How sensational was Kobe Bryant when he asked to leave the team in '07?

Preface

This season's deals are all over, and compared to last season, the transfer market has been relatively stable, with no particularly sensational big deals. However, in this summer's transfer market, the expiration of contracts of many stars can obviously set off another round of blood in the transfer market. In the history of the NBA, when it comes to the transfer information of superstar players, it can always make the whole United States fall into madness, and the transfer decisions of James, Durant and others have really changed the pattern of the league.

And in the summer of 2007, the news that Kobe Bryant was preparing to leave the team directly caused a shock in the entire league at that time. For this supergiant player, various teams are naturally eager to get him, and they have chosen to take out their funds to get him. So what were the offers of the teams at the time, and how did the Lakers keep him?

Single-core leads the team, and he is unwilling

Kobe Bryant has always been a competitive player, and he has a boundless desire to win and win championships. At the beginning of the 21st century, after successfully teaming up with O'Neal to create the Lakers dynasty, the team began to fall into constant decline. Especially after O'Neal joined the Heat, the Lakers seem to have embarked on a path that is gradually rotting. Although Kobe Bryant's single-core data performance is good enough, he can't stand his inner goal of only winning a championship. Coupled with O'Neal's second season with the Heat, he got another championship ring, and such news also pierced Kobe's heart.

The 06-07 season was Bryant's first season in the No. 24 jersey. He played in 77 games for the Lakers, averaging 31.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game, and won the awards including scoring title, best team, All-Star MVP, and best defensive team. Although he successfully led the Lakers to the playoffs, he still lost 1-4 in the first round. Such a loss made Bryant completely impatient, and his disagreement with the management arose.

Kobe Bryant hopes that the team can complete the trade as soon as possible, and it is best to bring in All-Star level players so that he does not have to lead the team alone. But management decided that Bynum would be the next O'Neal, so they wanted Bryant to continue to be patient, and once Bynum could grow, then this new combination could have the strength to win the championship.

But Kobe Bryant obviously didn't believe in the so-called process, so after many times of communication without a clear answer, the news of Kobe's choice to transfer began to spread. Seeing that such a top scorer is leaving, the rest of the league naturally has to go all out and come up with lucrative offers to try to impress Lakers management and Kobe.

Lone Ranger Direct Stud

As the boss, Cuban has always been resolute in terms of trades, and it is not difficult to see from the combination of Doncic + Irving that as long as he believes in something, he will be willing to give everything to chase. At that time, Cuban also did whatever it took to get Kobe, and he knew that once Kobe could join forces with Nowitzki, the Mavericks would become the biggest favorites to compete for the championship. After all, in the previous 2005-06 season, although the Mavericks won the first record in the league, they encountered the "Black Eight Miracle" in the playoffs and were directly eliminated by the Warriors. This result disappointed everyone, and Cuban knew very well that if he didn't match Nowitzki with enough teammates, then the league's best forward might have the idea of leaving the team.

So Cuban's offer at the time was that all players except Nowitzki were left to the Lakers to pick and choose, and the first-round pick would also satisfy the Lakers' appetite. It's a pity that this chip can't impress the Lakers at all, after all, in the Mavericks' team at that time, except for Nowitzki, there are no particularly strong instant players, and even if the Lakers get more players, they can't make up for the huge gap caused by Kobe's departure.

Pistons: Sending out champions

The civilian myth created by the Pistons is an inspirational story in the NBA to this day. However, after winning the championship, the Pistons began to face more and more problems. The most critical problem is the team's lack of offensive players, which makes even if the team's defense is still solid, but if there is no way to win with points, the Pistons will naturally not be able to make a bigger breakthrough in terms of results. So the Pistons aimed at Kobe, if they can promote the combination of Kobe + Billups, under one offense and one defense, the Pistons will undoubtedly be able to attack the championship again.

Compared with the Mavericks, whose lineup is really stretched, the Pistons can take out much more chips. The team is willing to come up with Hamilton + Starkey + Mark Hill + two first-rounders.

Hamleton was an important contributor to the Pistons' championship, and in the previous 2006-07 season, he averaged 19.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, and was the absolute main point of attack for the Pistons.

Starkey is a potential rookie that the Pistons are looking for in the draft, averaging 24.6 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game in college. Unfortunately, he suffered a fractured left hand before the regular season began, which ultimately made the value of the trade greatly reduced. And the two first-round picks are undoubtedly the key chips that can impress the Lakers.

For such an offer, the Lakers were still moved, so they contacted Kobe Bryant for advice, but Kobe Bryant decisively chose to refuse. After all, the Lakers F4 fell at the feet of this Piston, and they were unable to realize their desire to win the cup again. So in Kobe's heart, he definitely doesn't want to join a team that has defeated him, and he still regards the Pistons as a big enemy in his career, and joining the enemy's camp is definitely a choice that he will not make.

Cavaliers: James for Kobe Bryant

The biggest chip in the Cavaliers' hands at that time was James, who had grown into a league star. At this time, James has been in the NBA for four years, and he has fully shown the potential of a superstar. With his help, the Cavaliers returned to the playoff stage, while James was able to contribute an average of 27+6+6 all-round performances per game. Therefore, in the eyes of the Cavaliers, exchanging James for Kobe Bryant will definitely make the Lakers excited.

But in the end, the deal only stayed in the imagination stage, and then the knights chose to give it up. In fact, even if they finally put this offer on the negotiating table, Kobe Bryant will definitely not agree. Because the situation of the Cavaliers and the Lakers at that time was similar, except for James, there were almost no players with the strength to fight, and if Kobe Bryant joined the Cavaliers, he would still face the embarrassing situation of leading the team with a single core, and there was still no way to chase the championship dream.

But everything seems to have a final arrangement. Unexpectedly, after a few years, James finally chose to join the Lakers and helped the team win a championship trophy and the first mid-season championship trophy in history.

Bulls: 4 for 1

"If you want to watch my game, go buy a Bulls jersey!" Kobe Bryant's remarks in this interview instantly ignited the enthusiasm of Bulls management and fans, and they began to take the initiative to get in touch with the Lakers. After all, after Jordan, the Bulls really need another supergiant who can lead the team out of the predicament. In terms of chips, the Bulls almost chose the stud approach, and they made an offer of Noah + Gordon + Nocinho + Thomas, and the main body of this offer was Noah and Gordon.

Gordon, as the star of the year, has successfully made a name for himself with the Bulls. In previous seasons, he averaged 21 points per game, and is a player with a very high ceiling of scoring ability. Noah, on the other hand, is a representative of potential players, who has a very good sense of smell and solid basic skills on the inside. However, the Lakers were not satisfied with the chips, after all, the team was focusing on developing Bynum at that time, and the arrival of Noah would undoubtedly squeeze more interior resources.

So the Lakers want to change the roster and replace Noah with Rohr Deng. Naturally, the Bulls will not be satisfied with such a request, after all, it is still difficult for them to accept the exchange of the core of the two teams for Kobe, so the deal finally fell through.

God-level operation, the dynasty is resurrected

Seeing that the teams simply couldn't come up with enough chips to match, the Lakers management decisively called off the trade for Kobe. The owner of the team approached Kobe Bryant directly, and the two sides had a long conversation, and finally Kobe Bryant was promised reinforcement. This is actually what Kobe Bryant wants to see, and Lakers management has not broken its promise this time. They brought another interior superstar to Kobe Bryant in a mid-season trade, Gasol.

The two quickly developed chemistry and successfully reached the finals stage in their first season. In the end, the combination of Kobe Bryant and Gasol helped the Lakers achieve two consecutive championships.