- The New Jersey Nets planned to take Kobe Bryant with the eighth pick of the 1996 draft until a last-minute turn of events, as documented in Jonathan Abrams' book, "Boys Among Men."
- New Nets head coach and executive vice president John Calipari got cold feet about drafting Bryant when Bryant told him he would play in Italy if the Nets drafted him.
- Meanwhile, powerful NBA agent David Falk told the Nets to draft Kerry Kittles, while Nets ownership expressed doubt about selecting a player straight out of high school.
- Bryant fell to 13th in the draft and was taken by the Charlotte Hornets, who then traded the rights to Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac.
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Kobe Bryant spent all 20 years of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he might not have ended up there in the first place if not for some crafty draft-day maneuvering and a unique set of circumstances.
NBA writer Jonathan Abrams' 2016 book "Boys Among Men," about the generation of high-school-to-pros NBA players, recounts how the New Jersey Nets were locked onto Bryant in the 1996 draft until forces internal and external changed their plans.
Leading up to the 1996 draft, Bryant had made a name for himself as a high school basketball star at Lower Merion High School outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Stories of Bryant dominating college prospects and NBA players in workouts had made waves around the league, though at the time, a stigma remained in the NBA about drafting players straight from high school.
The New Jersey Nets had just hired John Nash as GM and John Calipari, who was fresh off a Final Four appearance with the University of Massachusetts in 1995-96, as head coach and executive vice president. Calipari had veto power in player personnel decisions.The Nets had the eighth pick in the draft and viewed Bryant as a sure-fire star who could catapult their rebuild.
According to Abrams, the Nets had Bryant in for three workouts - an unusually high number - and had all but locked in on him. On the eve of the draft, Nash and Calipari had dinner with Bryant's parents, Joe and Pamela, and told them they would draft their son.
Ownership has other thoughts
According to Abrams, a group of businessmen nicknamed "The Secaucus Seven" owned the Nets at the time. The owners rotated "who acted as basketball liaison" to work with Nash and Calipari. In 1996, Joe Taub had that responsibility.
On the day of the draft, Nash and Calipari had lunch with Taub and told him they planned to draft Bryant. Taub, according to Abrams, expressed doubt, wondering if it would take too long for Bryant to be ready to contribute in the NBA. Nash tried to assure Taub that Bryant would be prepared to play right away.
According to Abrams, Taub asked Nash and Calipari to consider drafting John Wallace, a senior forward from Syracuse, who had helped lead his team to win the NCAA championship in 1995-96.
Nash told him they would consider Wallace, but "still planned to acquire Bryant," Abrams wrote.
Three fateful phone calls change plans
In the build-up to the draft, Bryant apparently had a change-of-heart about the Nets.
According to Abrams, shortly after meeting with Taub, Nash received a call from legendary NBA agent Arn Tellem, who was working with Bryant. Tellem told Nash that it "isn't going to work out" and that the Nets shouldn't draft Bryant.Tellem told Nash that Bryant had had a falling-out with his parents, and didn't want to play in New Jersey, where he'd be close to home and his parents.
"I never bought that," Nash told Abrams.
Meanwhile, Calipari had gotten a call from Bryant himself in which Bryant threatened to play in Italy if the Nets drafted him.
Nash told Calipari not to worry, saying he would try to get to the bottom of why Bryant was getting cold feet.
Calipari then got another phone call, this time from another super-agent, David Falk, who had gotten wind of Bryant's desire to play elsewhere. Falk told Calipari the Nets should draft Kerry Kittles, a guard he represented from Villanova who had averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists per game in his senior year.Calipari was beginning to get cold feet, according to Abrams. He was nervous about going against ownership's wishes, particularly by taking a high school player who some viewed as a risk. It was especially risky to gamble on a high school player who then might spurn the team and play internationally.
Additionally, Calipari had been mocked in the media after the Nets hosted Bryant for workouts. According to Abrams, some joked that Calipari didn't realize he no longer needed to work out high school athletes as an NBA coach instead of a college coach.
The Lakers get involved
Then-GM and Lakers legend Jerry West was looking for a big splash in the 1996 offseason, primarily in free agency, where the Lakers planned to target Shaquille O'Neal, a dominant, 24-year-old center who had an interest in the Lakers.To open up cap space to sign O'Neal, the Lakers needed to move center Vlade Divac. The Lakers had offered Divac to the Nets for the eighth pick, but the Nets said no, as Divac didn't fit their timeline.
