The moment Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers back to the NBA Finals in 2008, it felt like the dynasty was back. Bryant won three championships with the Lakers from 2000 to 2002, but when Shaquille O’Neal left the team in 2004, it was a tough stretch for Bryant’s career. Bryant fell to the Celtics in 2008 but led the Lakers back to the Finals in 2009 and 2010, where he won back-to-back Finals MVP Awards.
What if that second stretch of three consecutive Finals appearances never happened? The 2007 offseason featured a massive shift in a movement when the Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. That might have been the second-best blockbuster of the summer had the Dallas Mavericks completed a move for the all-time great Laker. The way the Mavericks owner Mark Cuban remembers Bryant was going to be paired alongside Dirk Nowitzki. Instead, the move never materialized, and Bryant build his legacy with the Lakers.
Here is the blockbuster trade that never happened.
Mark Cuban Thought The Deal Was “Done”
After three unsuccessful years of getting back to the Finals, there was speculation about Bryant’s future with the team. The Mavericks made a Finals appearance in 2006 before falling to the Heat in six games. Nowitzki won the league MVP Award in 2007 after leading the Mavericks to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. However, the team was bounced by the eighth-seeded Warriors in the playoffs. That led to the search of finding pieces to complete this team to help Dallas win their first championship in franchise history. That led to some calls from Cuban, specifically to the Lakers.
“I was going back and forth with Dr. Buss, and I forgot who called who, I think he called me, actually, and said, ‘Look, we think we might be parting ways with Kobe,’” said Cuban during an interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks.
“I thought [the Kobe trade] was done.” 👀
Mark Cuban gives the back story of how the Mavs were close to trading for the Mamba in the B/R app 🤯
📳 https://t.co/03ruOImHHY pic.twitter.com/Bmx4VCBqGa
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 16, 2022
The Lakers were going through a summer of drama because it was reported by ESPN that Bryant wanted to be traded if Jerry West did not return to the team with full authority. There was also anger fueled by Bryant after a Laker “insider” claimed that Bryant was the reason for O’Neal’s departure from the team. Combined with the infamous video of Bryant claiming Andrew Bynum should have been traded for Jason Kidd, there was a real belief that Bryant was going to be traded.
Mitch Kupchak Saved The Day
According to Marc Stein, the deal was headlined around Jason Terry, Josh Howard, and future Dallas Mavericks picks. However, the deal never happened because Cuban said that Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak convinced Bryant to stay. Had this deal gone down, it could have featured back-to-back MVPs as Bryant was named the 2008 winner.
“It would’ve been damn good,” said Cuban about the possibility of Nowitzki and Bryant. “Dirk was like, ‘I would’ve traded me for Kobe,’ and I’m like, ’No, I’m not gonna trade you, Dirk, that’s the whole point.’”
This was another deal that could have happened had the Lakers and Bryant come together. During the summer, the Pistons sent an offer for Bryant headlined by Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Bryant did not waive his no-trade clause, which led to him sticking around for the upcoming 2007-08 season.
Lakers Projected Lineup If Trade Happened
PG: Derek Fisher
SG: Jason Terry
SF: Josh Howard
PF: Lamar Odom
C: Andrew Bynum
If this trade went down, the Lakers would have never traded for Pau Gasol. That meant that Odum would have been the team’s primary power forward all year to make room for Josh Howard. Terry was coming off a season where he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 assists, and shot 43.8% from three-point range. Howard averaged 18.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and shot 38.5% from three-point range.
Both of these additions would have made this team fairly well-rounded. There might not have been a true “star” on this team, but Terry, Odom, and Bynum could play like All-Stars. Together, the team has the complete parts. The Lakers would have been able to hang around relevancy and then maybe make a run at LeBron James in free agency in 2010.
Mavericks Projected Lineup If Trade Happened
PG: Devin Harris
SG: Kobe Bryant
SF: Jerry Stackhouse
PF: Dirk Nowitzki
C: Erick Dampier
If the Mavericks brought Bryant to the team in 2007, would the team have been able to also trade for Jason Kidd? At the trade deadline, the Mavericks acquired the former All-Star. The “Big Three” of Kidd, Bryant, and Nowitzki sounds pretty good on paper despite Kidd being 34 years old at the time. That would have given the team a good sixth man in Harris closing out games if needed.
The real tandem everyone would have kept their eyes on was Bryant and Nowitzki. The duo of Byrant and Gasol won two championships together. No offense to Gasol, who is going to be in the Hall of Fame, but Nowitzki was on another level. The 29-year-old was in his prime and is perceived as the greatest shooting power forward ever. Combined with a lethal offensive machine in Bryant, the Mavericks would have been tough to stop.
The Aftermath
The trade fizzled, and both teams went their separate ways. Quite frankly, both sides came out on top. The Lakers kept Bryant, and he went on to win the MVP Award during the 2007-08 season. He averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals. The Lakers made a deal for Grizzlies standout Pau Gasol, who helped jumpstart the Lakers into a championship-contending team. The Lakers would go on to make the NBA Finals before losing to the Celtics.
After that, the Lakers made deep playoff runs in 2009 and 2010, winning both championships. Bryant was named Finals MVP both years and finally got the monkey off of his back of winning a title without Shaquille O’Neal. The Lakers remained competitive for a few more years before everything began to fall apart in 2013.
As for the Mavericks, everything worked out for their team as well. The team made a surprising run to the NBA Finals in 2011. The team had made moves to acquire veterans Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler. Along with Kidd and JJ Barea, the core of Nowitzki and Terry helped this team even sweep the Lakers in 2011 in the second round. In the Finals, Nowitzki’s Mavericks bested the big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Heat.
When we analyze trades that don’t happen, we often think about the “what if?” In this scenario, both teams came out with the perfect future. It’s rare to see that happen. It goes to show that sometimes the best deal is not making a deal at all. It’s always great to end with a happy ending.
