How Jim Buss almost destroyed Kobe Bryant's legacy with the Los Angeles Lakers

Kobe Bryant is widely considered one of the greatest— if not the greatest—players in Los Angeles Lakers history. However, he was pretty close to leaving the organization at least a couple of times.

Following Shaq’s departure, Kobe nearly forced his way out to the Chicago Bulls. Then, Dr. Jerry Buss killed a league-shaking trade that would’ve sent the Black Mamba to the Detroit Pistons.

Now, it’s come to light that Jerry’s son Jim, who was briefly in charge of basketball operations, also wanted to move on from Bryant. Apparently, he wanted to trade him and build around Andrew Bynum after Phil Jackson’s retirement.

NBA News: Jim Buss Wanted To Trade Kobe Bryant And Build Around Andrew Bynum

“I did my interview with Dr. Buss at his house. Dr. Buss told me, ‘In order for Jimmy to grow in his role, I have to step back and allow him to do what is best for the team going forward’. The rest of the meeting was mainly Jimmy doing a lot of the talking. He gave me the outlook of his team and that Andrew Bynum is the guy that’s gonna carry this team to the next era of Laker dominance. And he said everybody on the team including Kobe, could go if it came down to it because it was going to be Andrew who was gonna carry everything forward,” Lakers legend Brian Shaw revealed inLegacy: The True Story of the Los Angeles Lakers documentary.

It’s crazy to even fathom the thought of Bryant ever playing for a different team. Fortunately, he wound up playing his entire career in purple and gold, building an unmatched legacy and becoming the biggest legend in recent franchise history.

Jim’s tenure in charge of the organization was far from successful, and this move would’ve most likely tarnished his family’s legacy.