The Los Angeles Lakers celebrated the legacy of Kobe Bryant at his statue unveiling Thursday. Before the statue was revealed, there were six speeches given in Bryant's honor, including one from Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.
During Buss's speech, she revealed there was an attempted blockbuster trade for Bryant when he was a player that never happened.
According to Buss, one NBA team tried trading five players for Bryant while her father was the owner of the team.
"An NBA team once offered to trade us five players in exchange for Kobe, but Dr. Buss declined, explaining that Kobe was as rare as a flawless five-carat diamond, and five one-carat diamonds would never equal the same value,"
Jeanie did not share which team tried trading for Bryant or which players the team tried trading for him, but she made it clear that no matter the caliber of those players, they were not worth what Bryant brought to the team.
It would be hard to argue that point, with Bryant bringing home five NBA championships during his career. He was one of the best players in the game throughout his career, and it's hard to see any combination of players bringing the same impact to the city and team.
Bryant staying with just the Lakers during his 20-year career made his legacy in Los Angeles that much more special. Bryant was a joy to watch for Lakers fans, and it's a credit to the Lakers ownership that they knew no trade package was worth the once-in-a-generation career that Bryant had.
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