Kobe Bryant thanks Hornets for trade to Los Angeles Lakers

There’s no doubt that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest basketball players to ever grace an NBA court, but some might say the Los Angeles Lakers icon is a bit of an ego-maniac as well. That’s not really meant as a slight to Bryant as a large number of top professional athletes hold the same shoe, like his icon Michael Jordan.

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Given that, it shouldn’t come as a shock that Kobe Bryant took to Twitter this afternoon to thank the Charlotte Hornets for trading him to the Los Angeles Lakers, suggesting they informed him they had ‘no use’ for him.

The reason behind Bryant’s tweet was timing as it was 18 years ago (yeah, I can’t believe it either) the Hornets selected the NBA legend with the high school phenom with the No. 13 pick in the 1996 draft, only to trade him moments later to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac.

Thanking the Hornets was obviously a bit of a backhand on Bryant’s part and one that wasn’t really needed considering their current front office isn’t the same front office that drafted Bryant.

It’s also a little suspect on the part of Bryant considering so many teams picking ahead of him (including the Hornets) indicated that he refused to play for their franchise.

Jerry Reynolds, a current broadcaster and former member of the Sacramento Kings front office has stated Sacramento would have selected Bryant but was informed he would not play for their organization, a sentiment echoed by the Hornets.

It’s hard to know who to believe, but Bryant probably could have probably avoided the backhand at the Hornets and simply praised the Lakers for acquiring him.