Mike Brown: Kobe Bryant Allows Me To Coach Him

After a long relationship with former head coach Phil Jackson, some wondered how NBA superstar Kobe Bryant would adapt to new head coach Mike Brown. According to the Los Angeles Times, the two have built a solid relationship early on.

 "I think this is a players' league and I don't care if you're Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich or whoever,” Brown told the paper. “Your best player has to allow you to coach him.

"Right now Kobe Bryant allows me to coach him," Brown says. "And I don't have any problem saying that. It makes it easier for me to coach this team."

Brown has overseen a major shift from 2011 in Los Angeles that has involved the departure of a legendary head coach, a failed blockbuster deal that would have sent two of the team’s mainstay players out of the city, another deal that sent one of those players to Dallas anyway, and the transformation of Ron Artest into Metta World Peace.

The Lakers are currently 4-3 on the year after starting the season 0-2.