Kobe Is Big One That Got Away

The New Jersey Nets are on the verge of playing for the Eastern Conference championship, and by now, the whole world knows why. They traded for Jason Kidd, the biggest acquisition in franchise history.

But then Kobe Bryant soars above the Alamo in San Antonio for a rebound, gently rolls in the winning basket, and he makes you cringe about the one the Nets let get away.

Bryant demonstrated Sunday how to take over a playoff game down the stretch. He brushed off a lousy shooting day like dandruff and carried the Lakers to victory in the final 90 seconds. His bravura performance invoked the name “Michael Jordan” for many. Myself, I thought about Kerry Kittles.

As in, the guy the Nets drafted over Bryant.

In hindsight, about a dozen teams blew it big-time six years ago, so this wasn’t exclusively a Nets’ mistake. Still, they focused on a shooting guard in 1996 and decided on Bryant, only to change their mind at the 11th hour. They settled for Kittles, whose career is defined by 42% shooting and a salary cap-choking contract, instead of Bryant, whose career is defined by two rings going on three.

Is there any doubt that Bryant could have resurrected a franchise the way Kidd did this season? That’s what John Nash, the Nets’ former general manager, thought as he and then-coach John Calipari weighed their options with the eighth overall selection.

“What’s funny,” Nash said Monday, “was we had dinner with Kobe’s family the night before the draft. His father, Joe, thought Kobe would be a starter in his first year and an All-Star in his second. We left dinner thinking Joe was a tad ambitious.”

The Nets had Bryant in for three workouts, each more impressive than the other.

The morning of the draft, Nash and Calipari met with owner Joe Taub, who wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of getting someone fresh out of high school.

Then the agents got involved. David Falk pressed Calipari to take Kittles. Arn Tellem called and told Calipari that Bryant had no interest in the Nets, even though, years later, Bryant said New Jersey would have been fine. But the Lakers were working on a draft-day deal with Charlotte, and playing in L.A. appealed more to Bryant.

Calipari wavered, according to Nash.

“I told John we should still draft him,” Nash said. “But John wasn’t sure Kobe would turn out the way he did. You have to remember, at that stage, no one from high school had really done it. Kevin Garnett struggled at first. John was a little overwhelmed by the risk involved.”

The Nets took Kittles. Jerry West snookered the Hornets by swapping Vlade Divac for Bryant. Kittles gives the Nets 20 points on a great night. Bryant gives the Lakers a shot to win it all.

“I have to admit,” Nash said, “watching Kobe the other day made me think, ‘What if?’”