Kobe and the Hornets

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But at least they had a reason, no matter how stupid it is. The Clippers were a joke of a franchise, so if they were trying to gain some league-wide respect, at least you can understand where they were coming from. The Hornets though, they really had no idea what was going on. At some point soon after the Hornets selected Bryant with the No. 13 pick, [Dave Cowens and Bryant] had a
private phone conversation that went something like this. Cowens: “You know what the deal is, right? Kobe: “Yes, I do.” Cowens: “Well, that’s good, because we don’t need you anyway.” Just for the record, the Hornets’ guards back in the 1996-97 season were Muggsy Bogues, Dell Curry, Tony Smith (?), Tony Delk and 37-year-old Ricky Pierce. I am as big of a fan of Muggsy and Tony Delk’s hilariously long arms as the next guy, but it seems like Cowens might have been a little off on his quick dismissal of the future Hall of Famer. Plus,15 seasons later, Kobe’s still doing his thing for the Lakers while the Hornets are starting Marco Belinelli.

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