Los Angeles Lakers: Rumors, Quotes and Front Office

It wouldn’t be a normal day in Los Angeles if celebrities weren’t being followed all around town. What’s not normal is for the Lakers to be noticed more for what’s happening off the court than what’s happening on the court. In all fairness, the former is making more headlines and rightly so, especially considering the star players are the focal point.

The Lakers don’t have a day off until Friday, and play tonight against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Thursday doesn’t get easier as they look to an arena packed with screaming Oklahoma City Thunder fans, but the real challenge comes from two young superstars hungry for NBA Finals greatness.

These next two games alone would be cause for headlines, yet I and others can’t help but write about or comment on the uncertainty of the current Laker roster. Not too mention the “cold war” of words being exchanged between management and players.

After Monday night’s explosive win, NBA insider Chris Broussard, along with other media outlets confirmed that Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher led a player’s only meeting to address everything from trade rumors to issues with the coaching staff.

Apparently the new plan of attack concerning the coaching staff would be as follows:

If any there were any issues with the coaching staff, they needed to be brought to the veterans “cough” Kobe Bryant’s attention first.  The veterans would then bring it the coaching staff’s attention.

I spent all day hearing Laker fans here in LA sound off on the radio about how this was good for the Lakers. And Kobe Bryant showing support for his teammates and holding a “players only” meeting to let the other 13 guys know how this team would work was good for the locker room.

On paper this is good. Keeping the team focused on winning games is smart. In reality, the bigger issue has to be holding a team meeting so that players don’t publicly gripe about their head coach and his staff.

Another issue worth noting is the gripes in question aren’t coming from rookies, they are coming from championship vets, specifically, Andrew Bynum and Metta World Peace.

The front office wasn’t off the hook either, NBA insider Chris Broussard said in a TV interview this morning, “players are upset with management because they feel that Jim Buss is making decisions from a financial standpoint as opposed to making sure he has a championship caliber team on the court.”

It isn’t hard to see why this is the sentiment. How many other teams would trade the Sixth Man of the Year for what’s essentially a coupon worth $8.9 million?

The only thing championship-hungry players care to count are the rings on their fingers. From a player standpoint, sending an essential teammate to a rival that swept you in the playoffs the year before just doesn’t add up.

With all this turmoil and resentment being aired out, is it truly a surprise the coaching staff is having problems getting their message across to players?

Players don’t just have one gripe with “stat guy,” as Metta World Peace put it, according to Chris Broussard, player gripes are everywhere. From his long running practices, to his persistence to call every offensive set when the Lakers bring the ball down the court.

Can anyone justifiably explain why a defensive-minded coach is calling offensive plays? Especially considering his starting lineup consists of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

He isn’t coaching LeBron James, he is coaching a Los Angeles Lakers squad which has had three NBA Finals appearances in four years. This isn’t enough to allow them to call their own offensive sets?

Are there any other Laker fans who find this troubling? 

Another issue Chris Broussard mentioned was the completely different coaching styles of Mike Brown versus Phil Jackson.

The Zen Master, known for being a calm presence throughout his whole coaching career, fit the makeup of this team. Michael Jordan as a player himself said it best, “it’s easy to stay calm in big situations when you come to the sideline and PJ is cool and calm.”

The same can’t be said for Mike Brown who spends most nights trying to lose his voice as he vies for his veteran’s attention.

You’re probably thinking “so the Lakers don’t like their coach, get over it.”

It’s true they do need to get over it, because when the lights go off in the gym, what other options do Laker players have? More importantly, what options do the Laker vets have?

It’s barely the halfway point of a shortened season and the chemistry between the coaching staff and players is already in question, and definitely at a fork in the road. One path leads to a possible deep run in the playoffs, the other path leads down a road of disappointment.

NBA insider Chris Broussard also confirmed that the Laker team was “upset” to have to shootaround at 10 a.m. on Sunday, with a game scheduled for the early evening. Didn’t it show? Sunday proved disastrous and Mike Brown took notice, canceling a shootaround Monday (probably his best coaching decision all season).

If you happened to miss Monday’s performance, the Lakers offensively were at their best, at one point leading led 37-7 during a dominant first half. They unleashed their offensive aggression and punished the Blazers early on for missing baskets.

What’s more interesting is that the negative feelings don’t just reside inside the locker room, but also extended to family.

It says a lot when one of the all-time Laker greats in Magic Johnson says “I have been with the Lakers for almost 35 years and this is the saddest I have ever been at the organization.”

What was more notable were his thoughts on the approach management should have taken regarding the comments Kobe Bryant made Sunday night, “Jerry West and Dr. Buss would have been in our locker room the next day.”

If there was any confusion at all about what the roster would like at the deadline, Mitch Kupchak didn’t do much to clear it up, releasing a statement Monday letting the players know the front office holds all the cards when it comes to roster management. At this point the only thing players can do is hope their voices are heard, instead of silenced with a trade.

What’s most unsettling is if the Lakers do make trades with finances as a priority instead of Larry O'Brien Trophys. Kobe Bryant’s already small window to win a championship won’t just close, it will slam shut.