Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett: The L.A. Clippers Duo That Never Formed

When it comes to the NBA draft, the Los Angeles Clippers have specialized in making draft mistakes.

Sure, they've drafted stars Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon within the last few years, but before that, they made all the wrong moves.

The Clippers passed on a countless number of superstars like Karl Malone, Scottie Pippen and Dirk Nowitzki and then drafted flops like Benoit Benjamin, Michael Olowokandi and Darius Miles.

Things were really ugly in the mid-1990s.

The Clippers used the No.2 overall pick in the 1995 draft to select Alabama forward Antonio McDyess before trading him to the Denver Nuggets for Rodney Rogers and slam dunk champ Brent Barry.

Looking back, the Clippers definitely shouldn't have chosen McDyess or made that trade. What they should have done is drafted a skinny, 6'11" high school kid by the name of Kevin Garnett, who was selected fifth overall that year by the Minnesota Timberwolves.  

Garnett went on to become a larger-than-life megastar, averaging at least 20 points and 11 boards per game for several seasons and was named the NBA's MVP in 2004 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2008.

There's no doubt that the 14-time All-Star, currently a member of the Boston Celtics, will make the Hall of Fame once his memorable career comes to an end.

Then, in 1996, the Clippers drafted Memphis big man Lorenzen Wright seventh overall, passing up the likes of All-Stars Steve Nash, Jermaine O'Neal and Peja Stojakovic.  

But the main star the Clippers overlooked that year was another high school phenom, 6'6" guard Kobe Bryant.

Fresh out of suburban Philadelphia's Lower Merion High School, Bryant was eventually drafted by the Charlotte Hornets 13th overall and then traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for center Vlade Divac.

The trade would turn out to be one of the most lopsided in sports history, as Bryant emerged as the NBA's greatest shooting guard not named Michael Jordan.

Bryant has led the Lakers to five titles and has won a regular-season MVP and two NBA Finals MVPs during his 15-year, future Hall of Fame career in Los Angeles.

But what if the Clippers had drafted Bryant and Garnett?

Yes, imagine Bryant playing for Los Angeles' "other" team instead of the Lakers. And imagine Garnett never suiting up for the T-Wolves or Celtics, but for one of the league's most-laughed-at franchises of all time.

With those two well-known stars in the lineup, the Clippers certainly wouldn't have been laughed at anymore, at least not by anybody in their right mind.

Let's say Bryant and Garnett spend years playing together and Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who has a reputation of being cheap, goes out and spends the money to acquire a solid supporting cast.

The Lakers duo of Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal won three championships during their eight seasons together. But how many championships could a Bryant and Garnett-led team have won?

There's no telling.

Bryant and Garnett would have surely put the Clippers on the map if the two had joined forces. The team would have gone from the league's biggest joke to a perennial title contender and possibly a dynasty.  

But of course, Kobe and KG never became Clippers, although they could have been and should have been. 

They're just two names that will always be discussed in the Clipper "what-if" conversation.