I managed to find my stash of old hoops mags and newspapers. They're all about 20 years old, so most have deteriorated but some are still in good condition.

I've uploaded this page, which explains the Kobe-Vlade trade between the LA Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets.
At the center post is the redoubtable Vlade Divac (who must be pleased to find himself in the tobacco fields of North Carolina). Divac was traded from the Lakers because L.A. wanted to make room to sign Shaquille O'Neal. Talk about an unenthusiastic trade: Divac initially didn't want to uproot his family from L.A., and the proposed trade bait - high schooler Kobe Bryant - made it clear he only wanted to play for the Lakers. The whole deal hinged on Divac, who eventually relented.
It's incorrect to simply say that 12 teams were ignorant to pass on Kobe in the 1996 draft. His selection with the 13th pick needs to be looked at in the context of the time and circumstances 17 years ago.
Charlotte selected Kobe only because they had worked a trade out with the Lakers. If that trade wasn't organised he would have fallen to the Lakers at the 24th pick. They had already acquired Kobe by then, so that pick was used on Derek Fisher.