As much as Kobe and Jim Buss chemistry was questioned before, you cant question it now, not only can they give each other looks and know what the other is feeling but Kobe is publicly defending Buss against the media.
Magic Johnson, a Laker executive, said via Twitter he was “mourning” the loss of Phil Jackson not becoming the head coach of the Lakers but instead of Mike D’Antoni. Kobe on the other hand, stuck by his organization and via the LA Times, Kobe defended a highly criticized Jim Buss.
“[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. “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.”
When Kobe was asked whether D’Antoni was going to get a fair chance in the City of Angels, his response is what everyone else thinks “No”:
“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.”
“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.”
And Kobe says what all of Laker Nation wants to hear:
“Hopefully we’ll start winning some games here”
As confident as Kobe is, to hear him relying on “hope” and not “Knowing” is definitely different.