West knew very well that Hornets head coach Dave Cowens would absolutely not welcome a high school player like Kobe; the old Celtics alumni were just that rigid.
But at the 9th pick, the Dallas Mavericks surprisingly snagged Kobe. Immediately after, Kobe was traded to Portland in exchange for another young guard, Michael Finley.
Many years later, when Jerry West talked about Kobe being snatched away, he still shook his head, saying it was cheating. Someone from the Trail Blazers must have cheated; they obtained some critical information.
Trading a young shooting guard averaging 15 points in his rookie season for the 9th pick, to get a high school shooting guard, such an operation seemed absurd no matter how you looked at it.
Like in a board game, where suddenly a move is made that the human brain couldn't come up with, seeing dozens of steps ahead, anyone would feel like flipping the board.
