The late great Kobe Bryant is arguably the greatest player in Lakers history. He spent all 20 seasons with the franchise en route to capturing five NBA championships. However, his time in Cali wasn’t all smooth sailing. At one point, Bryant nearly left Los Angeles after he requested a trade in 2007.
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Some teams displayed interest, but the Dallas Mavericks nearly had a deal complete. At the time, Mark Cuban, the majority owner of Dallas, had the framework of a trade in place, and he’d managed to get a deal in place without losing superstar Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki appeared on CBS Sports HQ, where Ashley Nicole Moss asked him about the trade saga involving the ‘Black Mamba’. The Hall-of-Fame big man revealed that Mavericks kept him informed throughout the process. Nowitzki further established that a deal was close but not as close as Cuban has made it seem.
“At the time I was a little bit involved. I think Mark kept me up to date on stuff and I think it was pretty close. I’m not sure it was as close as Mark says. Every time he tells a story it’s a little closer,” Nowitzki joked.
The story that Nowitzki is referring to is Cuban’s account of the situation to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal on ‘The Big Podcast’.
Kobe and the Lakers’ management were at an impasse following O’Neal’s trade to the Heat in 2004. The Lakers became a shell of a team they once were. In the 2004-05 season, the Lakers missed the playoffs just one season after their NBA Finals loss to the Pistons.
They made the playoffs the next two seasons but were unable to make it past the first round in the 2006 and 2007 postseasons. Ahead of the 2007-08 season, Kobe’s frustration reached a boiling point as he requested a trade.
Cuban gave details of the deal that was on the table. Cuban said,
“I talked to Jerry Buss and worked something out with Jerry because Kobe had asked to leave… It was going to be Josh Howard and Jason Terry and picks. No Dirk because I said, anybody but Dirk.”
Mark Cuban reveals Kobe Bryant almost became a Dallas Maverick in 2007 😳
Could you imagine Kobe and Dirk in Dallas?
New Big Pod episode ft. Mark Cuban is live now! Watch here: https://t.co/CwteoCaglX pic.twitter.com/CTpiyplGeb
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) October 9, 2024
The owners of the two teams had the terms of the deal finalized. The Lakers would receive Josh Howard and Jason Terry in exchange for Kobe. They’d also get a few draft picks. However, the Lakers general manager at the time, Mitch Kupchak, refused to trade Bryant. He eventually persuaded the superstar shooting guard to stay in Los Angeles, where he won two more championships shortly after.
Dallas remained proactive in acquiring talent alongside Dirk and achieved their goal in 2011, as the franchise won their first NBA championship.
Dirk nearly teamed up with Shaquille O’Neal
Throughout his career, Dirk teamed up with a lot of great players, including Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, and even a rookie Luka Doncic. However, none of those players could compare to the dominance that Shaquille O’Neal would have enforced alongside Nowitzki.
Before the 15x All-Star got traded to the Heat, O’Neal wanted to play alongside Nowitzki. ‘The Big Diesel’ revealed on ‘The Big Podcast’ that he did everything in his power to get traded to the Mavericks. He said,
“I called Mark to say, Mark, whatever you gotta do to get me there, and he’s like, ‘The Lakers won’t do it, man’, I was like, f***ing make them do it, Mark.”
The Lakers refused to trade O’Neal to a Western Conference rival. At the time, the Mavericks were rising to a solidified championship contender. Although the deal never went through, Nowitzki and O’Neal met in the 2006 NBA Finals. However, Shaq and the Heat reigned victorious as NBA champions.
