Mark Cuban says that the Mavericks were very close to trading for Kobe Bryant in 2007 with a package of Josh Howard Jason Terry and draft picks so close that he thought the deal was done However Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was able to talk Kobe out of his trade request

Mannix The Lakers believe they can succeed with a backcourt of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves if they can get the right type of players in the front court They are looking to build a Dallas 20 type roster similar to what Luka had when he went to the NBA Finals

Hoop Collective Tim MacMahon J-Kidd's acting skills have drastically improved in the many years since then He convinced millions of people that he was absolutely shocked that Luka Doncic got traded in the middle of the night

Mark Cuban cant hide his disdain for Nico Harrison

MJ and Kobe talk during the 2003 All-Star Game

Hoop Collective Tim Bontemps slams Bulls GM over trade deadline mismanagement

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka on the trade deadline I would say we were aggressive And one form of being aggressive is saying no thats like being aggressive even though you end up doing nothing because its hard to say no sometimes to getting a good player