Why no one minds Kobe's sting
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
From the archives:
Kobe Bryant absolutely, must be traded. Staying with the team is an "impossibility," says his agent.
Last fall, before the Lakers morphed into contenders?
Hardly.
(And shouldn't you be ready for our fake-outs by now?)
Try 1996 on for size.
As occasionally referenced during today's National Celebration of Beans, Kobe was originally a Charlotte Hornet; the team snatched him at no. 13, the final pick of the 1996 lottery, before swapping him for the Lakers' Vlade Divac. Of course, this is one of those footnotes in NBA history that many fans do know, and imagining a league without the trade--one of the "most lopsided" in history--can be fun. Minus his All-Star wingman, would Shaq have won any rings in L.A.? Might he have wanted to come partner with Kobe, instead of Dwyane?
But forget "What If."
Instead, let's ask "Why"--as in Why has Kobe always gotten a free pass over demanding out of Charlotte? Why does no one question that he forced a trade from a franchise that crumbled a few years later?
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Think about that for a second. We'd bet you've never really considered it a black mark on Kobe's career. And you wouldn't be alone.
Take Kobe's detractors, who are quick to seize on any anti-Mamba ammunition; unfairly or not, here's their common criticism from across the 'net:
1. Kobe's selfish.
2. And phony.
3. He'll cheat during the game.
4. And on his wife.
5. Bah--who needs a reason to hate Kobe? It's just fun.
Of course, Kobe doesn't have a stranglehold on labels like "selfish", "phony," and "philandering" among professional athletes; however, while many fans hate draft-dodgers--especially those who mess up a franchise's fortunes--even Kobe's worst enemies won't bring up the Charlotte trade demand. Note that other star athletes, like the following three, still take considerably more criticism for asking out on draft day; just look at any blog post about Steve Francis's flagging career--at least one commenter always connects karma to Canada.
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Naturally, each draft-day trade demand plays out differently, leading to varying degrees of acrimony and fan grumbling, although players can mend fences with time and actions. Consider Yi Jianlian; once he recanted his desire to escape Milwaukee and started the year strong, he became a fan favorite. Meanwhile, Danny Ferry--a top prospect himself, so many years ago--stuck to his guns when drafted by the Clippers and postponed the NBA; while Ferry burned many bridges, he eventually became a respected player in his late career and was hired as Cleveland's GM.
In Kobe's case, he's never needed to apologize to the Hornets, and the intervening years aren't the reason why--he wasn't grilled much to begin with. Instead, here are the five key reasons why Bryant's rejection of Charlotte didn't draw much eyre then or now.
1. Because Charlotte didn't want him, anyway.
It seems ludicrous in retrospect, but the Hornets felt they were set on the perimeter, with swingmen Glen Rice, Larry Johnson, and Kendall Gill, and guards Kenny Anderson and Dell Curry. Instead, the team was desperately looking for size, and hoping that...drum roll, please...Todd Fuller or Vitaly Potapenko would fall to them in the draft.
According to then-Hornets Coach Dave Cowens, if the team couldn't select either of these franchise-changing players, "I don't know what we'll do...[probably] take some Maalox."
Action shot of Fuller. Or Potapenko. Or maybe both. Now that we think about it, they were never seen shuffling down the same basketball court at the same time...
The Hornets also worried about projecting a high school player's development on the NBA level, given that only three preps-to-pros were selected between 1975 and 1995; with few comparisons, it was difficult to predict if an 18-year-old was the next Bill Willoughby or Kevin Garnett, and it was even harder to project the transition for a high school guard. Moreover, the Hornets feared that they'd spend several years teaching and cultivating an under-prepared teenager...just in time for another team to swoop in, when the player's rookie contract expired.
As a result--and with Fuller and Potapenko sadly off the board at nos. 11 and 12--Charlotte was merely picking for Lakers GM Jerry West, who'd eyed Bryant as a piece for a new-look in L.A.
2. Because the trade demand only mattered for a few days.
Kobe's Hollywood dreams didn't go public until after the draft, when Divac said he'd rather retire than leave L.A.--forcing Charlotte to explore other trade possibilities. (Whoops). Arn Tellem, Bryant's agent, immediately insisted that Kobe "is going to be a Laker, and that's the only team he's playing for"; this kept with Tellem's secret pre-draft strategy, when he'd warned other lottery teams not to pick Kobe, since he would only play for the Lakers. Scared away, the New Jersey Nets used their no. 8 draft pick on shooting guard Kerry Kittles instead. In retrospect, maybe they lost that game of chicken?
However, Kobe's demand only stood for a few days before Divac relented and agreed to be dealt; unlike Francis visibly sulking through the 1999 NBA Draft, Elway calling his own press conference to demand out, or even the messy circus last year, Kobe's "get me to L.A." demand was handled reasonably quickly and by proxy. Plus, when pressed by reporters, Kobe successfully deployed the "I'm just 17 years-old--what could I possibly know about where to play?" defense--in retrospect, the best defense that he played all rookie season.
3. Because the Hornets were immediately successful.
Unlike the similarly scorned Colts or Grizzlies, which languished for years after being rejected by potential franchise-changers, the Hornets promptly improved after dealing their wayward draft pick. While no superstar, Divac was a nice upgrade over incumbent center Matt Geiger, as he and fellow acquisition Anthony Mason gave the Hornets one of the great-passing frontcourts of recent years.
In fact, the Hornets were much better at exceeding short-term expectations than the Lakers, who had championship aspirations after adding Shaq to replace Divac. Despite preseason predictions that the Hornets were lottery-bound again, the 1996-1997 squad rolled to 54-28, the best record* in the franchise's 20-year history, and won another 51 games the next season.
* Until next month.
4. Because Kobe quickly had success elsewhere.
Unlike Francis, whose career appears to be winding down and will never escape the shadow of Vancouver, Kobe obviously bloomed in Los Angeles. Sure, the first few years had some rough moments--several playoff airballs against the Jazz stand out--but Kobe got so good, so fast, and won three titles before he turned 24.
Just as Eli no longer has to answer questions regarding his forced deal to the NY Giants, Kobe proved he was worthy of special accommodations long ago.
5. Because the Hornets didn't fail in Charlotte because of him.
It would take an incredibly evil and conniving athlete to force a trade simply to destroy a franchise--and even Mamba's biggest detractors wouldn't say he's that Machiavellian. Instead, most of the blame rests with owner George Shinn, whose personal scandals ruined the Hive's sweet thing; by 2001, local hatred of Shinn had helped drop average Hornet attendance to under 12,000, with some games dipping into the four digits.
Of course, having a draw like Bryant in his prime could have boosted the Hornets at the gate. But when Kobe asked out in 1996, the team was selling out at home--even during a .500 season--and how could he foresee Shinn's coming troubles? Bryant can do many things, but as the Bynum and Kupchak brouhaha proved, predicting the future isn't among his skills.
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See--you didn't have to worry, Kobe Bryant fans; for today's national Wagyu Cattle Holiday, even potentially critical blog posts of Mamba are gently explained away.
Of course, this whole post broaches on an even-deeper question: Should professional athletes be able to demand their way out of a league's entry draft?
...
You know what? We'll save that one for Leon Wood Day.
Labels: Charlotte Hornets, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets
posted by Crucifictorious @ 02:55,
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