Mark Cuban Talking About Nearly Trading For Kobe Back In 2007 Is A Great NBA "What If"

Getty Images.

I feel like this little nugget has sort of gone under the radar so when I watched this clip this morning my head sort of exploded. Let's go back in time to 2007. The Lakers had just lost again in the first round and Kobe started demanding to be traded. We heard a lot about a potential swap in Chicago, there was that Pistons deal for Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince but they needed Kobe to waive his no trade clause so it ultimately fell apart. I feel like we don't hear too much about this potential Dallas trade that Cuban is talking about. Josh Howard (who randomly was a really good wing back then), Jason Terry and some picks. Can you imagine if that trade went through??

PG - Jason Kidd

SG - Kobe Bryant

SF - Jerry Stackhouse (Maybe?)

PF - Dirk

C - Erick Dampier

For a team that won 51 games without Kobe, that would have been a pretty badass team to watch. Prime Kobe with Prime Dirk and a version of Kidd that still had some gas left in the tank? Think of how that could have changed things in terms of NBA history. How does it impact the Celtics Big 3 and their run, or the Spurs. Shit, the Lakers definitely don't win the 2009 or 2010 title without Kobe. They never trade for Gasol, maybe he goes somewhere else, the ripple effects are endless. 

Jerry West man, talk about a guy who has come through for the Lakers time and time again. I'm sure Cuban hates that dude with the fire of a thousand suns. Imagine having it all worked out with Jerry Buss and then boom, last minute you hear you're in fact not getting Kobe Bryant. Not only that, but he's staying in LA, they are bringing in Gasol and now the Lakers are back to being a roadblock for Cuban's Mavs. That's tough. 

But it just goes to show why Mark Cuban rules. He goes big game hunting and always has when it comes to building his roster. It's why you always hear about them being in on big free agents, making big time trades whether it was for Porzingis or Luka. Mark Cuban is most certainly not afraid to make big time moves and that's probably the best thing you could have as a fan of the Mavs. 

I could listen to Cuban tell old stories all day, they never disappoint. And since it's Friday and there's no way you want to work, here are a few more