What Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher's Players-Only Meeting Means for Lakers

If the veteran Los Angeles Lakers really need a players-only meeting to spark the team, they are a franchise in a lot of trouble. 

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher called a meeting moments after the team beat the Portland Trail Blazers. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the veteran leaders wanted to be sure their teammates knew what mattered:

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Their message was clear: Trade rumors don't matter; your feelings about management or the coaching staff don't matter; all that matters is that the 14 guys in that locker room support and believe in one another. If they stay together and stay on the same page, they can get to where they want to go as a team.

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The Lakers really don't know that at this point?

I know that things like trade rumors and coaching changes aren't easy to deal with, but they shouldn't require a team meeting. The only player on Los Angeles that averages more than 20 minutes a game who is not yet 30 years old is Andrew Bynum, who is certainly not inexperienced.

These kinds of things aren't that rare in basketball, or any sport. Actually, they're extremely common, and players who have been around for more than a few years need to know that they happen. If the Lakers need two of their more experienced players to tell them that the men in the locker room are all that matter then they need a big change. That is something that any veteran should know, no questions asked.

The complaints cited by Broussard about the coaching changes are laughable:

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Some of the Lakers are having trouble adjusting to Mike Brown's coaching style, which is a sharp contrast to Phil Jackson's. Some players are upset about what they perceive to be an ever-changing rotation and the up-and-down distribution of minutes, sources said. Others aren't liking the long practices and shootarounds, while still others have bristled at Brown's heavy-handed approach, as opposed to Jackson's more laid-back style.

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If I have learned one thing in all my years as a sports fan, it's that getting attached to a coach is about the dumbest thing you can possibly do—the reason being that coaching changes happen all the time. Phil Jackson's long-term reign in Los Angeles was the exception, not the norm.

As a player, you have to get used to the fact that coaches have different styles and you don't want to get comfortable with one style. The reason is that in most cases, a team is one losing streak away from changing coaches. A simple bad season at least guarantees a hot seat for a coach.

The players need to know this and understand that a new coach is going to be different. At this point of the season, a new coaching style is not a valid excuse or gripe.

Time will tell if Brown's coaching style works in Los Angeles. We will also see how valid the trade talks Broussard mentioned are, but what happens doesn't matter here.

All that matters is that two leaders saw a team that wasn't handling basic changes well. Given this team's age and experience, that is unacceptable. If you're a Lakers fan, don't read about this and think it's anything but a bad thing. You will be sadly mistaken.

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