Luke Walton Says The Lakers Players Were Pissed Off After Kobe Bryant Requested A Trade In 2007: "We Don't Need Him Anyways. If He Doesn't Want To Be Here. F**k Him."

The Los Angeles Lakers had a great start to the 2000s with the roster featuring the incredible duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. Moreover, the team was being coached by the legendary Phil Jackson.

Obviously, the Lakers were one of the most dominant teams in the league, and they proved it by winning three consecutive NBA Championships. Winning three titles in a row is a great achievement, but the Lakers had a big issue inside the locker room.

It was the clashing egos of Kobe and Shaq which ultimately led to Shaq being traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. While O'Neal won another ring with the Heat, Bryant struggled to help the Lakers have any meaningful playoff runs.

Individually, he was playing the best basketball of his career, but the team around him was simply not good enough. So in 2007, after the Lakers got eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Kobe finally demanded a trade.

Luke Walton Shares The Lakers Players' Initial Reaction To Kobe Bryant's Trade Request

Although the Lakers were going through a rough patch, not many expected Kobe to put in a trade request. Evidently, his teammates felt betrayed, and in the recent episode of the ongoing Lakers docuseries, Luke Walton revealed the initial reactions of other players on the roster.

"We don't need him anyway. If he doesn't want to be here. F**k him.

Kobe almost got traded to the Chicago Bulls that year, but the Lakers rejected the trade. There were many other teams inquiring about the Mamba as well, but they could never manage to match the Lakers' asking price for the best player in the world.

In the end, the Lakers pulled off a blockbuster trade for Pau Gasol, which completely changed their fortunes. The Purple and Gold went on to play in three consecutive NBA Finals after the trade and ended up winning two of them.