Bryant Has Trust in Management

If the Lakers and Phil Jackson end up reuniting, all eyes will fall on the relationship between Jackson and Kobe Bryant.

Jackson wrote in his tell-all diary of last season there was a “psychological war” going on between him and Bryant. Jackson also wrote that he angrily told General Manager Mitch Kupchak to trade Bryant in January 2004 because he felt the Laker All-Star was uncoachable.

Bryant said Friday he was open-minded as the Laker coaching search begins to get underway.

“Whether it’s Larry Brown or Phil Jackson or whoever ... I don’t care,” he said. “I trust [management’s] track record. They’ve proven themselves for so many years of being able to go out and get great people, get great coaching.”

Bryant and Jackson have not spoken yet, and Bryant didn’t offer any predictions on how that first conversation would go.

“Being clairvoyant was a gene that I did not receive,” he said jokingly.

Bryant, who had his exit meeting Friday with Coach Frank Hamblen and Kupchak, spoke of how a 34-48 record can cut to the bone.

“I’m hurt because Laker fans are not going to be able to enjoy us being in the playoffs,” he said. “They don’t have the high expectations of us winning the championship. I don’t like feeling that way. I want them to put on that Laker jersey and run around and support the Lakers and have that pride in knowing that we’re a championship team.”

During Bryant’s exit meeting, Hamblen discussed the need for Bryant to set a stronger tone defensively after the Lakers gave up 101.7 points, fourth-worst in the league.

Bryant’s leadership was also brought up.

“He has his own ideas of how he wants to lead and I think they’re good,” Hamblen said. “He does challenge our guys at times, but he also brings them back.

“Not everybody may know that he does indeed bring them back. It may be a call on his cellphone to one of his teammate’s rooms -- ‘You doing all right?’ -- that type of thing. He’s going to challenge guys and that’s good.”

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The Lakers will select 10th overall in the June draft after losing a tiebreaker with the Golden State Warriors, the league announced after a series of random draws was conducted to break ties in the final regular-season standings.

The Lakers face long odds at getting the first overall pick at the May 24 lottery. They will have 14 chances out of 1,000 at getting the No. 1 selection.

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Bryant was asked whether Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal or Phoenix Sun guard Steve Nash should be league most valuable player.

“Don’t know, don’t care, don’t matter,” he said. “We ain’t in the playoffs, man. We’ve got other stuff to think about. You could make a case for Shaq every year. You make a case for Steve Nash and what he’s done for Phoenix.”