Believe it or not, being an NBA team general manager is not necessarily a dream job, at least not always. Former Detroit Pistons GM Joe Dumars learned that firsthand, especially in 2007, when the team almost landed Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant.
“This is when Kobe was saying, ‘I want out - Lakers aren’t trying to win. I want out.’ It was two teams that Mitch [Kupchak] felt like had enough pieces to do a deal for Kobe. It was us and Chicago. Mitch called and said, ‘Look, love to work out something with you. Take us a couple days to work it out.’ And then we agreed on the deal,” Dumars told “The Crossover” podcast via Sports Illustrated.
It was there, but it wasn’t really there
Taking a quick trip down memory lane, the Pistons really wanted to win a championship once again, and Dumars thought they were about to pull off what could’ve been one of the biggest signings in NBA history in the summer of 2007.
The man in question was none other than Bryant, who was playing the best basketball of his career at that time.
According to Dumars, the trade deal was more or less completed after a series of discussions with the Lakers high-ups, as even Kobe was also considering it. However, a conflict on the non-negotiable time frame set by then-Lakers owner Jerry Buss for Bryant to make a final decision botched it.
"Kobe is the only player that had a no-trade in his contract. So Mitch says, ‘Look, as you know, Joe, Kobe has a no-trade, so he has to approve of this. But we’re gonna take this to him, and I’m gonna take this to Dr. Buss. He did.
Dr. Buss said O.K.’ They took it to Kobe, and Mitch told me that Kobe said, 'I need 24 hours or 48 hours or something to discuss this with my family. Like, look, I need time to discuss it with my family.' And I think Dr. Buss was like, 'No, we need an answer in the next day or whatever.' And Kobe didn’t want to be forced into having to make a decision that quick,” Joe said.
Dumars went on and said that Kupchak told him how “Dr. Buss is pulling out” if Kobe fails to make up his mind within a day. And that’s what happened.
“And Kobe refused to make a decision,” he recalled. “It was like, ‘I need a couple days to meet my family and think about this.’ He didn’t make a decision in 24 hours. And Dr. Buss said, ‘That’s it; I’m out. We tried to make a deal. You wouldn’t make a decision. We’re gonna move forward.’ And the trade was done.”
The Pistons missed out on another shot at the title
As it turned out, missing out on Bryant was indeed the Pistons’ only chance to win another championship. The following season after the botched Kobe trade, the Lakers took off, winning in two out of their three consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
Could that have been the Pistons if they completed the trade? We can only fantasize.