By Alex Madrid/ info@eurohoops.net
Kobe Bryant talked about the Anthony Davis trade saga and the rumors that the L.A. Lakers were considering giving players like Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Brandon Ingram to New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the six-time NBA All-Star.
“I say no,” Bryant answered when asked if the Davis affair could mislead the franchise and the players, per AS. “Kuzma, Lonzo, Ingram … Are all three better than Anthony Davis? No no! Ciao! Bye! Anthony Davis is one of the best players in the world. Not now, in history. What are we talking about? If you can sign Anthony Davis, you do it. If not, OK. We have three players who are very young and who work hard. They are intelligent and must be developed. But if you can sign Anthony Davis … yes!”
Bryant also praised two Greek basketball legends he faced in the 2008 Olympic Games: Vassilis Spanoulis and Dimitris Diamantidis.
“I talked with Mike Krzyzewski and told him: I want to be the player to defend the rival star. Me. Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Leandro Barbosa… Me. And my teammates were telling me. “What are you doing studying Spanoulis?” And I told them: “Spanoulis? Spanoulis killed you in Japan.” Spanoulis had scored 22 points in the 2006 World Cup semifinal win of Greece over Team USA.
Regarding Diamantidis, Bryant also said the following in an interview with FIBA.
“Well, there’s a player from back in the day that I played against who I wish I had on my team. His name is (Dimitris) Diamantidis from Greece. I love and wish I had him. His length and his size, and what he could do defensively, I would have loved to have another player on the wing who could harass little point guards.”
Photo: FIBA