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The trade that brought Kobe Bryant from Charlotte to Los Angeles will forever go down in Lakers lore. It was a masterstroke move from then-Lakers GM Jerry West to trade for a teenager, who would one day join him among the franchise’s legends.
On the other side, that deal is likely one that the Hornets would like to forget. Bryant told the story in Geno Auriemma’s Holding Court podcast of how then-Hornets coach Dave Cowens actually told Bryant the team couldn’t have used him.
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“I knew a little bit beforehand, but then it was confirmed to me when I hopped on the phone with Dave Cowens, who was the GM at the time in Charlotte. He just told me, ‘Listen, you know, we’re going to get rid of you.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I kind of heard that.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, it’s cool. We couldn’t have used you anyway. I was like, ‘Oh. OK, alright. OK.’”
Cowens has publicly refuted Bryant's version of what went down and gave his side of the story to the Boston Globe a couple years ago. He claims Bryant already knew about the trade before he was even drafted and that the call was just a formality to officially inform him of the deal.
Whether Bryant misremembered the details of that event, misinterpreted what Cowens said, or basically invented this narrative that he wasn't wanted as motivation to fuel himself, no one may ever truly know. But in hindsight, it's pretty clear that the Hornets probably could've used someone like Bryant on their team.
