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COPYRIGHT 2005 Sporting News Publishing Co.
The floor of the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu is littered with all the trappings of training camp--errant balls, discarded headbands, rolls of tape, unidentifiable long-shot roster hopefuls (Von Wafer? Adam Parada?). Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, casually clad, Hawaiian-style, lounges in the stands. Hall of Famer James Worthy chats with Kobe Bryant while another Hall of Famer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plays mock defense on new power forward Kwame Brown. Players, drenched in their first official NBA sweat of the 2005-06 season, stretch, catch their breath and work on free throws.
"Not much different than any other training camp so far," says guard Aaron McKie. "We worked on defense a lot; that was the emphasis. I think that is going to be the key for us. But no drama, nothing like that."
As much as playing defense, as much as winning games and earning a playoff spot, limiting the drama seems to be a priority for this version of the Lakers. No theatrics, no juicy tabloid stories, no Jim Gray interviews--just basketball. That's a difficult proposition, of course, considering the rumor-hungry nature of the Lakers' market and the team's built-in soap opera. That would be the relationship between Bryant, the brooding superstar, and anointed genius coach Phil Jackson, a relationship that will be analyzed as much as any pairing in Hollywood.
The two have, at various times, avowed a sincere dislike for each other. Two years ago, Bryant said that despite his respect for Jackson as a coach, he did not like Jackson as a person. Jackson, after the Lakers refused to re-up his contract in 2004, put out a book detailing his "final" Lakers season, one in which he revealed much (too much, many felt) about his testy relationship with Bryant. That includes Jackson's midseason rant to Kupchak, in which he said he could not coach Bryant. Jackson, it seemed, had willingly burned his bridge, both to Bryant and to Los Angeles.
But there was Jackson two weeks ago, cracking a wide smile when the first question from the media came after the team's first practice. "So," Jackson was asked, "is Kobe Bryant coachable?"
"I don't know; I didn't talk to him," Jackson said. That will be the approach the Lakers take when it comes to the Bryant-Jackson relationship--they're not going to talk about it. Jackson says he approached Bryant and told him he will not disclose any details about their relationship, no matter how many times he is asked. Bryant says he never read Jackson's book in the first place and is looking only to the future. "I just want to move on," Bryant says. "There's been a lot said about our relationship by outside parties, as well as ourselves. But, ultimately, there is an inner respect there." Former Laker Derek Fisher, now with the Warriors, thinks the relationship between Jackson and Bryant can be repaired--especially with Bryant's nemesis, former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal, out of the equation. "There was a lot more going on than just Phil and Kobe," Fisher says. "There were too many personal rivalries, things like that, that were hard for Phil or any coach to deal with. Kobe was just a small part of that. I am sure they'll put all that behind them.
"Kobe knows he needs Phil; he saw that last year....
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