Magic Johnson has been candid about his distrust in Jim Buss’ ability to make decisions that will benefit the Los Angeles Lakers.
In a show of support, Kobe Bryant, perhaps the only voice that could rival Johnson’s in Los Angeles, has come out and offered a vote of confidence in Buss—even though no one is sure how far those go in the Lakers organization these days.
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has expressed his support for owner Jim Buss and his decision to hire Mike D'Antoni as coach. (AP Photo)
“[Johnson’s] opinion is valued greater than most others because of what he’s done here with this franchise. I can only speak from my perspective in my dealings with Jim. He’s been phenomenal,” Bryant said, according to The Los Angeles Times. “He’s seemingly made all the right choices. Going back in time, I’m sure he would have called me and consulted me on the Mike Brown hiring but that is what it is. Other than that, he’s been behind some pretty good moves, some pretty good trades for this organization.”
In just this past offseason, Buss was behind moves to orchestrate trades for Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. But he hired former coach Mike Brown last year without consulting Bryant and then fired him only five games into the 2012-13 season. Deciding to hire Mike D’Antoni with Phil Jackson available and reportedly interested in coaching the team is the latest move to receive a lukewarm reception.
That has been perceived as a major blunder amongst Lakers faithful. Johnson is “mourning” the Lakers and supporters are ruing the day Buss took over for his father, Jerry Buss. Bryant doesn’t believe his new coach will get a fair shake because of those reactions.
“Probably not, but that’s L.A. for you,” Bryant said. “That’s just being in a big market. He’s fine with it, he’s comfortable with it. He understands the situation.
“He’s not going to sit around and ‘poor me’ type of thing. That’s not who he is. He’s pretty sarcastic so he’ll fit in with this bunch quite well.”
Bryant won five NBA titles under Jackson, and expressed interest in having him back on the bench. Howard was another player to show a desire to play for Jackson. Still, neither has expressed disappointment at the prospect of playing for D’Antoni.
“If I’m in here pouting and upset then he’ll have a very hard time here,” Bryant said. “The fact that I’m genuinely excited about it, Steve [Nash] is, Dwight [Howard] is, Pau [Gasol] is, it makes it easy for everybody else to fall behind that.”
他有一個好點的，老闆把湖人隊
霍華德和納什的交易，並簽署!
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發表於 2012-11-17 03:29 PM
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