Trophies | Titles | Rings - Los Angeles Lakers 2K13 Association (REDITOR MC & NST)

[Eaglerock562]

Trophies | Titles | Rings - A Los Angeles Lakers 2K13 Association (REDITOR MC & NBA Stats Tracker Edition)

 

For the past few weeks I have been putting together an association file that will carry me through the next five months til NBA 2K14 is released, but it will also carry me through I'm hoping in the range of a 5-10 year association.  As many of you know I control all 30 NBA teams until I'm convinced that 2K has put their time and effort into correcting the CPU logic of association mode.  While I control all 30 teams (I set the player roles and rotations and adjust rotations when injuries occur) and I allow the Assistant coaches for each team to handle the Simulation Strategy and Prospect Scouting.  The rosters are set with each team beginning with their opening night roster.  All 2012-13 player movement will be implemented as well as staff movement.  Players that were injured at the beginning of the season have had their injuries assigned to them and they will be out for the exact amount of the time in the game as they were during the season.  For injuries that took place once the season started those will not be assigned so teams records and players statistics for the 2012-13 season will either be increased or decresed due the number of games played.  My goal isn't to recreate or mirror what took place in the NBA during the 2012-13 season, but rather create an alternate NBA reality and see what happens in the future to the league and to the teams.  I've always said that if you are trying to recreate or mirror what happened during the NBA regular season you are going to be very disappointed with the results unless you devote yourself to playing 1,230 games without simulating any of them and your constantly pausing to be very accurate during each game.  I purchased the REDITOR MC tool last month along with several tabs that would be needed to complete all the missing information in the game for players and teams.  I also will be using the NBA Stats Tracker, a tool made by Leftos, it is in my opinion a tool that any association mode player should download onto their computer.  The amount of information and in depth analysis that this tool provides users is far to great to put into words.  His new features for the tool over the past few weeks have made this tool a must have for anyone who does association stories.  With all that being said let me give you all a list of the coaches that put into this association file.  All generic coaches by 2K were removed and replaced with real life coaches.  I left the generic prospect scouts in the game, but replaced the generic prospect scouts that were not hired with the remaining assitant coaches from all the teams that had not been given a position yet on staff.  You will notice that several coaches are in multiple positions, that was done for a reason providing flexibility and when they are hired for one position the other positions they are not available for.  Every player that played on an NBA team in the 2012-13 season is in the roster set as well as every player that was invited to training camps in October, but was either waived or released and some top prospects from the NBA D-league have been added to the free agent pool.

 

Head coaches available for hire

• Phil Jackson
• Stan Van Gundy
• Nate McMillian
• Mike Dunleavy
• Jerry Sloan
• Mike Brown (in my association was fired following an 0-8 pre season, first in franchise history)
• Kurt Rambis
• Terry Porter (currently Timberwolves asst. coach, but previously head coach of Phoenix)
• Kaleb Canales (currently Trail Blazers asst. coach, but previously head coach of Portland)
• Paul Westphal
• Flip Saunders
• Maurice Cheeks (currently Thunders asst. coach, but previously head coach of Portland)
• P.J. Carlesimo (currently Nets asst. coach, but previously head coach of Oklahoma City)
• Jim Boylan (currently Bucks asst. coach, but previously head coach of Chicago)
• Lindsey Hunter
• Michael Curry (currently 76ers asst. coach, but previously head coach of Detroit)
• Brian Shaw (currently Pacers asst. coach, but one of the top coaching prospects)
• Dan Majerle (currently Suns asst. coach, but a head coaching prospect down the line)
• Mike Budenholtz (currently Spurs asst. coach, but one of the top coaching prospects)
• Sam Mitchell
• Elston Turner (currently Suns asst. coach, but a head coaching prospect down the line)
• Kelvin Sampson (currently Rockets asst. coach, but one of the top coaching prospects)
• Armond Hill (currently Celtics asst. coach, but one of the top coaching prospects)
• Paul Silas
• Dave Cowens
• Johnny Davis (currently Raptors asst. coach, but previously head coach of Philadelphia)
• John Kuester (currently Lakers scout, but previously head coach of Detroit)

 

Assistant coaches available for hire

• Jeff Capel
• Kim Hughes
• Steve Clifford
• Rex Kalamian
• Tom Barrise
• Tom Sterner
• John Welch
• Don Burke
• David Fizdale
• Mike Evans
• Brett Brown
• John Kuester
• Patrick Ewing
• Bill Cartwright
• Bernie Bickerstaff
• Sam Cassell
• Jim Todd
• Armond Hill
• Kenny Gattison
• Adrian Dantley
• Kaleb Canales
• Lester Conner
• Mario Elie
• Joe Wolf
• Igor Kokoskov

 

