San Diego Union Tribune
June 15, 2005
Return of ex-sparring partner can only help this fallen star
ED GRANEY
June 15, 2005
One interpretation of Zen goes something like this: It transcends language and communication and affects the most basic instincts and being.
In Phil Jackson's world, that again includes coaching basketball.
Which is the absolute best thing for Kobe Bryant today.
Come again?
The hoops planet will spend the next few months or so trying to discover why Jackson returned to guide the Lakers, why he would agree to help rebuild a 34-48 lottery team with little starting skill, a terrible bench and a star player whom he not-so-long-ago ripped in his book and asked management to trade before being shown the door himself.
Maybe it's for the money ($30 mil, three years). Or the girlfriend (Buss, Jeanie). Or the opportunity to make history (10 NBA titles) and snuff out Red Auerbach's cigar once and for all. Maybe we'll never know, as much mystery as why another Jackson wore pajama bottoms to court and needs an umbrella for 70 degrees and clear skies.
But somewhere hidden in all the rubbish spewed forth yesterday from Staples Center about mending fences and rebuilding trust is this reality: Jackson's return allows Bryant a tremendous opportunity to rebuild his image on and off the court, to enhance a likeness seriously flawed the last few years by a rape charge and the power struggle that led to the Lakers collapsing from champs to chumps. It's true. Jackson might be the best thing to happen to Bryant. Again.
"Kobe Bryant is damaged goods," said Dr. Richard Lustberg, a New York-based sports psychologist. "In many ways, he'll never be viewed the same. (Losing) has led to his power being diminished within the organization. He is no longer a pristine figure. Kobe doesn't have the respect of that team. They tolerate him, but he's not well loved in the locker room. When Phil left, he did so with a very bad taste in his mouth. But now he no longer has to worry about the downside or risk of dealing with Darth Kobe."
Few things create change in great competitors like losing. Bryant isn't stupid. He can read the standings and now knows how it feels to experience sport's foremost catastrophe, which is to finish behind the Clippers. He can't do it by himself, certainly not with the team's current roster (you still need a point guard and inside presence to win, right?) and unquestionably not without a coach of Jackson's standing and structure.
Some things will be different this time. The triangle offense will be run exclusively through Bryant, his tug-of-war with Shaquille O'Neal for stats and stature no longer an issue. But can Lamar Odom be to Bryant what Scottie Pippen was to Michael Jordan? And can Bryant ever become a selfless player on a full-time basis rather than a part-time one?
"The way the whole thing went down last time – Shaq and Phil leaving L.A. and the Lakers then losing – didn't look good for Kobe in the end," said Jud Buechler, the Del Mar resident who was part of three NBA championship teams under Jackson in Chicago. "He has always been a phenomenal player, but I do think if he is able to (co-exist) better now with Phil, it would help his career.
"One common denominator between Phil and Kobe is they both want to win. So no matter what has been said or written about him in the past, or how things were left, that should become the most important thing. Phil did not come back to be mediocre, and I'm sure Kobe has never thought about anything in those terms."
The Lakers can make the playoffs next season. Jackson is that good and if you don't believe it, count up how many rings Jordan and Pippen and Bryant and O'Neal won before he coached them. But it's a team with major salary cap problems, and any dreams of landing either Yao Ming or Amare Stoudamire following next season appear just that for now. Winning a playoff series has become an entirely different matter.
It was during the All-Star break that Bryant said he and Jackson didn't have to like each other and be dinner buddies to win games, that he actually thought it beneficial for some kind of push-pull relationship between a player and his coach. He has that again. And for a player who is now the best on a bad team and whose popularity has quickly been surpassed by such young faces as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, it might be smart to fall in line.
"I think you will see a different Kobe Bryant next season," said Dr. Cristina Versari, the San Diego resident who has worked with all 30 NBA teams and was in charge of the league's education and career development programs for years. "I think he has learned a valuable lesson that only (losing) can teach. I think he will be more of a team player than ever under Jackson now."
It won't guarantee another championship.
But it sure could restore that image a bit.
Ed Graney: (619) 293-2203; ed.graney@uniontrib.com