In the meantime, West had grown enamored with Bryant after hosting Bryant for two workouts that Bryant dominated, all against bigger, older competition. The Lakers had the 24th pick, and West didn't think Bryant would be on the board when they picked.
After the second workout with Bryant, West reportedly said, "We've got to do everything we can to get this guy."
The Nets get scared, and Bryant falls in the draft
On the night of the draft, Calipari had told ownership that if Kittles were there at eight, the Nets would pick him. If not, they would take Bryant. Nash told Abrams he had a good idea of what the order would be and knew that both players would be available at eight.
"I was devastated," Nash told Abrams.
Seemingly every team came up with reasons not to draft Bryant. For many, it worked out OK - the 1996 draft is considered one of the best, producing Bryant, Allen Iverson, Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Stephon Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, Marcus Camby, and more.
There was a recurring theme through the first several picks - teams were interested in Bryant after working him out but couldn't swallow, taking an unknown high school player so high.
- The 76ers had the No. 1 pick in the draft, and then-GM Brad Greenberg liked Iverson. 76ers scout Tony DiLeo, who had worked out Bryant, suggested trading star wing Jerry Stackhouse for a lottery pick to select Bryant. The team didn't want to trade Stackhouse, who they had taken with the third pick the year before. They selected Iverson.
- The Toronto Raptors had the second pick, but then-GM Isiah Thomas had heard of West's' interest in Bryant and had been told by Bryant's father that he didn't want Bryant playing in Canada. They selected Marcus Camby.
- The Vancouver Grizzlies wanted a frontcourt player with the third pick and selected forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim.
- The Milwaukee Bucks hatched a plan with the fourth pick, developed by head coach Mike Dunleavy. It "amounted to a pyramid scheme," according to Abrams. They would take Marbury fourth, then trade him to the Minnesota Timberwolves at five for Ray Allen, plus a future draft pick. They would then flip Allen to the Boston Celtics at six, for an extra pick. Dunleavy also had a plan to trade the sixth pick to the Nets for No. 8 and a future pick, then select Bryant at eight. But then-Bucks owner Herb Kohl shot down the idea. The Bucks ended up with Allen, and the Wolves got Marbury.
- The Celtics at six were too nervous about drafting a high school player and selected Antoine Walker.
- The Clippers also thought Bryant was too young and selected Lorenzen Wright instead.
The Nets folded and drafted Kittles with the eighth pick. Calipari told reporters at the time, "It's the best thing we can do."
Bryant continued to fall in the draft, with four more teams passing over him. Eventually, the Charlotte Hornets selected Bryant with the 13th overall pick.
The Hornets and Lakers strike a deal
With West needing to dump Divac's contract to open up cap space, he was able to agree to a deal that would send Divac to the Hornets for the 13th pick in Bryant. West would get Bryant and open up the cap space for O'Neal.There was one problem - Divac was threatening not to go to Charlotte, holding up the deal. While a trade agreement had been reached, it wasn't finalized for almost two weeks.
Finally, Divac relented on July 11, 1996.
"For me to go somewhere just to play because I have a contract wasn't fun for me," Divac told Abrams. But he didn't want to hold up the future plans of so many other people.
"And then I realized I'm going to screw the deal with Kobe and Shaq and [late Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss] and went to Charlotte for a couple of days and I said, 'I'll give it a chance.'"
So, Divac went to Charlotte, Bryant went to the Lakers, and the Lakers signed O'Neal to a seven-year, $121 million contract.
"[The Nets] could've drafted [Bryant]," West told Abrams. "He would've played there. He had no choice. I was shocked that he didn't go there, to be honest."
Bryant, who was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, harbored resentment toward the Hornets for moving him. In 2014, he tweeted that the Hornets traded him because "they had no use for me."
Nash, meanwhile, is still resentful for the turn of events. He stayed with the Nets until 2000. Calipari remained with the Nets for three years before returning to college basketball.
"If David Falk hadn't been so insistent on us taking Kittles, I think Kobe would have been drafted by the Nets, and John would probably still be the coach," he told Abrams. "Who knows? Maybe I would have even survived."
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On this day 18yrs ago the hornets told me right after they drafted me that they had no use for me and were going to trade me #thanku #lakers
- Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 1, 2014