Lakers' Kobe Bryant Draft Day Trade Almost Didn't Happen, Vlade Divac Reveals

The 18-time All-Star almost didn't land in Los Angeles.

Dec 18, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Former Lakers player Kobe Bryant speaks to the media prior to the Lakers' game against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center. Bryant's numbers 8 and 24 were to be retired during a halftime ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

18-time Los Angeles Lakers All-Star shooting guard Kobe Bryant almost didn't land with L.A. during the 1996 NBA Draft.

In a fresh interview with Saša Čobanov of Index.hr, former Lakers center Vlade Divac explained that the Lakers' hoped-for trade up in the draft to acquire the rights to Bryant hinged on one key returning Lakers piece in the deal: Vlade Divac.

“Magic and some other players retired, and I was the only one of the older players left," Divac noted. "New ones were arriving, and the Lakers first wanted to trade another player for Kobe. However, Charlotte insisted on me.” 

The 7-foot-1 big man had been selected by brilliant then-Lakers general manager Jerry West with the No. 26 pick in the 1989 NBA Draft, and overlapped with Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for one season before the 19-time All-Star retired.

Divac suited up for L.A. through the 1995-96 season, and was the team's starting center for its last NBA Finals-bound run with Magic Johnson, 1990-91. The favored L.A. fell to Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen's Chicago Bulls in five games. Divac was something of a bridge player, serving alongside All-Star guards Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones on some also-ran Lakers clubs following Johnson's prime.

The big element holding up the Lakers' potential deal? Divac himself, who didn't want to play in Charlotte.

“When they told me about the trade, I refused. I said I won't go," Divac said. "Then they convinced me that I had to, that it was in my contract, that if I didn't agree, I wouldn't be able to play basketball anymore... Then I made it clear to them that I play basketball out of love, and if it has to be that way, that I don't play anymore, so be it.”

Eventually, Divac acquiesced, and the agreement got done.

Adding Bryant wasn't the only big move the Lakers made that summer. West also recruited free agent superstar center Shaquille O'Neal away from the Orlando Magic, forming an immortal basketball tandem that would go on to win three consecutive titles from 2000-02, and would appear in a fourth NBA Finals in 2004.

"The Lakers certainly wanted to bring Kobe, as a potential MVP, but they made a purge through the salary cap so that they could also bring Shaquille. Of course, I was angry, I didn't want to leave, but from today's perspective, I would trade myself for Kobe,” Divac added.

Divac would re-surface in Bryant and O'Neal's Lakers story again later, as an All-Star with the mighty Sacramento Kings, frequent postseason foils for L.A.

The Serbian-born Divac was selected to the 2019 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as an international pick. Across his seven seasons with Los Angeles, Divac averaged 12.5 points on 51 percent field goal shooting and 70.7 percent foul line shooting, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.2 steals a night.

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