Woj: Kobe Bryant Was 'Convinced' He Would Land with Knicks, Be Released by Lakers

Kobe Bryant didn't always think he was going to spend his entire NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

During an appearance on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast, Adrian Wojnarowski revealed Bryant once thought about joining the New York Knicks after being convinced the Lakers were going to release him using the amnesty clause.

It's not specified when Bryant thought this was going to happen, but Wojnarowski noted it was during the period when Jim Buss was running the basketball operations in Los Angeles.

Buss was in that role from 2005 to 2017. The most likely timeframe for Bryant to assume this was a possibility was between the 2013-14 season and his final year in 2015-16.

The Lakers signed Bryant to a two-year, $48.5 million extension in November 2013. His body had started breaking down at this point. He only played six games during the 2013-14 season due to a torn Achilles and fractured left knee.

Los Angeles finished 27-55 in 2013-14, followed by a 21-61 record in 2014-15. He announced early in the 2015-16 season that it would be his final year in the NBA.

It's also plausible Bryant may have thought this way at some point between 2005 to '07. This was the time period after Shaquille O'Neal had left Los Angeles, and the Lakers went three straight seasons without advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs.

Wojnarowski's recalled telling Bryant that there was no way the Lakers would let him go because fans would "burn this city down" due to how popular he was in Los Angeles.

Bryant probably wouldn't have fared much better in the final years of his career playing for the Knicks. This was at the point when they were also mired in mediocrity, including losing a franchise-record 65 games during the 2014-15 season.

But at least the Knicks would have had Bryant playing in Madison Square Garden to get them excited about something. Sadly, they will never know what might have been if he suited up wearing an orange, blue and white jersey.