“Maybe, you never know”: How Kobe Bryant met Pau Gasol ahead of Spanish star’s blockbuster trade to the Lakers

Pau Gasol recalls his chance encounter with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant before he got traded by the Grizzlies to the Lakers in 2008.

Gasol and Bryant were both stuck in bad situations during the time leading up to the Gasol trade. While Kobe was doing his best to get the Lakers over the hump (they were 3rd in the West before the Gasol trade), he knew he couldn’t win a championship with that roster. So he got to recruiting, and Gasol recalls Kobe’s first cryptic attempt at that:

“It’s crazy how that happened. There were talks about him leaving the Lakers and potentially getting traded to Chicago. There were talks about me, too, because I wanted to be in a different situation than Memphis at the time, and the direction that the franchise was taking.”

“So I said, ‘Well, maybe one day we’ll play together. You never know.’ In my mind, I couldn’t register the Grizzlies trading me to the Lakers. But then, a few months later, when I thought it just wouldn’t happen, it did. And I ended up with him and the Lakers in a perfect time where things just clicked and came together right away, and we had incredible times.”

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Pau Gasol details his first few days as a teammate of Kobe Bryant

ESPN is releasing a new video series on Kobe Bryant on the anniversary of his death. This involves an interview with Pau Gasol. He talked about his first few days as a Laker with enthusiasm:

“I landed in Washington that first night to join the team, and after my physical he came to my room to tell me, ‘Hey, I’m very excited to have you. Very happy that you’re here, but now let’s go win a championship.”

“I mean, it just doesn’t get more clear than that. He made sure I knew right away where he stood. There’s no confusion: ‘This is what I want. This is where I’m at, and this is where I will need you to be. Now, are you going to be on it? Are you going to be on board or are you not?’”

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