Kobe Bryant retired as a Los Angeles Laker for life, but Phil Jackson revealed in a recent interview that the Purple and Gold briefly entertained the thought of dealing him for another superstar a couple of seasons into his Hollywood tenure.
Speaking to Charley Rosen of Today's Fastbreak, Jackson said a trade proposal was on the table during the 1999-00 season that would have sent Bryant to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Grant Hill—whose career was ultimately derailed by ankle injuries:
Kobe was only averaging about 19 points per game. So Kobe called Jerry West and wanted to know how Jerry and Elgin Baylor both averaged 30 points. Kobe also said that he wanted to be traded. Of course, Jerry told me about the conversation. And, for a few minutes I thought about taking the Pistons up on an offer they made to trade Kobe for Grant Hill. Make that a few seconds.
Jackson made a prudent decision by not satisfying Bryant's request, and the rest is history. Kobe and Jackson teamed up for five championships in Los Angeles, and Bryant went down in history as one of the greatest Lakers ever.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Alec Nathan
Phil Jackson Says Kobe Bryant Requested Trade from Lakers During 1999-00 Season
September 2nd, 2016 by Alec Nathan Leave a reply »
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