The Nets are now closing in to signing Lionel Hollins as their next Head coach which means that Byron Scott's chances of being the Lakers coach is very high. I think the Lakers are giving too much weight on the FA's untag g-balance2 ni nila da atots padong jud tang Byron Scott ani
Nets coach wanted to use their 8th pick for Kobe, Jerry called and persuaded him to pick another player instead.
Beforehand, the trade between Divac and the 13th pick of Charlotte Hornets was already a done deal. The Hornets was just waiting a word from Jerry for the name of the player to pick.
kinsay nakuha sa new jersey instead?.... si kerry kittles ba to?.....
so jerry already had the vision diay....hehehe kobe turned out okay....lol
Jerry West may have called and tried to persuade Calipari, but it was Kobe's agent by threatening him that he'll send his client to Italy if get drafted by the Nets.
The circumstances made things tricky. Calipari was just weeks into his NBA life. Kobe wasn't Kobe yet. The league's prevailing wisdom was to choose experience – college juniors or seniors. It was a man's league, and Bryant was a cocksure kid trying to buck the system.
Bryant also had powerhouse representation, rising agent Arn Tellem and Adidas rep Sonny Vaccaro, who had staked millions on Bryant right out of Lower Merion High School. At first, Tellem wanted Cal to draft Bryant and kept sending Kobe to FDU to cause jaws to drop.
Then the Lakers stepped in and requested a workout. L.A. was picking 24th, but Tellem was interested – better franchise, bigger market, more Adidas flying off the shelves. The Lakers set it up at the old Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, Kobe matching up with Dontae Jones, a big, physical, 6-foot-8 senior who had just led Mississippi State to the Final Four. It was no contest; Kobe destroyed Jones from the word "go."Kobe's agent threatened Calipari that he'll send his client to Italy if he pick him.
Only Calipari still was enthralled. Tellem spun a 180 and now began claiming Bryant wouldn't show up in Jersey, began saying they'd send the kid to play pro ball in Italy, where he'd spent much of his youth. Everyone now admits it was an idle threat.
"Arn [wanted the Nets to draft him] until he knew he could get him to the Lakers," Calipari said. "Then he was against it. Arn was all over me, and then all of a sudden [I] get the call the day before the draft."
Some people told Cal to stand strong and not get pushed around. Others suggested the safe pick – promising Villanova senior guard Kerry Kittles. It was the call of a lifetime.
"Everybody knows that I was talked out of [it]," Calipari said.
He picked Kittles, a good player with bad knees. Bryant went to Charlotte, then L.A. The Lakers have won five NBA titles and counting with him. The Nets have won zero. Calipari was fired in 1999, his shooting star of a career suddenly plummeting to earth only to slowly be rebuilt.
SOURCE: Y! SPORTS
Heat, Spurs reach out to Gasol.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-...gent-pau-gasol
via http://cbssportsapp.com
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