by John Calipari, considered Bryant with the eighth pick but chose Villanova's Kerry Kittles after hearing a similar message." Jerry Jones had already told Kobe that Shaq was coming to LA. This is the main reason why Kobe and his agent "aimed him to the Lakers". Yes Jerry Jones orchestrated it, only after Kobe basically said he wouldn't play for anybody else.
As far as this goes, its obvious you are to young to remember or you wern't paying attention. Kobe had been degrading Shaq the whole season about his work ethic. Kobe was also pissed that Phil would not change the offense so he would basically be the first option. Kobe created an atmosphere where it was going to either be him or Shaq. Kobe did it all. Of course in the end it was Buss' decision, hes the owner! He simply chose the younger player but trust me, if Kobe wanted Shaq there, something would have been worked out -- the same way it was for Jordan and Pippen.
No you're lying. http://dimemag.com/2010/02/jerry-west-talked-john-calipari-out-of-drafting-kobe/ Case closed
It's foolish to say Kobe is the "ultimate coattail rider to a Championship" because those comments are reserved for the Adam Morrison's of the NBA.
No lies. You've fallen for the myth as alot of people have who don't realize the truth. You know how it is, people make stuff up, it gets reported and then misreported over an over again. It's the same about how everybody thinks Kobe forced Shaq out of LA. Both Kobe and Shaq have said this is untrue but still the myth continues even here at CF. Here are some quotes about Kobe/Charlotte: 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. "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 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. Bob Bass, VP of Hornets Basketball at the time: "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.
You're just making stuff up now now that the myth is debunked. It's THEIR words right there on the page. That's Shaq and Kobe's direct quote. They both agreed it was Buss. I take their word over your interpretation of what you think might have happened.
How much clearer can Shaq get? ""I believe Kobe 100 percent," O'Neal said when reached in Los Angeles. "Absolutely. There's no doubt in my mind Kobe is telling the truth. I believe him a thousand percent."
My Friend, You are really not grasping the overall case of the argument. Kobe could have easily told Jerry to take a hike-- but he didn't Kobe could easily taken more money being the eighth pick -- but he didn't (I guess you missed that) Kobe could have easily shut the whole process down from the jump -- but he didn't Why??? Because it was the LAKERS. Kobe has always said that the Lakers were his favorite team, and its not the because of the color of the uniform. Do you think Kobe would have turned down more money if it had been the Clippers trying to trade for him HELL NO. This whole thing transpired only because KOBE WANTED IT TO
That's funny. Shaq was one of the best players in the league, a league leading scorer, had played in the Finals two years earlier, and he left Orlando so that he could go play with a high schooler in LA.
Kobe did want to play for Lakers. But Lakers were a lottery team that year and the draft occurred (the end of June) before Free Agent talks started (July 1st). As a first round pick, he's guaranteed a contract. So he obviously joined Lakers before Shaq did. He would have no idea who's gonna join Lakers. And even if he did, why would that matter when he's just a noname rookie that couldn't start? When you are a backup, you want to start and get a good contract after rookie one, worrying about championship and teammates is really a stretch.
Kobe wanted to be a Laker. He didn't want to be a Shaq sidekick, let's make that clear. The motivation is very different. It'd be fine if LeBron wanted to be a Bull or a NYKer.
I can't edit my post so here are the dates. Kobe joined the Lakers on June 26th Shaq didn't join the Lakers until July 18th, about 3 weeks later.
This is not something uncommon. Francis did it, Rubio did it and failed. They wanted to be in a city they liked, like how we choose location when going to job interviews. Lakers drafted Kobe. And would Kobe sign if Lakers didn't trade for Shaq? And would LeBron sign Heat if they could get neither Wade nor Bosh. If you can't see the difference I feel sorry for you.
Sure, but I was laughing at the idea of Shaq going to LA because he wanted to play with Kobe. That's what your post made it sound like to me. Obviously, Shaq did not leave Orlando so that he could go play with a high schooler. He left Orlando so that he could be in LA and become an even bigger celebrity.
I remember a lot of talk about tampering at the time. A lot of people thought Shaq had a pre-arranged deal to go to LA and there's no telling how early he could have reached that deal. Here's a link that mentions the rumors: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/keyword/file-tampering
Tampering? Lakers were able to give him $121 million. Orlando was only giving him $115 million. $6 million dollars more and playing in Hollywood? That doesn't need any tampering.
