L.A. Lakers: NBA Title Hopes Rest on Kobe Bryant-Mike Brown Relations
The "Will he or won't he?" questions have followed L.A. Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant everywhere he has gone this summer.
Will he play in Turkey?
Will he play in China?
Will he play in the Drew League?
As scintillating as offseason plans are for the basketball legend, the most important questions that need answers are those that deal with the upcoming NBA season and the impact of the Lakers' coaching regime change, particularly the following:
Will Kobe play nice with Mike Brown?
Our first shot at an answer came an entire 36 days after the actual hiring of the new Lakers head coach. Kobe used a variety of LaDanian Tomlinson spin moves and jukes to avoid registering an official comment on the coaching decision, but finally opened up in an ESPN SportsCenter Sunday interview on July 31.
We realize Kobe's public silence was a protest against Lakers management's incommunicado handling of the decision, not the actual decision itself.
In fact, Kobe and Brown had actually been in constant communication once the new coach arrived in Los Angeles, with Kobe admitting:
""We’ve talked. We’ve met, we’ve talked several times, met several times. We have been in dialogue there has been an open dialogue."
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The details of those conversations are sparse, but Brown has indicated it's been mostly "basketball talk."
Mike Brown—a self-proclaimed basketball nerd and basketball junkie.
Kobe Bryant—ranked the smartest player in the NBA and best student of the game.
When it comes to chalk talk, these gentlemen are two of the finest. They are sure to discuss X's, O's and everything in between.
But will an appreciation for basketball academics translate to mutual respect?
Will the Lakers as a team buy into the defensive schemes and offensive game plans concocted in the basketball laboratory by Mike Brown and his new coaching staff?
Only Kobe has the answer, and only Kobe can determine where to steer his ship.
If Kobe wants all hands on deck, his team will oblige. If Kobe wants to stage a mutiny, his team is at the ready.
It all boils down to Kobe's personal belief in these schemes and whether he awards Mike Brown the respect needed to instill team confidence in the system moving forward.
The lynch pin for success lies in the Bryant-Brown accord.
Early indicators say there's a strong chance of the Mamba's buy-in. Of his new coach, Kobe publicly said:
""He just seems like the type of coach that buttons everything up, so I think as players we’ll all be happy."
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Privately? You can never be sure. In most new relationships entering the formative stage, everything can turn on a dime.
Unfortunately, team coaching staffs are restricted from contacting players and owners during this lockout.
So while Brown works hard in the Lakers' El Segundo lab on new defensive schemes for his team, and while Kobe ponders bridge employment between this summer and the start of a new season, the two are prevented by a labor divide from building their new relationship.
Quite an inauspicious start to the most important cog in the Lakers' success moving forward.
But with enough time apart to reflect on their new beginnings, rest assured that Kobe and Brown will be ready to start this new relationship the first chance they get.
