Kobe Bryant believes the 2011 NBA lockout was designed to limit the capacity for the Los Angeles Lakers to remain a title contender.

The NBA made the luxury tax more punitive in the new collective bargaining agreement.

"Well, okay: Look at the [2011] lockout. That lockout was made to restrict the Lakers. It was. I don't care what any other owner says. It was designed to restrict the Lakers and our marketability."

The NBA also vetoed a trade agreed upon by the Lakers and the league-owned New Orleans Hornets that would have sent Chris Paul to Los Angeles.

"There is only one team like the Lakers. Everything that was done with that lockout was to restrict the Lakers' ability to get players and to create a sense of parity, for the San Antonios of the world and the Sacramentos of the world. But a funny thing happened, coming out of that lockout: Even with those restrictions, the Lakers pulled off a trade [for Chris Paul] that immediately set us up for a championship, a run of championships later, and which saved money. Now, the NBA vetoed that trade. But the Lakers pulled that shit off, and no one would have thought it was even possible. The trade got vetoed, because they'd just staged the whole lockout to restrict the Lakers. Mitch (Kupchak) got penalized for being smart. But if we could do that..."