Kobe Wants Mike Brown to be Tough on Him

So far, it seems Kobe’s advice of treating him as an equal has worked for Mike Brown and the Lakers, who sit atop the Pacific Division standings. Via The Viper of the NY Post: “In Kobe Bryant’s initial meeting with Mike Brown, he cautioned the Lakers’ newly hired coach ‘not to pull back,’ to coach him ‘like everyone else; otherwise the players will turn on you,’ Bryant told me during dinner in Los Angeles just before Christmas. Bryant said he’d heard Brown didn’t yell at LeBron James and acknowledged Phil Jackson didn’t yell at him. ‘Phil coached everyone different because he’s Phil. His rings gave him license to do that. Pat (Riley) and Pop (Gregg Popovich) also have earned that right; nobody else,’ Bryant said of his former coach.”