The Brooklyn Nets have seen some great players come through the organization since the franchise’s inception in 1967 when the team was playing its home games in New Jersey. Nets fans of past and present are familiar with most of the players that have played for the team in New Jersey and New York, but there was a time when the Nets could’ve had one of the greatest players in NBA history.
“I was right there when they were thinking about drafting Kobe. I’m represented by Arn Tellem as well. Kobe’s represented by Arn Tellem. We’re in the hotel room in Secaucus while the draft is going on,” Former Nets guard Kendall Gill explained during an interview Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on “The Pull Up With Scoop B” podcast. Gill began his tenure with the Nets during the 1995-96 season when he was traded there from the Charlotte Hornets in the middle of the year.
“So Arn is on the phone with John Calipari and they’re saying ‘look we’re going to take Kobe at seven’ and Arn is like ‘I swear to God if you (expletive) take Kobe Bryant, we are going to go over to Europe, we will never play for you,'” Gill continued. Gill went on to note that the Nets took Kerry Kittles with the No. 8 pick, but the reason that Tellem was upset is because he had a trade set up between the Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Bryant later fell to the 13th overall pick in the draft where he was selected by the Hornets as part of a trade that sent him to the Lakers for center Vlade Divac. While it was known around the NBA space that Tellem wanted to get Bryant to Los Angeles, Bryant himself said that if the Nets drafted him, he would’ve played for the franchise instead of playing professionally in Italy like his agent suggested he would.
Either way, Bryant, who tragically passed away on Jan. 26, 2020 in a helicopter crash, went on to have a Hall of Fame career while donning the Lakers uniform for all 20 years of his time in the NBA. Much of the story surrounding Bryant and the Nets has been revealed by now, but Gill revealed more of what happened behind the scenes for one of the many what-if situations in NBA history.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Kendall Gill explains Nets almost taking Kobe Bryant in 1996 NBA Draft
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
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