Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumor To Lakers Reportedly Rejected By Team, To ‘Dismay’ Of Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson

Apparently, this Carmelo Anthony trade rumor involving the Los Angeles Lakers was actually close to happening. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson were both interested in the possibility of bringing the Nuggets star to Los Angeles, but Jim Buss, the Lakers vice president of player personnel and the son of owner Jerry Buss, rejected the deal because of the inclusion of center Andrew Bynum, according to a report by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.

It’s a bit strange to see a New York writer break this news, so take it for what you will. However, it does fit into the narrative of how the Lakers’ organization tends to work. There’s definite friction between Jim Buss and Jackson, mostly due to Jim Buss’ ascension in the organization sister Jeanie Buss, Jackson’s longtime girlfriend, has been stuck in neutral despite putting in much more work than Jim.

Jim Buss is also more enamored of Bynum than anyone in the organization, since the story goes that he was the one who discovered Bynum as a high-schooler and convinced everyone in the organization to select him with the No. 10 pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. Jim Buss reportedly squashed a 2007 trade that would have sent Jason Kidd to the Lakers for Bynum, much to Bryant’s dismay at the time.

The chances of Anthony ending up with the Lakers were slim anyway, because they do not have many players that could satisfy the Nuggets’ goal of trimming salary. However, it does make sense that Jim Buss would balk at having his prized player end up elsewhere.