For those of you who don't know—and there's not many of you—Kobe Bryant hasn't always been a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The future Hall-of-Famer was selected by the Charlotte (now New Orleans) Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and immediately traded to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac.
And you know the story. Kobe went on to help the Lakers win four championships and is now considered the greatest shooting guard not named Michael Jordan.
Kobe reportedly did not want to play for the Hornets, so of course, the team had no choice but to trade him.
Trade a fairly unknown high school kid for one of the league's top centers? That was a no-brainer for the Hornets as it appeared that they were the clear winners in the deal. They had no idea it would go down as one of the most lopsided trades in sports history.
But what if Kobe didn't get traded?
Well, one thing is for sure: the Hornets would have never moved to New Orleans. In fact, they wouldn't have moved anywhere.
The main reason the team relocated was due to their awfully low attendance numbers. However, ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Mike B.
Rewriting History: Imagine If Kobe Bryant Had Remained a Hornet
December 15th, 2009 by Mike B. Leave a reply »
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