Thursday, May 26th, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  144 responses

Kobe Bryant on Mike Brown Hiring: No Comment


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Laker Nation is still wrapping its collective head around the idea of Mike Brown as the new man in charge. And apparently, so is Kobe Bryant.

The “Black Mamba” hasn’t made any public statements regarding the matter, but according to published reports, he did not see this coming.

There are concerns about the fact that Bryant wasn’t consulted at all before Brown was hired — Kobe’s preferred choice was current assistant coach Brian Shaw — and though Mike Brown claimed last night that he and the Laker superstar exchanged text messages, Bryant’s silence is telling.

From the LA Times:

Apparently the Buss family followed through on its declaration not to “consult the players on these matters,” as Jerry Buss said in a Tuesday radio interview about the hiring of a new coach. The Lakers and former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown agreed to a deal Wednesday. People familiar with Kobe Bryant’s thinking said that the All-Star guard was confused by the decision. When reached Wednesday by The Times about the Brown hire, Bryant had no comment. Bryant said earlier this month that he would be comfortable with Assistant Coach Brian Shaw getting the job because of Shaw’s overall knowledge of the franchise, the triangle offense and, of course, the players.

“I’m here to continue to try to help this organization carve a championship path that’s already been laid,” Brown said Wednesday on ESPN during halftime of the Dallas Mavericks-Oklahoma City Thunder game. “I know I’m not going to fill [Jackson's] shoes…But I am excited to help carve my own path with this team going forward,” Brown said.

Mike Brown reportedly impressed Jim Buss, the Lakers’ owner’s son who increasingly makes the important decisions for the franchise, by selling him on his ability to coach defense and deal with superstars (see: James, LeBron).

The Mike Brown/Kobe Bryant relationship will be the biggest factor in making this new direction for the Lakers a success. Sooner or later, Kobe will have no choice but to extend an olive branch, and try to make it work.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , , ,

Newer Comments →
  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    *using Stewie Griffing voice*
    “now is the summer of your discontent….”.
    Enjoy it, Kob’s.

  • http://nba.com EJ

    Kobe is probably really pissed off right now. If only he was still 27…

  • bull22

    kobe, give coach brown a break man, be happy for the fact that an african-american coach is being given the chance to coach this team, i have been watching basketball for 26 years and i dont remember another african-american coach leading this team..

  • http://www.slamonline.com Angel of Stern

    im kinda torn about this.. Im happy cause it pissed kobe off, but I root for Mike Brown, he seems like a good guy, kinda makes me hate the lakers a little bit less…

  • pnightmare

    @bull22 – see Magic, Johnson

  • Riggs

    race has nothing to do with this. Also first black coach to get fired after a week into the season.

  • http://nba.com EJ

    What’s the big deal about his race? Bill Russell was a coach in the 70s or something. I think you should actually be more concerned on how good the coach is instead of his race.

  • barnabusb

    Or you should be more concerned on how much your coach looks like the Grimmace.

  • BYEBYE

    @Riggs u a fool for that

  • dsleepy

    this will not end well

  • AT33

    Who cares if they asked Kobe or not, in this economy he should be happy he’s got a job! Kobe’s washed up anyway, I would trade him and get some young talent so long he’s still valuable.

  • vtrobot

    “We exchanged textes.” – Coach Brown

  • Eddie1

    “A coach Brown team is a family team.” It’s like he’s advertising a family restaurant

  • http://pickandroll.tumblr.com/ airs

    why can i see all of mike brown’s teeth when he talks.

  • David Moore

    I think it’s gonna work in Kobe’s favor. Kobe has ALWAYS fought the triangle offense. Coach Brown has a system that’s gonna let Kobe operate the way LeBron operated in Cleveland. The Black Mamba will be let loose! :-D

  • http://firespo.com I AM KING

    He don’t know how to coach superstars…superstars know how to coach him(remember the cavs practice footage of the team shooting halfcourt shots?)

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Moose

    Kobe should be a leader and publicly welcome his coach with open arms even if it’s not what he really thinks. But this is the first time I’ve ever disagreed with something Kobe’s done, so..

  • T-Money

    AT33: When there is less than 5 people in the world better than you at your job, you’re not lucky you have a job. Regardless of what that job is.

  • Jamal

    Mike brown will overwork kobe and run this team into the ground, just like he did with lebron & co. Why did the Buss Boy hire a coach that will never take them past the second round or conference finals? they could have done the same thing with no one on the bench, which is exactly what phil jackson was this year. ive never seen a coach who has been so checked out of a game in my life!

  • http://yahoo.com Dre81

    I swear some of ya’ll dont know s**t about basketball.
    Kobe aint done here’s an example of who’s done
    TRACY MCGRADY
    VINCE CARTER
    GILBERT ARENAS
    RICHARD HAMILTON

    I really fail to understand How much you hate kobe but yet Read every got d**n story about him

  • rich

    Thank you for the sensible comment t-money. i dont know how you can say kobe is washed up when he just finished scoring 25 a night in less minutes than most stars, while sharing the ball with a better supporting cast than most stars. i hate how people take guys like tim kobe and other late 90 and 00′s stars for granted

  • http://slamonline.com Saviour

    bull22 – get over the fact his african american black person – who cares! it wouldn’t matter if he’s a jew, if he’s a good coach, he should get the job.
    P.s i’m not saying he should get the lakers, but i wouldn’t be surprised if he did get a good job.

