![]() Despite his close relationship with Bryant and the fact he was a star on the rise, the Lakers decided to trade him to the Washington Wizards in a deal for Kwame Brown. It really introduced me to work ethic and all those things and how to be a professional in real-time.”Ĭaron Butler's time with the Lakers was cut short. “That started my introduction to the Kobe sessions. Be here tomorrow.' I was like, ‘What time?' He was like, ‘7:30, 7:15 be here.' And I get there, and he's already there. Kobe was right there, and he was like, “Hey, tomorrow we blacking out.' And I was like, ‘What the f*** does that mean? Blackout? What is that?' Kobe: ‘We working out. Most people quit their job when they hit the lottery. The fruits of their labor, they enjoy it. “What a lot of people always do is they go off on vacation. He signs a huge deal for $130 million right there in front of us and then also we do our press conference. ![]() My big brother there waiting for me, Kobe Bryant. ![]() But it was just like, ‘What's next? Am I ready for this?' And I get to Los Angeles, and I arrive at the press conference. I always was there and had to pivot and go to Los Angeles, which wasn't a bad thing. “I was just sad because you make a personal connection with the organization in those two years. Once it became official that Butler was being traded to the Lakers, the young forward started to come to grips with the fact he was headed to Los Angeles to play alongside Bryant, who already had plans for the newcomer. I got drafted by the Heat.' And then all of a sudden, I see my name, and I was like, ‘What does that mean?' I got the phone call from Pat Riley telling me, ‘Man, sorry… It's Shaq. I was like, ‘I don’t know anything about that. “I was like, ‘Oh shit! He's coming.' Somebody like Brian Grant. I don't know if people will remember these days, but when you used to look at ESPN, they had at the bottom of the ticker in big broad…it was huge, ‘Shaquille O'Neal may be coming to the Miami Heat,' and you see Stuart Scott reporting it. “I was actually coming from Antigua, and I did a Basketball Without Borders event for the Miami Heat, and I was seeing all this trade news and trade talk. “That was my introduction to the business of basketball,” Caron Butler said. ![]() Recently, Caron Butler made a guest appearance on ClutchPoints' Battle for LA podcast with Tomer Azarly and I to talk about several different topics, including his relationship with Kobe Bryant and his first interaction with him after being traded to the Lakers in a blockbuster deal by the Miami Heat to acquire Shaquille O'Neal.īutler went into detail about being traded to the Lakers and his initial reaction to hearing about the deal. Former Lakers forward Caron Butler is no different.Įven though Butler only played one season with Bryant in Los Angeles, he created a lifelong bond with the Hall of Famer, and the impact on his life is something he'll never forget. ![]() Since the tragic passing of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant back in January, every player that played alongside him or went up against him has a distinct memory of the five-time NBA champion and what he meant to them. ![]()
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