Lakers News [UPDATE]: Derek Fisher Just The Coach To Rein In Kobe Bryant? Team To Interview Former Detroit Pistons Coach Larry Brown
Lakers news reports are swirling around Derek Fisher being confident about his ability to rein in the always stubborn Kobe Bryant. Meanwhile, the team will seek out former Sixers coach Larry Brown for an interview.
The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry tweeted Derek Fisher's reaction on possibly coaching his former teammate, Kobe Bryant: "I hadn't thought about that much. But when you're brothers, you're brothers, regardless of what capacity it's in."
"If something like that were to happen, we're brothers so we'll figure it out," Mayberry's other tweet adds.
Previous Lakers news reported, however, that the team will not ask the input of Kobe Bryant in the coaching hire, as confirmed by general manager Mitch Kupchak. However, Mitch Kupchak provided a glimpse of who they are looking at for the next coach.
"We have to make sure that whoever we hire as a coach can really get the most productivity out of him," he told Fox Sports. "Whether it's scoring the ball or playmaking or the threat that he may score. That's probably of primary importance right now."
However, NBC Sports' Pro Basketball Talk doubts the Derek Fisher-Kobe Bryant head coach-player alliance.
"Even if Kobe starts with the best of intentions, he often doesn't give his coach the benefit of the doubt for long. That wouldn't bode well for a rookie coach like Fisher - especially because he's transitioning directly from playing," the website said.
In other Lakers news, the team has reportedly considered reaching out to Larry Brown, who won his only NBA championship by coaching the 2004 Detroit Pistons, ironically against the Lakers team that features Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton.
Larry Brown also has experience managing superstar egos after guiding a volatile Allen Iverson in the 2001 NBA finals. The Philadelphia 76ers, however, lost to the two-punch attack of the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
