National Basketball Association

Kobe Bryant regrets fallout from Chris Paul trade that never was

Published Apr. 4, 2016 4:22 p.m. ET

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In an alternate universe, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul are teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers. They have multiple championships and had the rest of the NBA by the throat for a meaningful stretch. But in this universe, David Stern nixed a three-team trade that would've sent Paul to the Lakers back in 2011. Bryant is about to retire and Paul is the starting point guard on the cross-town Clippers.

Given L.A.'s downward spiral over the past few years, it's understandable for some Lakers fans to remain just a little bit upset over what might have been. Bryant and Paul are apparently still thinking about it (via ESPN):

Leading up to the back-to-back, both players gave thought to what could have been and believe they would have formed a dominant backcourt duo. "It worked for the Olympic team and stuff like that," Paul said. "I played in a lot of All-Star Games with Kobe. I don't know how many, but I remember one of them, we said, 'As long as we're both on the same team playing this game, we're not going to lose,' just because we both know how competitive we are." Bryant agreed. "When we played together in every All-Star Game, we never f----- around," Bryant said. "It was like, 'Listen, the guys have their fun, but now let's do what we do.' I knew how competitive he was, and I knew it would be a perfect fit. We just kind of talked about what we're going to do, how we're going to scheme to get things done. Unfortunately, it never happened."

Had that deal gone through, today's NBA would look way different in approximately one million ways. If Pau Gasol ended up in Houston, where would James Harden and Dwight Howard be? If the New Orleans Pelicans (then the Hornets) landed Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and Kevin Martin, which team would have Anthony Davis?

There are too many franchise-altering questions to ponder: It's an all-time what-if before we even consider what would've happened to Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers. Does he ever leave the Boston Celtics? Where is Blake Griffin? Is DeAndre Jordan relevant? Is Brad Stevens still at Butler?

The unanswerable questions go on and on and on, but how about the one regarding Paul and Bryant's chemistry? Could they have co-existed at the same time, as two ball-dominant pit bulls who thrive with the ball in their hands?

They seem to think things would've been fine, but it's definitely up for debate — especially had the Lakers never landed Dwight Howard.