Upcoming Film Revisits the Nets’ Missed Chance at Kobe Bryant

 Charlotte Hornets fans are probably still heartbroken for having traded Kobe Bryant after selecting him No.13 overall. 

However, it may not be common knowledge that the New Jersey Nets were seriously interested in drafting Bryant with their No.8 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft but ultimately passed on him.

While it might look like the Nets made a catastrophically wrong choice by passing on Bryant, an upcoming film suggests that the truth was much more complicated.

According to Deadline’s Anthony D’Allesandro, a screenplay called "With the 8th Pick" has been acquired by Warner Bros.

“The project is told from the point of view of John Nash, the general manager of the New Jersey Nets, and incoming Nets coach John Calipari, who really wanted Bryant,” D’Allesandro said. “However, the New Jersey was a broke organization, and Bryant was an L.A. Lakers fan. Not to mention, Bryant’s sneaker deal with Adidas would be worth more with the Lakers than had he signed with the Nets.”

While appearing in an interview with Bryant on FSN, Calipari explained that he was very interested in drafting the future Hall of Famer.

“Now, how many times did I have you up in New Jersey? Three times with your family. You know who I wanted to pick. I’d still be coaching in the NBA if I had you.” Calipari said.

According to Nash, Bryant impressed the organization during all three of his workouts. However, things took a turn when Bryant’s camp reached out to Nash to inform him that Bryant would not play for the Nets. It was reportedly even mentioned that he would consider returning to Italy and playing overseas if the Nets selected him.

"At that time, New Jersey, the entire organization had a tremendous inferiority complex," Nash said. "And the fear was you are going to take this high school kid, develop him, he is going to become a very good player and then become a free agent, and he is not going to want to re-sign and is going to want to leave. I found that very, very frustrating.”

Ultimately, the Nets drafted former Big East Player of the Year Kerry Kittles at No. 8. He went on to have a strong NBA career and helped the Nets reach consecutive NBA Finals, but some die-hard fans likely still wonder what could have been if the team had taken one of the top players of all time.