There are tons of What-Ifs throughout NBA history. Whether it’s Len Bias, Derrick Rose, or Kevin Durant not joining the Golden State Warriors, the world of hypothetical is rich in the NBA. However, among the biggest and most debated upon remains the vetoed Los Angeles Lakers trade in 2011. Coming off back-to-back championships, the team was in place to land another superstar to pair with Kobe Bryant. After having learned from their earlier mistakes, this time it was someone Kobe could respect. And, as a resurfaced clip shows, even joke around with.

While the All-Star Game has lost some of its luster, there was a time when it was the hottest weekend in basketball. While the greatest stars in the sport came together, it also brought about a lot of their camaraderie.

Kobe Bryant laughs it up with almost teammate

A video clip of an interaction between Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul during the All-Star weekend has been going viral. In it, fans can see the Los Angeles Clippers legend go on a lengthy tirade about the jacket. As a result, Bryant can barely hold it in and continues to dissolve into chuckles over the hilarity. Paul’s chief source of contention? The lack of accomplishments on his jacket compared to Kobe’s.

CP3 joked, “All that paraphernalia he got on his jacket. A damn General over there right? Like a General. I don’t even want to put my jacket on. See I don’t like that.”

He added, “I was at least thinking I might have like 6 stars on my jacket right? Like 6 separate stars. So it look like I got a lot of stuff on there. They just put a star with a 6 on it. You know what I mean? So my jacket got just one, one patch.”?

While Kobe could not keep a straight face and dissolved into laughter, Paul himself had a sly smile. Regardless of the accolades, Chris had already earned the moniker of?Point God?with his place in the league set. However, seeing the two legends interact like this got everyone thinking about the possibility.

A possibility that was one veto away from becoming a reality.

The Chris Paul-Lakers union

The story goes as follows: Chris Paul had put together solid seasons in New Orleans, without much post-season success. The Lakers, on the back of three Finals trips with two victories, had just seen their first loss prior to the Finals to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.

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As a result, in a bid to increase their championship window, the Lakers put together a trade to bring the 6-foot wizard into their fold. However, due to the NBA owning a minority stake in the Hornets at the time, they were able to veto the trade. And, a dream scenario became a hypothetical for posterity.

While the lack of success jokes hurt CP3 and his family perhaps, the story would be far more different if the trade had gone through. Maybe, Paul would be a multi-time champion instead. All the while, sharing the court with fellow All-Time Great, and his friend, Kobe Bean Bryant.

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