Mark Cuban Revealing How Kobe Bryant Nearly Became A Dallas Maverick In 2007 Is An All Time NBA "What If"

Noah Graham. Getty Images.

Things are pretty slow today in the NBA world outside of the Miami Heat salary dumping Haywood Highsmith to the Nets for a 2nd round pick that'll most likely never convey all so they could get under the luxury tax, which means it's the perfect time for one of my favorite NBA offseason pastimes. A good 'ol "NBA What If" story. If you've been reading the blogs over the years you know that if there's one thing I love, it's a juicy NBA What If. Especially ones that we have no way of verifying but are fun as hell to think about.

Nobody, and I mean nobody tells more of those stories than Mark Cuban, and his latest tale comes from way back in 2007 when he was "this close" to trading for none other than Kobe Bryant

Now, some may be taken aback by the part where Cuban said Kobe asked to leave given that he's only played for one franchise in his career, but remember, he did demand that trade back in 2007. Back then, he was nearly sent to the Pistons

so it doesn't surprise me at all that Cuban was also involved in trying to pry Kobe away from the Lakers. And while that return might seem a little light, back then Josh Howard was a legit wing and Jason Terry was about to go on his run as one of the best 6th man options in the league (after being a starter the previous year). 

From the Mavs' side, this is where the "what if" gets fun. Imagine Kobe and Dirk together? That would have been incredible. As with all of these stories, think of the ripple effect. Chances are, the Lakers don't make the 2008 Finals without Kobe. Coming off that loss is why they traded for Pau Gasol, so that never happens. Does he stay in Memphis? Does he get traded elsewhere? That would then remove the Lakers' 2009 and 2010 titles, so who wins those? 

The Mavs' 2011 title is largely considered one of the toughest titles of all time given the carry job that Dirk had to do and the path it took to get to the top of the mountain. But if Kobe was in the mix, that obviously changes. It's not crazy to think the legacies of both players drastically change if that trade went down. Say you believe Kobe would have still ended up with 5 titles, well that means Dirk would add a couple more to his resume, which obviously boosts him up in the all-time rankings. Also, is it safe to say that the Mavs would have become an even more attractive destination that would have potentially brought in more talent? 

Advertisement

Unfortunately, with Kobe not exactly around to confirm any of this, we'll just have to take Cuban at his word. I don't see why he has any reason to make it up, so the fact that something like this was apparently pretty damn close to happening is a fun thought exercise. Dirk and Kobe had more than their fair share of battles during this time in the NBA, so it's crazy to think what could have been had they actually been teammates instead.