It's heartwarming to know that in the Internet age, two professional sports teams can manage to keep a secret -- for 12 hours, at least. When the Los Angeles Rams agreed to swap six total draft picks to Tennessee for the rights to this year's top overall pick in the NFL Draft, they pulled a surprising move: They held off announcing the deal.
And why? Because at the time, Kobe Bryant was entertaining the nation with his final NBA performance. And according to the Rams, Bryant had earned that spotlight -- and the Rams weren't about to steal it away.
Rams and Titans agreed to trade at 9:30 pm ET Wednesday and withheld announcement so nothing would detract from Kobe Bryant's last NBA game.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 14, 2016
Rams official on withholding trade until today: "Kobe deserved his night. There was no reason for this trade to be announced on his night.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 14, 2016
Smart on the Rams for choosing their time to make an announcement. It would've been a bad look to move to Hollywood and promptly take a dump on the farewell ceremony for one of the city's most beloved sports icons.
Since the Rams trade was announced, many speculated that the move was made with clear intentions to draft Carson Wentz, a quarterback out of North Dakota State that many rank as one of the top two quarterbacks in this year's NFL Draft.
But Schefter argues the Rams may actually go with the other top prospect: Cal quarterback Jared Goff.
Rams lean Jared Goff today, but one reason they made trade now was to get two weeks to debate top 2 QBs because "both are going to be good."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 14, 2016
That's a lot of quiche to pony up when you aren't even certain which prospect you're trading for. But the Rams need a quarterback, and now they're definitely getting one.