Kobe Bryant and Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak have been taking shots at each other recently. Or offering their differing opinions publicly on how they each think their Los Angeles Lakers should be managed moving forward.
Kobe opened with an F-bomb laced monologue earlier this week, which basically said that the Lakers needed to trade Pau Gasol or tell him that he’s staying. After the CP3 fiasco, the fall-out that resulted in Lamar Odom being dealt, and the turmoil that all those goings on undoubtedly created in Lakerland, it’s hard to argue that Kobe is wrong there either from the stand-point of trying to go out and win a game each night. Pau’s been settling down lately, but the uneasiness in his game was certainly apparent early on.
In response, GM Mitch Kupchak was quoted as saying that the Lakers are keeping their options open. And in response to all that, Magic Johnson, who recently sold his ownership stake in the Lakers to pursue buying the Los Angeles Dodgers amongst other things, said that it’s time his two friends sit down and talk. Maybe a nice lunch together or something, without all those media microphones.
This from an ESPN LA report updated earlier this afternoon:
Johnson thinks Kobe is missing the point concerning the GM, that he needs to speak to Jim Buss, who is the Lakers’ vice president of player personnel and also the son of Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss.
“We have to remember now, it’s not Mitch’s situation anymore,” Johnson told reporters on a conference call Tuesday promoting his upcoming ESPN film, “The Announcement,” on Wednesday.
“[Kupchak is] not running the team,” Johnson said. “Jim Buss is running the team. So, Mitch has to follow the direction of Jim Buss and what he wants. I wouldn’t say Mitch is the problem or anything. He’s going to do his job.
“… I think what Kobe really probably wants is just be informed. As a leader, as a future Hall of Famer, as a guy who has brought five championships to the Lakers and the fans of Los Angeles, he just wants to probably have more communication, probably like he did when Phil Jackson was there and he worked well with Mitch. I don’t think that Kobe feels he’s got that type of relationship or the communication has been there with Jim.
“So, I think what has to probably happen is sit Kobe down [and] Jim, sit him down [too] and say, ‘Hey, Dr. Buss was the master at taking you to lunch or taking you to dinner and really going over what he thought about, or what he was thinking and what he wanted to do with the team and Jerry West was great at that as well.’ Kobe, Mitch and Jim just got to get on the same page and it will be OK.”
When Bryant was informed at shootaround about Johnson’s suggestion for a sitdown between him and Jim Buss he offered only a one-word response — “perhaps.”
Perhaps is about as good a response from Kobe that Magic could’ve hoped for. While it seems Magic may be over-stepping his bounds some, weighing in as simply a legendary player and no longer an actual owner, it’s good to see that Johnson still cares I guess. I’m not sure how Mitch feels about him saying that Kupchak no longer runs the show in LA, but from what we can tell that is at least an accurate depiction at this point. So maybe they should sit down. Maybe they will, and maybe it’ll make the Lakers better in the long-run.
Amidst all that, Kobe and his Lakers snuck out a good win last night in Dallas. After missing a million free throws down the stretch, LA improved to 20-13 overall with a 96-91 road-win anyways over the defending champs. Kobe finished 4 of 15 for 15 points, and Pau led the way with 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. So maybe he appreciated Kobe speaking up for him. We’ll see what happens when things get back underway next week, especially as the trade deadline rapidly approaches.
