Kobe Bryant is widely regarded as the greatest Los Angeles Lakers player of all time. However, with big names such as Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the conversation, Kobe's ranking within Lakers' lore can be contested, but his legacy cannot. His 20-year career with the team made him the most tenured Laker ever. But, there was a time, during the late 2000s, when "The Black Mamba" demanded a trade amid his high-profile fallout with Shaquille O'Neal and their head coach, Phil Jackson, after the legendary duo broke up. It's been well documented that Kobe wanted requested trades to the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers. But during a recent interview on Podcast P with Paul George, Jerry West revealed that the 5-time NBA Champion also considered the Memphis Grizzlies as a viable destination, which would have been interesting because Pau Gasol was on that team back then.
In addition to drafting Kobe Bryant as the Lakers' general manager in 1997, Jerry West assumed the same role with the Memphis Grizzles in 2002. Scroll up to listen to his commentary about a trade request that would have reunited him with Kobe in Memphis if it had been honored.
Source: Twitter
