Kobe Bryant wanted to sign with Memphis Grizzlies. Here's why Jerry West told him no

It’s odd to think of NBA legend Kobe Bryant wearing anything but a Los Angeles Lakers uniform.

But, Los Angeles Clippers Executive Board Member Jerry West said the superstar almost went to the Memphis Grizzlies when Bryant was a free agent back in 2004.

“I met [Kobe Bryant and Rob Pelinka] in a hotel room in Orange County,” West said on Podcast P, Paul George’s weekly Monday podcast. “Kobe said he wanted to come to Memphis and play basketball.”

West, the general manager of the Grizzlies from 2002 to 2007, said he was able to convince Bryant that he belonged in Los Angeles.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Are you kidding me?’” West continued. “Don’t feel like you have any obligation with me or the Grizzlies to play here.”

In 2001, the Grizzlies drafted Pau Gasol, who would later become the "Robin" to Bryant’s “Batman” in Los Angeles. If the move to Memphis had come to fruition, Bryant and Gasol might have linked up earlier in their careers.

Given the success they both had with the Lakers, winning two championships, it's easy to wonder how many NBA Finals they would’ve won in Memphis.

West is one of the greatest L.A. Lakers players of all time and a former coach for the franchise. His relationship with Bryant, who died in January 2020 at 41, harkens back to Bryant's Hall of Fame career in L.A., where he won five NBA titles.

Bryant was at the height of his career in 2004, having already won three titles before reaching the NBA Finals again that year.

More: Pau Gasol's Memphis Grizzlies tenure laid roots for Hall of Fame basketball career

Reach sports writer Jerry Jiang at JJiang@gannett.com or on Twitter @j_jiang30

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Kobe Bryant wanted to sign with Memphis Grizzlies. Jerry West said no