Over the past few months, Kobe Bryant has stayed out of the public eye in terms of talking to the media or making appearances in which he’d field questions.
On Thursday, Kobe stepped back into the spotlight on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The five-time NBA champion talked about a variety of different topics from his health, Michael Jordan, the current state of the Los Angeles Lakers and former head coach Mike D’Antoni.
— Want Nick Young To Remain In A Lakers Uniform? Join Our #STAYSWAG Campaign! —
With rumors floating around that Kobe wanted D’Antoni gone, Kimmel asking about Kobe’s thoughts on D’Antoni’s resignation was a hot topic of discussion. Kobe responded to Kimmel’s question by saying the following via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Honestly I didn’t care,” Bryant said Thursday during a guest appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” when asked by Kimmel if he was “happy” that D’Antoni accepted a buyout of close to $2 million for next season rather than come back to coach the team.
“Mike was dealt a really bad hand in dealing with all the injuries that he had here,” Bryant said. “This is a tough place, man. If you’re not winning, you’re not going to survive, man.”
Although it sounds harsh, it was a typical response from the future Hall of Famer. Kobe did give D’Antoni the benefit of the doubt in terms of having to deal with a ridiculous amount of injuries.
Along with chiming in on D’Antoni, Kobe also expressed interest in wanting to give input in the next head coach after having no say in Mike Brown and D’Antoni being hired.
With Kobe under contract for two more seasons, the perennial All-Star wants to finish his career with another shot at a sixth ring with the right coach in place. There may be quite a few viable candidates out there on the open market, but it remains to be seen if the one chosen to be hired by the Lakers can get this storied franchise back on track.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Nick Swaggy P Young Lakers Highlights, #StaySwag Billboard Campaign
