Apart from being the NBA logo, Jerry West is known for his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he served both as a player and as a general manager. During his time as GM, West popularly brought both Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on board. However, after he left LA for the Memphis Grizzlies, things started to go awry. The beef between Shaq and Kobe intensified and in 2004 it reached its climax. Despite Jerry Buss trading Shaq to Miami, Bryant made a call to West, expressing his desire to play for the Memphis Grizzlies. Lakers legend Jerry West addressed the call in detail during his recent appearance on Podcast P with Paul George.
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Bryant was a valuable asset to the Lakers, and while he is remembered for his 20-year stint with the franchise, there was a time when he wanted to leave. It’s a well-known fact that Kobe threatened to join the Clippers as well. But now, with West’s latest claim, it seems that Memphis was also an option.
Jerry West reveals that Kobe Bryant approached him about a possible move to Memphis
In 2004, the situation in LA was pretty wild. Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were in the middle of an intense feud, and tensions were high. Both men were vying to be the face of the franchise after a brilliant three-peat run from 2000 to 2002. And, if the media were to be believed, one of them would be on their way out.
At the time, Shaq still had a year left on his contract. On the other hand, Kobe was preparing to enter free agency. Many believed that this could be it for the Black Mamba in LA. So, he began exploring his options.
There were rumors floating around about a potential move to the Bulls or the Clippers. But if former Lakers GM Jerry West is to be believed, another team may have been in contention. According to West, who also served as the GM for the Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007, Kobe approached him in the summer of 2004 to talk about a potential move to Memphis. A move he dismissed instantly.
“He became a free agent and his agent then was Rob Pelinka. So I met them in Orange County in a hotel room. And he said he wanted to come to Memphis and play. And I looked at him and said, ‘You kidding me?’, and he said, ‘No!’. So I said, ‘Kobe…No! No!…you belong somewhere out here[LA] okay?'”
During the interview, West admitted that he might have been tampering with his remarks to Kobe. However, the Mamba was almost like a son to him at that point. And the then Grizzlies GM didn’t want Kobe to feel that he has any kind of obligation to follow him.
It certainly would have been something else to see Kobe play for the Grizzlies. But luckily, he stayed past the 2004 season and went on to have a stellar career in Los Angeles.
The Black Mamba stayed in LA past 2004 and became a Lakers legend
Kobe Bryant had quite the season in 2004. He managed to score 24 points, grab five rebounds, and dish out five assists per game. This performance was more than enough to convince Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss of the Black Mamba’s potential. Come the 2004 off-season, Shaq was shipped off to the Miami Heat.
The Lakers were officially Kobe’s team, and he did not disappoint. The 2008 NBA MVP ended up spending the next 12 seasons in LA, winning two more championships in 2009 and 2010.
Bryant would retire in 2016, having played 20 seasons in the NBA. All of them in the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers. A true franchise legend.
