Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher pioneer a players-only meeting - NBA Update
During last few weeks, a lot of developments have taken place in the Los Angeles Lakers camp - one reason being the trade rumours of Pau Gasol.
There has been some love loss between the management and players like Kobe Bryant, who criticized the team for mishandling Gasol’s trade issue. This saga has disrupted the environment of the dressing room as well and therefore
on Monday night, team leaders, Bryant and Derek Fisher, conducted an emergency players-only meeting, right after the win over Portland Trail blazers.
The purpose of the meeting was to clear the air and to keep the other player’s spirit in the team intact.
“Trade rumours do not matter; your feelings about management or the coaching staff don't matter; all that matters is that the 14 men in that locker room support and believe in one another. If you stay together and stay on the same
page, we can get to where we want to go as a team” a fragment of what was discussed in the meeting.
The meeting took place after the impressive win over the Trail Blazers, so it is difficult to tell what the outcome of the meeting would be. However Bryant and others indicated that it was a successful meeting and would help all
the players in upcoming games.
Although not clearly indicated, in a way it was a reaction to General Manager Mitch Kupchak’s recent comments.
In a war of words with Kobe, Mitch had a harsh way. He exclaimed that the franchise does not needs any inputs from the players and will do whatever it think is better for the team.
Los Angeles have had an ordinary season so far and all this is definitely going to make it worse for them, keeping in mind that there are several other ongoing serious problems, relating to dissatisfaction of players to newly acquired
coach Mike Brown’s method of playing and his rotations during the game.
Players like Metta World Peace and Andrew Bynum haven't hesitated in criticizing Mike openly off late. Hopefully, the meeting would help the players and help the team in turning things around in coming times.
Only first half of the shortened season has passed, there is still lot of basketball to be played and even if now, Lakers sort out their problems, they can improve their championship credentials.
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