Divac Could Be Hornet If Likely Deal Comes Off
Kobe Bryant, from high school to the Lakers?
That was the tantalizing prospect that had Jerry West and Del Harris struggling to mask their giddiness late Wednesday night, after the Charlotte Hornets took the 17-year-old wunderkind with the 13th pick in the NBA Draft and then announced that they’d be trading him.
Inglewood immediately surfaced as the probable destination for Bryant, who would likely force West to part with starting center Vlade Divac.
“They’ve made him available and we told them that we’re interested,” said the Lakers’ executive vice president, who for now has nothing more than Arkansas-Little Rock point guard Derek Fisher, the No. 24 overall selection, from the draft proceedings in New Jersey.
“We’re definitely interested, but we do not have a deal at this point.”
The tone of West’s and, later, coach Harris’ voice suggested that the Lakers do expect a deal at some point, if not this week then shortly after the salary cap rises to $24.3 million on July 1.
Given West’s intense fondness for the Pennsylvania prep star — management privately maintains that Bryant has more talent than anyone on the present roster — it’s difficult to imagine him letting another team swoop in and nab the 6-foot-6, 200-pound swingman.
That’s even if the price tag is Divac, a definite risk since the Lakers have no guarantee they can sign free agent-to-be Shaquille O’Neal or re-sign Elden Campbell.
“I was impressed more than I can say,” Harris recalled of Bryant’s workout at the Forum two weeks earlier. “It was really stunning to see what he could do as a 17-year-old man.”
Kobe had an incredible prep career at Lower Merion High School, including a senior year in which he was named Naismith High School Player of the Year, Gatorade Men’s National Basketball Player of the Year, a McDonald’s All-American, and a USA TODAY All-USA First Team player. (AP Images)
Just when it seemed that all the pre-draft speculation about a trade involving Divac and No. 4 overall pick Stephon Marbury was just talk, and just as it appeared that the Lakers would wind up spending a mostly quiet evening in their war room securing Fisher late in the first round, word spread of Bryant’s availability.
Hornets vice president Bob Bass then revealed that he has been talking with an unspecified team — believed to be the Lakers — all week in hopes of giving new coach Dave Cowens the big man Charlotte lacks.
“This was our No. 1 thing to happen,” Bass said of drafting Bryant and then shopping him. “We started talking about it Monday and kept talking about it, but there was no deal if the guy they want wasn’t there. Bryant had to be there.”
To bring him to Los Angeles, the Lakers will probably have to wait until Monday, when, barring a lockout, the Hornets will be able to renounce free-agent guard Kenny Anderson to make room for Divac’s $4,137,000 salary for 1996-97.
It is not known whether the Hornets are aware of Divac’s hints at retirement if he is traded away. Sources close to the seven-year veteran, who is in the former Yugoslavia practicing for the Summer Olympics, told the Daily News this week that Divac is adamant about keeping his family in Los Angeles and prepared to walk away from the game at 28.
Charlotte has showed interest in Divac in the past, most recently in November before sending Alonzo Mourning to Miami.
West was unwilling to give up Divac then but sees Bryant, the son of longtime NBA forward Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, as “a potential NBA star.”
“We don’t see many kids who are 17 years old and can do the things he can do,” West said.
Kobe Bryant, 17, jokes with the media as he holds his Los Angeles Lakers jersey during a news conference in July, 1996. Bryant was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets by the Lakers in exchange for veteran center Vlade Divac. (AP Images)
Bryant, indeed, is a unique prospect, unlike any of the other 36 underclassmen available in Wednesday’s draft or even Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett, last year’s preps-to-the-pros sensation.
Bryant — who, according to Harris, has three-position capability in the mold of Eddie Jones — speaks fluent Italian and could have attended the university of his choice after scoring 1,080 on the Scholastic Assessment Test.
He chose instead to bypass college and turn pro and, if he comes to the Lakers, would give Harris the privilege of coaching his first father-and-son tandem. Joe Bryant played for Harris in Houston.
“This would be the first time I coached a father and son in the NBA ... if it happens,” Harris said with a smile.
If it happens, Bryant will cost the Lakers $845,800 for his first season based on the NBA’s rookie salary cap. Combined with the $509,600 that Fisher would receive and the $4 million-plus going to Charlotte if Divac is involved, the Lakers will be gaining nearly $2.8 million in cap room to add to the $6-9 million they’ve reserved for the pursuit of O’Neal.
Whether or not it happens, the Lakers do think they have solidified their backcourt picture with the acquisition of Fisher, a 6-1, 200-pound left-hander who is a natural point guard — unlike Sedale Threatt, a free agent who isn’t expected back, and Frankie King, last year’s second-round pick.
Fisher, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.1 assists as a senior, was one of 14 players the Lakers looked at in workouts and one of three names they were interested in most. Alabama’s Roy Rogers was gone by the time L.A. selected; two slots later, West decided to take Fisher over Georgetown forward Jerome Williams.
“We hope that he’ll be able to come in and, frankly, play right away,” West said.