New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony recently revealed that NBA legend Kobe Bryant is perhaps the reason that the Los Angeles Lakers had been in his radar for the past four years and that playing with the five-time champion had actually appealed him, but it just didn't push through.

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"He did. Kobe did. He wanted it to happen," the 31-year old eight-time All-Star said as reported by the New York Daily News' Frank Isola.

"I don't know who was going to be part of that deal (between the Nuggets and Lakers in 2011). There was a lot of talk of (Andrew) Bynum, Lamar Odom and Nene. There was a lot of talk during that time. For some reason I was always connected with the Lakers... maybe it was just Kobe behind closed doors," he added.

Isola also indicated that it was Lakers owner and vice-president Jim Buss who "rejected a trade that would have included Bynum" in exchange for Anthony. The seven-footer was considered as one of the most promising young centers at that time and had been effective in his pairing with Pau Gasol enough to capture two NBA titles, which may have swayed Buss' judgment to keep him.

Looking back at how things turned out with Bynum, it was clearly a missed opportunity for the L.A. as Anthony chose to stay with the Knicks during the 2014 summer's free agency when Mitch Kupchak and company gave him a pitch.

The report also claimed that Anthony admitted "the chance to play with Bryant appealed to him", debunking speculations that the league's best players are intentionally trying to stay away from Kobe as a teammate.

Meanwhile, RantSports' Timothy Downs suggested five teams "that could realistically trade" for Anthony and foremost of them are the Lakers.

Reports were out last month that the Knicks are "getting closer" to dealing Anthony for the right transaction, and the current Lakers surely has enough assets to close out such a trade.

This especially makes sense right now with Bryant's impending retirement as the Hollywood franchise desperately needs superstar power to replace Kobe in a hurry. Downs envisioned a package including "Julius Randle and other" to pull off the deal.

The ESPN NBA Trade Machine approved a potential trade involving Anthony in exchange for Randle, Roy Hibbert, and Larry Nance Jr., which could be tempting for the Knicks to accept this midseason.

Tags NBA trade rumors 2015, Los Angeles Lakers trade rumors, New York Knicks trade rumors, Los Angeles Lakers, carmelo anthony