Jerry West on how challenging it was to bring Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant to L.A. in 1996: "I felt more tired when this was over with" originally appeared on Basketball Network .
The post-Magic Johnson Los Angeles Lakers were a team searching for identity. With Magic retiring in November 1991 after testing positive for HIV, they found themselves in limbo, exiting in the first round of the NBA playoffs thrice and even missing the postseason once in the years that followed.
However, according to former general manager Jerry West , the Lakers had a well-crafted plan in motion — one designed to execute what they believed would be the most successful free agency period in the franchise's history. The outcome left the Logo both satisfied and utterly drained.
Heading into the 1996 offseason, every team knew who the ultimate prize was: the massive and talented behemoth Shaquille O'Neal . With the Orlando Magic virtually driving the center out of town, the Lakers were primed to make an offer.
"It's one of the greatest free agency periods we've ever had," West admitted . "I mean there's a bunch of really good players, about five really good player, and so our sights were set on him."
As is always the case, money matters, and West admitted the franchise did not have enough resources to match O'Neal's asking price at that moment.
"We started talking and it was really one of the most difficult things that I felt more tired when this was over with and I'll tell you why," he continued. "So we're trying to get him and at the same time, we know that he's going to be a huge contract for that point in time. So we got to a certain point, we negotiated a contract with them, and we couldn't meet their demands."
As West and the front office burned the midnight oil, trying to find ways to get O'Neal to sign with the team, and, at the same time, draft a high school guard by the name of Kobe Bryant , there were times when The Logo felt resigned to the fact that the two players would not be joining the Lakers.
"I didn't think there was any way that we could get Kobe Bryant along with Shaquille O'Neal," he stated.
One of West's defining qualities is his resilience. After all, this was a man who had lost in the NBA Finals eight times before finally winning one in 1972. Although he knew their chances of landing their target players were bleak, he never gave up and spoke to the Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss, to sign off on trading starting center Vlade Divac for Kobe.
"You have to have a wish list in life and if you're competitive, you're going to try to go out there and achieve that," West disclosed. "I was talking to Jerry Buss all the time, then who was the owner of the Lakers, and I said, 'Jerry,' I said, 'We have to make this trade.' And I said if we don't get Shaquille O'Neal, there's Mt. Mutumbo was out there who is a very good defensive player."
The stars finally aligned for West and the Lakers. By trading Divac, they created the financial flexibility needed to secure O'Neal with an astounding seven-year, $120 million contract.
"All of a sudden, we got in a situation where he agreed to come to us. Okay, every agent says 'You can't get him,' of course. And I think it was a determination of the franchise and Jerry Buss encouraged me to just go forward," he added.
West admitted that even though he knew O'Neal and Bryant were great players, he took a huge risk in pairing them up. However, history shows that that gamble paid off big time for the Lakers as they went on to win three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
