The class of 1996 draft revisited

[TonyMontana]

Can you believe the players that were selected before Kobe Bryant in 96.
Half of these guys have already retired and half of them have been traded to different teams.
Its crazy how we got so lucky in drafting a young kid right after high school that has made such a huge impact in the league and for the Lakers.
I think by far this was the best pick that the logo ever made.
I mean take a look at this list and imagine if the Celtics wouldve picked Kobe instead of Antoine Walker.............
1 Allen Iverson (G) Philadelphia 76ers
2 Marcus Camby (C) Toronto Raptors
3 Shareef Abdur-Rahim (PF)Vancouver Grizzlies
4 Stephon Marbury (PG)
Milwaukee Bucks (traded to Minnesota)
5 Ray Allen (SG)
Minnesota Timberwolves (traded to Milwaukee)
6 Antoine Walker (SF) Boston Celtics (from Dallas)
7 Lorenzen Wright (C) Los Angeles Clippers
8 Kerry Kittles (SG) New Jersey Nets
9 Samaki Walker (PF)
Dallas Mavericks (from Boston)
10 Erick Dampier (C)
Indiana Pacers (from Denver)
11 Todd Fuller (C)
Golden State Warriors (from Golden State via Orlando and Washington)
12 Vitaly Potapenko (C)
Cleveland Cavaliers (from Washington)
13 Kobe Bryant (SG)
Charlotte Hornets (traded to L.A. Lakers)
14 Peja Stojakovic (SF) Sacramento Kings
15 Steve Nash (PG) Phoenix Suns
16 Tony Delk (SG)
Charlotte Hornets (from Miami)
17 Jermaine O'Neal (F/C) Portland Trail Blazers
18 John Wallace (PF)
New York Knicks (from Detroit via San Antonio)
19 Walter McCarty (PF)
New York Knicks (from Atlanta via Miami)
20 Zydrunas Ilgauskas (C) Cleveland Cavaliers
21 Dontae Jones (F) New York Knicks
22 Roy Rogers (PF)
Vancouver Grizzlies (from Houston)
23 Efthimios Rentzias (C)
Denver Nuggets (from Indiana)
24 Derek Fisher (PG) Los Angeles Lakers
25 Martin Muursepp (PF)
Utah Jazz (traded to Miami)
26 Jerome Williams (F)
Detroit Pistons (from San Antonio)
27 Brian Evans (F) Orlando Magic
28 Priest Lauderdale (C)
Atlanta Hawks (from Seattle)
29 Travis Knight (C) Chicago Bulls <<<<<<<<<< Travis Knight............ You guys remember this clown...............

[crazyeights]

Kobe was going to be drafted at the #8 by New Jersey. The Bryants had dinner with the Nets brass the night before the draft (IIRC) and it was pretty much a done deal....that is until Jelly Bean called them the next day and said he wouldn't play for the Nets.

I don't know if Mitch has the balls to do what Jerry West did.

[Lakers8]

This draft was 12 yrs ago, its more surprising how many players are still in the league than how many have left. This was one hell of a draft!!

[Patterns]

The Lakers didn't draft Kobe.

[crazyeights]

The Lakers didn't draft Kobe.

Who says they did?

[RASMARX]

Re: The class of 1996 draft revisited
by crazyeights on Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:04 pm

Patterns wrote:
The Lakers didn't draft Kobe.


Who says they did?

=The class of 1996 draft revisited
by TonyMontana on Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:27 pm
Its crazy how we got so lucky in drafting a young kid right after high school that has made such a huge impact in the league and for the Lakers.I think by far this was the best pick that the logo ever made.
I mean take a look at this list and imagine if the Celtics wouldve picked Kobe instead of

[LLcoleJ]

technically the Lakers didnt draft Kobe. However, they worked a deal knowing they would get him. Jerry West was scouting and in Philly with the Bryants well before the draft. All West had to do was get a trade partner and put the deal in place. He was the Lakers pic from the get-go.
In fact, there was a story that when Jerry first worked out Kobe and dropped him off at home, he called Chick right away saying he found the perfect player.

[crazyeights]

Re: The class of 1996 draft revisited
by crazyeights on Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:04 pm

Patterns wrote:
The Lakers didn't draft Kobe.


Who says they did?

=The class of 1996 draft revisited
by TonyMontana on Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:27 pm
Its crazy how we got so lucky in drafting a young kid right after high school that has made such a huge impact in the league and for the Lakers.I think by far this was the best pick that the logo ever made.
I mean take a look at this list and imagine if the Celtics wouldve picked Kobe instead of

Yes. But he also says exactly what happened in the list, thus showing Tony knows we landed Kobe via trade.

Sticklers over here.

[hermes]

what ever happened to Roy Rodgers, thats a sweet name

so is Kerry Kittles

too bad Priest Lauderdale didn't turn out

[Slava]

Doesn't that Todd Fuller guy have a higher GPA than his NBA PPG?

[Hunter103]

29 Travis Knight (C) Chicago Bulls <<<<<<<<<< Travis Knight............ You guys remember this clown...............

Wait...so how long was he with the Bulls? They won the title that year, but I thought he didn't win a ring until 2000...

How the hell did he end up on the Lakers anyway?

[TonyMontana]

Re: The class of 1996 draft revisited
by crazyeights on Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:04 pm

Patterns wrote:
The Lakers didn't draft Kobe.


Who says they did?

=The class of 1996 draft revisited
by TonyMontana on Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:27 pm
Its crazy how we got so lucky in drafting a young kid right after high school that has made such a huge impact in the league and for the Lakers.I think by far this was the best pick that the logo ever made.
I mean take a look at this list and imagine if the Celtics wouldve picked Kobe instead of

Yes. But he also says exactly what happened in the list, thus showing Tony knows we landed Kobe via trade.

Sticklers over here.

Thank you brah for clearing that up for me, seriously.
I did know that the Hornets wanted Divac and they were picking at 13.
Also I can recall that Divac was willing to retire from the NBA if he was to be traded to Charlotte and he didnt want to leave the Lakers.
So again my apologies if I didnt completely address the trade correctly, but my whole point was that J.W did go after Kobe and we did work a deal with another team to obtain Kobe, thus making this a draft pick that we aquired in a trade.
But my point was that J.W visioned Kobe as an Allstar and the future of the Lakers Org.
And my point also was that a few other big market teams could've selected Kobe at a higher pick and they passed on him, for example Boston.
Imagine if Kobe was selected by Boston instead of Walker.
Also the point of this thread is that the players that came out of this class, most of them have retired and most of them have been traded and nobody in this class has achieved titles and MVPs and the success that Kobe has had from this class, and before you guys reply that Nash has 2 mvps, Im addressing Kobes success as a whole, three titles, MVP, Scoring titles etc.
Thus making Kobe the best of the best to ever come out of the class of 96, and who do we have to thank for that........... Jerry West. Through a trade or a draft pick.
Again thanks crazyeight for the love brah and the backup Mang.