NBA News: Mike Brown calls on Kobe Bryant, discusses future
Los Angeles Lakers’ new coach Mike Brown sounded confident in his first news conference after joining the Lakers on Tuesday. The 41-year-old has made it quite clear that he does not have any intentions to change the role of Kobe
Bryant under his leadership.
Brown acknowledged the importance of Black Mamba in the team and made it perfectly clear that the Lakers are still Kobe’s team, “This is still his team. We'll make sure that he'll have the ball in the sweet spots that he likes.”
"He has a great understanding of my vision and he's onboard."
Before the start of his introductory press conference, Brown signed a four-year contract worth approximately 18 million dollars. The former Cleveland Cavaliers coach, who coached LeBron James for five years, said his first meeting
with the Bryant was a huge success.
Shooting guard Bryant, point guard Derek Fisher and centre Andrew Bynum - all important players of the Lakers team – had publically backed assistant coach Brian Shaw in the race to replace Phil Jackson. Jackson had called quits
after the Dallas Mavericks swept of the two-time defending champions in the Western Conference semifinals. However, contrary to expectation the Lakers’ front office hired the ‘defensive’ Mike Brown as the coach.
Besides his meeting with Kobe, who has won five NBA championships, Brown also had a telephonic conversation with Kobe’s wife Vanessa Bryant, Fisher and his wife, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest. Kobe Bryant has been the
most influential Laker for the last decade or so, but he was apparently left out of the hiring process of Brown. Lakers’ vice president Jim Buss also admitted yesterday that the management made a mistake by not taking Kobe on board.
Brown’s hiring has received a mixed reaction from the public. However, Brown said he did not care about the public reaction. "Everybody is entitled to their opinion, I respect that." "Winning will cure all of that."
The Lakers’ general manager Mitch Kupchak revealed that the team management interviewed Shaw, Brown, and Rick Adelman for the coaching job. Although, Brown did not inspire the owner of the team Jerry Buss in the first look but
when Brown presented his plans for the future, Buss had no hesitation in choosing his man.
Buss said, "Then when he started talking to us, he said how he would handle this team. He was very prepared." "I liked his X's and O's, his visions for our future. Very few people understand that our job is to try and remain on
top forever. He likes that philosophy. I like that."
Brown, who is widely regarded as a defensive specialist, showed his interest in creating a friendly environment within the team, one that is based on trust and hard work.
Brown said, "As long as the group is willing, which it sounds like it is, we'll get it done," he said. "We want to be at the top forever."
Mike Brown has made only positive noises so far, but how much will that translate on the court remains to be seen.
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