For a dose of reality, let's go to the playback machine. How many "great" coaches have the Lakers had in their entire history? Two certainly (Phil and Riley). Maybe three (Sharman). That's it. Most have been journeyman duds. No need to list the Hall of Shame of coaching mediocrity the Lakers have been subjected to. So, while I'm not crazy about this move, or the way it was made, I'm willing to give it a chance. Brown certainly doesn't have Phil's resume (like, who does?) or even Sharman's pedigree and smarts, but Riley certainly was a wild card who turned out great. Maybe Brown can too. So, Coach Brown, the opportunity is yours. I and all of Laker Nation will be yours if you can prove that you can make this team into a champion again. Good luck!

So what are you saying? Kobe's going to sabotage the team or do something to undermine his coach/owner? Posted by: LRob2 | May 26, 2011 at 03:11 PM LRob (Same as LRob2?...can't tell anymore with the new logins), Ummmmm...Yes. I certainly think he "could". I certainly know he is "capable" of that level of petulance (anybody remember the Bynum speech he had in the parking lot?). But "would" he? We'll see. And unlike Island Priest, I say this as someone who tremendously values Kobe and believes he has several really good years left, and who will bounce back big physically next year. In short, I'm a Kobe fan, not a Kobe hater. But I'm an objective guy, and I'm not afraid to call 'em as I see 'em. I'm smelling smoke here, and I think there very well could be fire.

Jon K, I'm totally with you on the message being sent by Jim Buss to Kobe (and everyone else too). The conversation so far on these threads have been focused on the significance of "Kobe wasn't consulted/notified," like it wasn some minor etiquette faux pas, like using the wrong fork for the salad dish. Negatori. This was a major message: "I'm in charge now, and frankly I don't care what you think about it, Kobe. Talk to the hand that signs your checks." No, I don't think it was an oversight. In past years, Kobe was unquestionably the indispensable key to the team, and so everyone, including Jerry Buss himself hovered around Kobe on just about every key decision. Well, the fact that they're not doing so this time is an unmistakable sign that that's no longer the case. I suspect that Kobe's not going to take that very well. He's a very proud guy, and he still sees himself as the top dog, not just on the Lakers, but in the league. This has some real serious drama potential. We'll see.

Here's my take on Mike Brown. Definitely not in my top three, and I don't think he's a good fit. But now that he's our coach, he's got my support, and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Let's see what kinds of moves he's going to make, first with his selection of his coaching staff, which I think will be very telling. As for trades, I'm guessing that's going to be in Jim Buss's hands a lot more than Mike Brown's or even Mitch's. In fact, this whole decision looks to me like a changing of the guard in the Buss dynasty, with Jerry turning the reins over to Jim. If so, Laker Tom should be doing backflips with joy, because that means this team is going to be rebuilt around Bynum, not Kobe. My guess is that Jim is going to go all in to prove that his bet on Bynum was a good one. And I would not be at all shocked if Jimbo let's Kobe know how it's going to be now. Good luck, coach...you're going to need it. And I'm going to be rooting for you.

CornerJ here. New login sucks, but whatever it takes I guess. First, I can't believe the Buss's choice is Mike Brown. Regardless of his credentials on defense, he had absolutely no control of either his star or his team. So his chances of controlling Kobe, Pau, Bynum, Lamar, and Ron-Ron are just a hair above zero. An unbelievably bad choice. Maybe this is the first step in "blowing this team up". If so, then I get it. Otherwise, not so much. As for the playoffs, I LOVE the way all 4 remaining teams are playing. Great heart. Great quickness and energy. Aggressive defenses. And in the West at least, legendary shooting. Nowitzki in particular has the prettiest, most unorthodox, totally unstoppable, and deadly accurate shot EVER. That shot is just...not...human. And the Mavs whole lineup is ridiclulously good from anywhere on the court. You'll never see team perimeter shooting this good again. So as well as the Heat are playing, and G Money, congrats so far, I'm going to pick the Mavs. I believe that Marion and Chandler will control the middle, and there's no way the Heat will be able go stop the outside shooting of the Mavs. Props also to Carlisle for the offensive adjustments he's been making in each series with his substitutions. He's really been exploiting matchups, and the team quickness in whipping the ball around to the open man is simply the best I've ever seen. Lastly, speaking of quickness, the foot quickness of the bigs on all four teams left really exposes the fatal flaw of our bigs. I mean Noah, Ibaka, Chandler, Bosh, you name it. These guys can really move. Pau and Bynum are like tree stumps compared to these guys. Guys, our problem is much bigger than just getting a quick PG. Our bigs simply can't move, defend, rebound, attack the basket like these guys. And in the playoffs, that's the real game.