Back in 2007, Kobe Bryant was at odds with the Los Angeles Lakers front office after the team shipped Shaquille O’Neal out of town, leading him to win an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat, and the three years up until that point, the Lakers were struggling on the court. The franchise seemed to have reached with their wits end with Bryant and he also requested to be traded.
Today though, it has been revealed that the Lakers actually reached out to the Cleveland Cavaliers, inquring about trading Bryant for LeBron James. Cleveland rejected the offer but offered anyone else on the team in exchange for the Black Mamba. Of course, that counter offer was rejected as well.
As it has been widely publicized in the past year, L.A. then tried to ship Kobe to the Detroit Pistons, but he refused to play in that city. They later attempted to trade him to Chicago, which was almost completed, until Bryant found out the deal involved Loul Deng, and he declined, feeling the team would lack talent once he got there.
Aside from the fact that this trade was even in discussion, which probably would have altered the course of NBA history if it did go through, imagine what it would be like if the lakers actually agreed to the counter offer and the Cavaliers had both Kobe and LeBron still in their prime. Yikes!
