Flip Saunders: T-Wolves 'teetered on the idea' of drafting Kobe to pair with KG
Every now and then, NBA fans are teased with thoughts of what could have been as near-trades and near-signings of years gone by emerge.
The latest pairing that never was? How about a dynamic teenage duo of Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant in Minnesota.
A year after drafting Kevin Garnett fifth overall out of high school, the Minnesota Timberwolves considered using their second consecutive No. 5 pick on Bryant, the Lower Merion High phenom, in 1996.
"We teetered on the idea of getting another one because we had success with KG," Timberwolves president and head coach Flip Saunders told reporters before the Los Angeles Lakers' overtime victory over the T-Wolves on Wednesday.
"But we kind of thought it would be too much having two of those guys who were young at that time and still in the process of developing KG as a young player."
Saunders, who served as coach and GM at the time, ended up drafting Ray Allen before immediately flipping him to Milwaukee in exchange for Stephon Marbury, taken fourth.
The Lakers traded Vlade Divac to acquire a 17-year-old Bryant from the Charlotte Hornets, who selected him 13th overall.
Marbury spent only two-and-a-half seasons in Minnesota before being traded to New Jersey in a deal that netted the Wolves Terrell Brandon, Brian Evans and the draft pick that became Wally Szczerbiak.
That set the foundation for years of Garnett carrying a subpar supporting cast, eventually dragging them to the Western Conference final in his 2003-04 MVP season.
It's safe to say the T-Wolves might have been better off with that young Bryant fella, and that the Lakers are probably content with how things turned out.
- With h/t to LA Daily News