“I feel all of the players believe in coach B-Shaw,” Bryant said. “We have such a rapport with him. He’s been with us for such a long time. We all have a bit of a bias towards him.”
“I don’t want to get in the way of management. But we’ve all kind of had our eye on him for a while.”
Kobe has a good relationship with Shaw, as they were both teammates on the Lakers during their first three-peat from 2000 to 2002. Shaw retired in 2003, serving as a scout for the team before joining Jackson’s staff during the 2004-05 season.
Now that the "Zen Master" has finally walked away from the game, the Lakers have reportedly hired former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.
Stemming from the Gregg Popovich tree, Brown has already received an endorsement from a perennial All-Star, but it has not come from Bryant.
Instead, it has come from LeBron James, who played under Brown during his first seven years in the league.
“Mike Brown is a great coach,” James said following the Miami Heat’s practice on Wednesday. “He gave us success that we hadn’t had before in that city. It just started with his defensive concepts. He brought in a defensive mindset that we didn’t have…We were competitive year after year because of him and his coaching staff.
“I respect him and I’m grateful to have him as a coach throughout the years that I had him. He definitely helped me to become who I am today.”
However, while he holds Brown in high regard, he did not necessarily see his former coach on the Lakers' radar. In fact, he was surprised upon hearing that Brown was headed to the bright lights of L.A.,...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
