NBA general managers typically bend over backward to acquire superstar players. Jerry West, on the other hand, convinced Kobe Bryant not to join his team.
Appearing on Paul George’s podcast, the former NBA legend said Kobe Bryant told him he wanted to sign with the Memphis Grizzlies as a free agent in 2004. West, the Grizzlies GM at the time, persuaded him otherwise during a meeting in Orange County.
“I said, ‘Kobe, no. No. You belong somewhere out here. And even though he would have never played there, I just wanted to reassure him that, don’t feel like you have any obligation with me or the Grizzlies to play there.”
Kobe on the Grizzlies?? It almost happened ????
Full story on the Jerry West episode PREMIERING NOW: https://t.co/q31TXYnbOT pic.twitter.com/TCOCN06T2Z
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) June 12, 2023
West realized that conversation could be construed as tampering, but he didn’t see it that way because Bryant was a frequent guest at his home.
“I felt more like a father figure to him,” West said. “I had a wonderful relationship with him.”
Grizzlies fans can’t be thrilled by West’s admission.
The Grizzlies had never won more than 28 games in a season before going 50-32 in 2003-04. The organization’s first playoff appearance led to West winning his second Executive of the Year award.
Signing Bryant could have changed the course of the franchise — and NBA.
Kobe would have teamed up with rising young star Pau Gasol if he shocked the world and joined Memphis. They instead won two championships together on the Los Angeles Lakers, who acquired the big man from the Grizzlies in 2008 after West stepped down.
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