When the Lakers traded starting center Vlade Divac for the rights to a high school kid named Kobe Bryant, no one knew what to think. Many were shocked since Divac had been a very good player for the team, and high schoolers have a very high chance of turning into busts.
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Someone who wasn’t surprised by the deal was Lakers legend Magic Johnson. In a ‘Planet Lakers’ special that aired yesterday on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Johnson recalled a conversation he had with Lakers general manager Jerry West.
Johnson and West held a basketball camp in Maui during which Bryant apparently destroyed former Defensive Player of the Year, Michael Cooper. West told Johnson that the Lakers were working on a deal for Bryant and that he would be one of the greatest players of all-time.
No one realized how correct West would be, but Johnson knew before anyone else of the Lakers intentions. Check out Magic remembering that time below:
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Kobe Bryant On Jimmy Kimmel