Gross To Gundlach: 'I Am Kobe, You Are LeBron'

Instead, Hodge and Jacobs told Gross the executive committee had reached a different decision. Gross told Gundlach the committee said: "We want you to leave soon."

'I Have Five Rings, You Have  Two'

Word of the face-to-face meeting between Gundlach and Gross surprised the bond world. For two decades, the two had no relationship or interaction at all, even though their personas were intertwined, compared and contrasted often in the financial media and by other bond market players.

Morningstar named Gross "Fixed Income Manager of the Decade" in 2010, an award for which Gundlach was a finalist. Then in 2011, Barron's magazine anointed Gundlach as the new King of Bonds.

Gundlach, for his part, said he never considered that he and Gross had been "adversaries" though he admits the two clearly competed "to log better returns than each other."

In their meeting, Gross "mentioned the 'Bond King' thing and seemed surprised when I said I never encouraged the media on that one, which is true," Gundlach said.

Discussing their potential legacies, Gundlach said Gross spun an analogy to National Basketball Association star players Kobe Bryant and the younger LeBron James.

"I am Kobe. You are LeBron James," Gross told Gundlach. "I have five rings, you have two rings -- probably going to five,"a reference to the number of NBA championships the two players have each won.

The meeting ended with no decision made about a partnership, but they agreed to stay in touch. Gundlach has made it clear that he wants to remain fully in charge at DoubleLine.

Then, a week later, Gross called Gundlach on the night before his Janus announcement. He left a voicemail message saying he was leaving Pimco for another firm.