Former Lakers trainer initially questioned 1996 trade for Kobe Bryant
The Lakers traded for his draft rights in 1996, just weeks after he had finished high school in the cushy Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia. At that time, drafting high school players wasn't en vogue, and when some people started comparing him to Michael Jordan, who was still at the height of his career at that time, others kvetched.
Los Angeles gave up center Vlade Divac for the rights to Bryant, and it was a way for the franchise to kill two birds with one stone, as it jettisoned Divac to also clear enough salary cap space to sign Shaquille O'Neal.
Gary Vitti, who was the team's athletic trainer for 32 seasons starting in the 1984-85 campaign, admitted on Byron Scott's "Fast Break" podcast that he was unsure of the wisdom of trading Divac for a 17-year-old Bryant at the time.
'We traded Vlade Divac for Kobe. You understand that trade?' he recently asked. 'I mean, he's a legit seven-foot guy. I mean, huge hands. If he touched the ball, he owned it. Great footwork. Smart.'
Divac wasn't an elite player by any means, but he was very serviceable. He ended up averaging 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks a game for his career, and after starting his career alongside Magic Johnson, he was good enough to help the Lakers return to the NBA playoffs in 1995 after missing the postseason just once following Johnson's retirement.
Divac may have been lean and considered soft, but according to Vitti, he did have a knack for guarding O'Neal fairly effectively, at least in one regard.
'I love when he played defense on Shaq,' Vitti reflected. 'When Shaq would get him in the post, he'd destroy him.
'The only thing Vlade could do was invent the flop,' Vitti added. 'But do you know that he's actually whispering in Shaq's ear? So the first possession that Shaq would get in the post, right before the ball went into Shaq, he'd say, 'You ready to get two quick fouls?' Vlade played with his mind.'
Vitti admitted that he didn't see anything truly special in Bryant for a while. But it was the guard's breakout performance in Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals, when he led the Lakers to a very close victory after O'Neal fouled out in overtime — and after Bryant suffered a severely sprained ankle in Game 2 — that showed Vitti the special qualities he had between the ears.
As Vitti pointed out, Bryant was a somewhat above-average athlete, but it was the fact that the superstar worked hard and smart and was as tough as anyone that resulted in five championship rings.
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