This week's ungwi post centers around one of the best draft decisions of all time for the Lakers. They didn't actually draft a player but they did trade away a very valuable piece of their puzzle at the time (Vlade Divac) for a promising young player from Lower Merion High School in Philadelphia. Still, one wonders what would have happened if the Hornets never made that trade, keeping Kobe Bryant and opting not to mortgage their future for a few winning seasons in the late 90's.
Initial Implications
The Hornets would have been patient with Kobe, letting him learn the NBA game while other Hornets acquisitions would garner most of the playing time. Anthony Mason would have still been a focal point of the offense, with Charlotte having given up favorite grandma Larry Johnson in exchange for the renowned point forward. Glen Rice would have been the starting shooting guard, and the amazing Mugsy Bogues would have been the starting point guard for the team. Their choices for their front court would have been a very sprightly Elden Campbell and the two headed monster of Matt Geiger and George Zidek. Bryant would have been an ideal sixth man on the team, called upon to relieve Rice or to play in "small" lineups with Mason at the 4 and Cambell at the 5.
Future Ramifications Part 1
The Hornets would not have made it very far past the Eastern Conference playoffs that year (not with MJ's Bulls on a mission to avenge their loss to the Magic), but it would have been interesting for Bryant's development. He would have learned tons from sharpshooter Dell Curry and veteran forward Ricky Pierce.
In this alternate universe, we would assume that the Hornets would make Bryant their player of the future, and paired him up with Glen Rice at the wings to form one of the most potent 1-2 punches in the league. Their ability to do so would have made Mason expendable, and would have allowed them to trade him for a post presence in 1997-98 such as, say, oh, Rony Seikaly. In the meantime, they would have kept their core intact enough to be a force in the playoffs and avoid the lottery in a year like 1999, thereby depriving them a chance to draft Baron Davis. However, they would have still come away with a solid pick that year, possibly nabbing Andrei Kirilenko with the 24th pick ahead of Utah. A projected 1999-2000 roster would have been built around the following players:
5-Seikaly, 4-Campbell, 3-Rice, 2-Bryant, 1-David Wesley, with Kirilenko and Ricky Davis coming off the bench.
Future Implications Part 2
Now this is where it gets interesting. The acquisition of Bryant (one of the league's brightest talents) would have probably convinced owner George Shinn that basketball is worth keeping in North Carolina, and he might have sold the team to Michael Jordan instead of relocating it to New Orleans. Jordan, bored out of his wits, would have bought a stake in the team, un-retired himself and played as a Charlotte Hornet instead of as a Washington Wizard (Bad Retro Bullet Jersey and all). So imagine with me a 2002-03 Charlotte Hornet roster comprised as such:
5-PJ Brown, 4-Kirilenko, 3-Bryant, 2-Jordan, 1-David Wesley with Glen Rice hanging around for the ride. While it would definitely not have been championship material, it would have surely been fun to watch and it would have saved everyone having to watch the Charlotte Bobcats. So the theory is, keeping Kobe in '96 could have saved basketball in Charlotte and could have delayed the renaissance that the sport enjoys in New Orleans ever since the Jazz left the town for Utah.
