Welcome to the Edge of Sports podcast. I'm Dave Ziron. This week we have part two of basketball butterfly effect, where we bring in basketball savant, Ariya Shirazi, to discuss how the NBA would have been different if a consequential draft move or trade was not made.

What would the basketball butterfly effect be?

And this week, we're going to talk about a moment that set it off in a way that rippled

for years. We take you to the 1996 draft when the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th pick

selected teenager Kobe Bean Bryant out of Lower Marion High School in Philadelphia. Then in a draft day

trade that would change the course of NBA history, they dealt him to the L.A. Lakers

in exchange for Center of Lade Divots. Now the story of how this came about is a podcast

on its own and I'm sure it has been. And that's also not our focus here.

Our focus is what happens if Charlotte in 1996 says,

Jerry West, you are full of Franks and Beans.

We are keeping Kobe.

So we know what we don't get if Charlotte keeps Kobe.

We don't get 20 years of Kobe in L.A. We don't get the five rings in the same way.

We don't get a definer of basketball culture for a generation that certainly is partly because

of his unreal skill level, but also, of course,

was aided by that LA spotlight.

But what do we get to help me answer that question is Aria Shirazi.

Ariya, how you doing, sir?

I'm doing good, Dave.

Thanks for having me back. Oh, man, it's awesome. So first and foremost, I want to give you some space to lay down some knowledge on us for the very basic question.

What comes into your mind in terms of what happens if Charlotte keeps Kobe Bryant?

Well, you know, you and I have long talked about how in the NBA, a single transaction,

...