  • Benn0

    ^ by the way that was actually me writing that comment, not saviour, it just decided to come up with his name and email address in the boxes.
    Sorry SAVIOUR :}

  • tomtom

    Moose, that’s your definition of a leader?? lol

  • Eddie1

    Kobe quit wit tha beef//
    Mike Brown got spinache in his teeth//
    Openin tha grill//
    Kobe pop another pill//
    For real, I keep it trill//
    Brown on a roll, just finalized the deal//
    Now he makin money for the buss//
    Shoulder wipe, no more dust//
    No triangle office, no more fuss//
    Just watch the man do his thang come August//

  • http://slamonline.com 1982

    The only people he’s had good things to say about are Phil and DFish. Kobe’s never been a great team leader, he’s the guy who’ll criticize you during the game, during practice, and during interviews, which isn’t all bad – it’s just not a great confidence builder.

  • G Diesel

    I think Kobe is about to become a cancer.
    Ship his ass out!!!

  • schwilson93

    kobe for andre iguodala, straight up. who says no? iggy fits browns defensive strategy, and the lakers can run the offense through gasol. they trade bynum and pieces for dhoward during the season. all of a sudden, the lakers have a young nucleus of gasol, howard, and iguodala. meanwhile, sixers bring kobe back to philly and get a scoring 2guard who has a year or two left. kobe gets to play with a playoff team in the east and immediately makes them a 4 seed

  • ThaWindy

    Race doesnt matter in a persons ability to coach a team but its great to see black Americans as head coachs after having so many years with so few.

  • bull22

    @saviour, thanks i could not even remember that… second one in 26 years..

  • http://slamonline.com zoom

    LOL @ “African-American black person”. As opposed to a “Caucasian-American black person”? Srry, was too funny to ignore.

  • Benn0

    I wish we still had the slave trade – cuz i could do with a good foot massage right now. anyone?
    LOL

  • http://pickandroll.tumblr.com/ airs

    oh HELL no…

  • Rachel

    “Mike Brown reportedly impressed Jim Buss, by selling him on his ability to deal with superstars….”
    Seems to me the most obvious first move to deal well with a superstar is to talk to him about being hired as the new coach before the deal is finalized!

  • http://slamonline.com zoom

    Awww, somebody’s mad a bunch of black guys ran a train on his mommy and girlfriend. Don’t worry, I’m sure both of those ugly hoes paid them to do it. Only you would sleep with them for free.

  • http://www.fiba.com Darksaber

    REALLY??

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Kobe Bryant should be the offensive coach. This was a horrid hiring. I would have commented and said “I want to be traded”

  • http://slamonline.com zoom

    Besides Shaw can anyone actually name available coaches that would be dramatically better for this team? And why should the Lakers consult Kobe about whom they’d like to hire? Correct me if I’m wrong but Kobe’s not the one signing checks in LakerLand. Superstar or not it’s pretty arrogant of him to assume he should have a say in the decisions of management.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Kobe should have a say in the higher, maybe not an effective say, but his opinion should be heard before a decision is made. Simply because Bryant holds the key to the Lakers team chemistry and ultimately winning, and even though he’s 31, will likely outlast whoever does get hired. Should his opinion make a difference? that to me is the real question. And I think Rick Adelman would have surely been a better option, especially with Pau Gasol and what Adelman can do for him offensively.

  • Benn0

    ZOOM – i guess your not white. and tbh i live in england, so kunta kinte didn’t get near my family.

  • http://Philosophervision@blogspot.com The Philosopher

    Ol’ Kobe…

  • robb

    Someone wrote today: “Jim Buss is the insecure and largely incapable son of an iconic owner”. He’s right. This man’s gonna try to show everyone he’s not the stupid guy everyone thinks he is by doing stupid things. This was the first one. He disrespected Shaw, Bryant and the fans with a single move. Bravo.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Wow at the racial comments on here. Post racial my a(ss.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Eboy

    The title of Kobe’s next documentary?: “Kobe: Getting Worked”

  • Overtime

    Get Jim Buss the hell away from this franchise

  • http://nba.com EJ

    I don’t know why people criticize Kobe for being hard on his teammates, when MJ gets praise for that. If you’re in the NBA you should be able to take criticism from your teammates and everybody. I don’t even how can you get to that level if you aren’t able to do that.

  • Eddie1

    Jimmy Buss pretty much Fredo in Godfather II.

  • http://www.tampax.com doyouwantmore

    bull22 up there thinks that we should celebrate Coach Brown’s color of his skin, not his abilities, skills, or the content of his character. Guess what? Racism is alive and well, but its not coming from where you think.

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    I like the hiring. Tired of seeing the same guys just rotating jobs. I’m pretty sure the lakers know more about being successful and who to hire than any of you all. Also, the head coach of Real Madrid is suppose to become the new assistant and will likely be in charge of the offense.

  • http://slamonline.com Kap

    We should rejoice that there is another black coach in the nba. If you don’t understand why It clearly means you are just ignorant of the history of blacks especially running top organizations. Don’t try to understand us if you are not one of us.

Newer Comments →
Advertisement