Generic NBA Scouts removed and replaced with the following coaches

• 76ers - Aaron McKie
• Bobcats - Brian Winters
• Bucks - Sidney Moncrief
• Bulls - Ron Adams
• Cavaliers - Joe Prunty
• Celtics - Tyronn Lue
• Clippers - Robert Pack
• Grizzlies - Henry Bibby
• Hawks - Tyrone Hill
• Heat - Ron Rothstein
• Hornets - Fred Vinson
• Jazz - Sidney Lowe
• Kings - Bobby Jackson
• Knicks - Darrell Walker
• Lakers - Chuck Person
• Magic - Brett Gunning
• Mavericks - Darrell Armstrong
• Nets - Doug Overton
• Nuggets - Ryan Bowen
• Pacers - Jim Boylen
• Pistons - Dee Brown
• Spurs - Ime Udoka
• Suns - Mark West
• Thunder - Mark Bryant
• Timberwolves - Jack Sikma
• Trail Blazers - David Vanderpool
• Warriors - Pete Myers
• Wizards - Don Newman

 

Assistant coaches that were moved and are now NBA scouts for hire

• Pat Sullivan
• Phil Weber
• Bill Laimbeer
• Ralph Sampson
• Roy Rogers
• Nate Tibbetts
• Jerry DeGregorio
• Don Zierden
• Popeye Jones
• Jamahl Mosley
• Jim Eyen
• Mike Sanders
• Chad Iske
• Bryan Gates
• Howard Eisley
• Bob Ociepka
• Mike Longabardi
• Anthony Goldwire

 

Ok, so hopefully after looking at this list I've peaked your interest a little so that you will follow my thread throughout the next five months.  Other then the file freezing or suffering undoable glitches then I will be running this for a while.  You can post freely as you see fit.  You won't be in any way ruining my layout by posting in between updates or in between reports.  I do spend time on putting my layouts and reports together, but I have gotten more knowledgable with html and css that I've gotten things done very quickly.  So I hope you all enjoy and follow along.

 

Trophies | Titles | Rings - NBA 2K13 Association File

Roster Set - Trifecta Roster Set version 4

Slider Set - Trifecta Slider Set (May 9, 2013 edits)

Draft Classes - Trifecta Draft Classes 2013, 2014, 2015 (no decision on future years yet)

Difficulty - All Star

Game Speed - 50

Player Speed - 30

Shooting - Real FG %

Free Throws - Real FG %

Automatic Shot Contest - Intense D

Defensive Assit Strength - 0

Season Length - 82 games

Playoff Length - 7 games

Quarter Length - 12 minutes

Simulation Quarter Length - 12 minutes

Player Roles - On

Team Chemistry - On

Player Progession - On

Total Simulation Control - Active

[Eaglerock562]

Lakers on the wrong end of franchise mark - winless preseason (0-8) costs Head coach Mike Brown his job, D'Antoni not Phil to lead Lakers

 

The day following the end of the preseason, while holding a meeting and going over game strategy with is coaches, Mike Brown was called into General Manager Mitch Kupchaks office early Friday morning, October 26, 2012.  Brown was told by Kupchak that following the franchises first winless preseason along with the team not improving and having to struggle during the preseason that a decision had been made to go in a new direction and that he was relieved of his head coaching duties effective immediatly.  Speculation ran high when the announcement was made that this was a move to bring back Phil Jackson, who had led the Lakers to five titles in the last eleven seasons and seven Finals appearances.  People very close to Jackson's camp did acknowledge that he was interested in the position and that a meeting between the two sides had been scheduled for the next day, Saturday, October 27th.  Laker fans who had made their voices heard loud and clear during the last two preseason games with chants of "We Want Phil" echoing in the arena might just very well get their wish.  Also it might just be what Kobe Bryant needs as he enters the final two years of his contract and has stated that retirement when his contract is up is more of a possiblity now then it was in the past.  Kobe desperatly wanting to capture a sixth ring that would tie him with Michael Jordan could accomplish that feat with the same man that guided Jordan to his six rings and has already coached Kobe to five.  Following the meeting it was announced that Jackson told the Lakers he was willing to return to the sidelines to a two year agreement and that he would give them his answer on the morning of Monday, October 29th.  Just before midnight, at 11:58 pm on Sunday, October 28th, the Lakers sent out a press release that they have come to terms with former Knicks and Suns coach, Mike D'Antoni to step in and become the new head coach of the team.  Shock ran through the sports and basketball world and many asked what could possibly be going on that the Lakers would make this annoucement six hours before hearing from Jackson.  It was a coaching decision that fans were not entirely happy with and it was a management decision that didn't set very well with their star player.  The following is a recap of the events that have led up to opening night, Tuesday, October 30th at STAPLES Center where the Lakers will host the Dallas Mavericks.

[Eaglerock562]

Lakers fire coach Mike Brown, search for long-term replacement underway as season begins Tuesday

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Fri, Oct. 26, 2012 1:57 PM EST

After experiencing their first win-less preseason in the history of the franchise, the Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown, early Friday morning.

