Well, this is awkward.
The Los Angeles Lakers selected Larry Nance Jr. during the NBA Draft on Thursday in New York City, and a controversial tweet regarding Kobe Bryant was dug up in the process.
Nance was selected with the 27th overall pick in the draft, and a controversial tweet he sent out about Bryant on May 1, 2012 was quickly deleted.
"Gee I sure hope Kobe can keep his hands to himself in Denver this time," Nance tweeted at the time, using the hashtag #rapist.
The tweet stems from Bryant being involved in a sexual assault case in Colorado in 2003 where a woman claimed that the NBA star raped her in his hotel room.
Bryant admitted no guilt to the crime, but he did publicly apologize and charges were dropped when the woman refused to testify. A civil suit was then eventually settled.
Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak said that he's spoken to Nance about it and he believes that the rookie and Bryant will eventually clear the air.
"I've spoken to Larry Nance Jr. with John Black, our public relations director," Kupchak said Thursday night, according to ESPN. "Really, I'm not in a position to really share information. But it is something that they will have to discuss amongst the two of them."
Kupchak said that even though it occurred three years ago, it's still an offensive tweet.
"My understanding is that it's something that happened years ago, and in today's world, things don't go away, which really doesn't make it any less offensive because it was said three, four years ago," the GM said.
Bryant will look to stay healthy after having his season cut short for the third straight year in 2014-15 due to a torn right rotator cuff.
After setting a franchise record for futility in the 2013-14 campaign, the Lakers fell even further this past season, with a club-worst 21-61 mark.
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