Remember a furious Kobe Bryant who wanted out of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007 after a nasty breakup with Shaquille O'Neal? Well new details suggest that the late Jerry Buss was willing to trade Bryant to the Detroit Pistons, before Bryant vetoed the trade of course.
Bryant recalls a meeting he had at the home of Buss in the Los Angeles hills, where he was warned that he would traded, but not to one of his selected destinations.
"Detroit," Buss said.
The Lakers had agreed to a deal to send Bryant to the Pistons, but needed Bryant's approval to waive his no-trade clause. The package included a combination of Detroit's core players and draft picks, sources say. Buss and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak needed an answer soon, because they refused to let the issue linger into training camp.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Bryant revealed that in that meeting with Buss he realized how much staying in a Laker uniform meant to him, how no matter how dire the state of the franchise seemed, that Buss had a history of restoring the Lakers to championship contention.
"It hit me that I didn't really want to walk out on Dr. Buss," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports on Monday.
Soon later Bryant and Buss were rewarded by their faith and GM Mitch Kupchak made the trade for Pau Gasol. Soon after, the Lakers were back in the NBA Finals three straight years and winning two more titles.
In his 17th season, Bryant's belief that he'll never wear another uniform is unwavering.
Jerry Buss gave Bryant the gift of Jerry West trading for him on draft day in '96, of Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson, of five NBA championships that perhaps wouldn't have been available anywhere else.