 

Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will serve as interim coach until the Lakers search for a long-term replacement. In a news conference, team general manager Mitch Kupchak left open the possibility of the Lakers making a run at bringing back Phil Jackson for a third time as coach.

 

"I think you'd be negligent not to be aware that [Jackson's] out there," Kupchak said.

 

On Friday morning at the Lakers' practice facility, Brown was meeting with his coaching staff to discuss the season home opener next week against Dallas, when a Lakers employee interrupted and asked him to step out for a few minutes. Nearly 10 minutes later, Brown returned and informed his staff that he had been fired.

 

The Lakers will cease running the Princeton offense immediately, sources told Yahoo! Sports. Management was unhappy with the offense implemented this season, and Bickerstaff was told that he needed to move away from it.

 

Some elements could still be used on Tuesday night but the team plans to install more traditional pick-and-roll NBA sets moving forward.

 

Another coaching candidate prominently being discussed as a long-term possibility: Mike D'Antoni.

 

D'Antoni has been without a job since leaving the New York Knicks in 2011. D'Antoni had knee replacement surgery in the past couple weeks and is not yet on his feet. Would still need time to rehabilitate before he could go back to work.

 

Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw also could become a candidate – though that's a dicier proposition, given the acrimony that ensued between the Lakers front office and Shaw after the team chose to replace Jackson with Brown over Shaw.

 

Also, the Pacers aren't expected to be willing to let Shaw, their associate head coach, leave for a potential head coaching job with the Lakers, sources with direct knowledge of his contract told Yahoo! Sports.

 

While no discussion has been had on the issue, sources with knowledge of Shaw's contract say that it would be difficult to extract him from the Pacers during the season.

 

USA Today first reported Brown's firing.

 

In conversations on Friday, Kupchak made a case to Lakers owner Jerry Buss and executive vice president Jim Buss to give Brown more time before deciding to fire him, sources told Y! Sports. Brown also made a case to management that he could get the Lakers into championship contention, sources said.

 

''The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace we expected this team to win, and we didn't see improvement,'' Kupchak told reporters.

 

Lakers ownership made clear that buying out the remaining three years on Brown's original $18 million, four-year contract wasn't an obstacle to making a coaching change.

 

Within the organization, there was a sense that Brown has frayed his connection to the locker room with long practices and game-day shootarounds, sources said. Brown began to address that issue recently with shortened sessions.

 

The irony is that Jerry Buss' son who runs the day-to-day operations of the franchise, Jim – and not Kupchak – was the primary advocate in the hiring of Brown and the firing of him. Kupchak was partial to Rick Adelman as a replacement, sources said. Nevertheless, the Buss family lost patience with the team's sluggish start to the Princeton offense, and didn't accept the excuses of a weak bench with such a star-studded starting five of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace and Steve Nash.

[beast10]

Why did you restart?
EDIT: Or why do you keep restarting? They get interesting but then you make a new one?

[Eaglerock562]

Quote: Originally Posted by beast10

Why did you restart? EDIT: Or why do you keep restarting? They get interesting but then you make a new one?

I've encountered either my file freezing up or glitching. We just released a version 4 of our Trifecta roster set and after testing it for a few days I didn't experience any freezing or glitching so that gave me the green light to go at it again. Plus, Leftos NST tool is by far the single most greatest addition that one could have for association mode as he's built it to where users can copy and paste in depth data and analysis into their association stories. I don't like having to re-start after getting so far in my associations, it totally disrupts my goal of having continuous years built into one story so I'm hopeful that I can achieve that goal with this one.

[Eaglerock562]

Lakers hire Mike D'Antoni as next coach

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Mon, Oct 30, 2012 3:11 AM EST

Mike D'Antoni signed a four-year deal to coach the Lakers.

 

LOS ANGELES – In a surprising turnabout, the Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D'Antoni as coach late Sunday, passing on another reunion with Phil Jackson, D'Antoni's agent told Yahoo! Sports.

 

The decision came late Sunday, one day after Lakers officials met with Jackson to discuss the possibility of him becoming the franchise's coach a third time. Jackson, league sources said, was seeking greater personnel control, a relaxed travel schedule and a two-year contract that would pay him at least $10 million a season.

 

"We signed Mike D'Antoni late tonight to a multi-year contract," Lakers spokesman John Black said in a statement. "Dr. [Jerry] Buss, Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak unanimously agreed that he was the best coach for this roster, at this time. We don't know when Mike will be able to come to L.A. and begin, but Bernie Bickerstaff will continue as interim head coach until then."

 

D'Antoni, 61, signed a four-year contract with the Lakers, said his agent, Warren LeGarie. He is scheduled to undergo knee surgery and wait for his doctors' clearance as to when he can travel from New York to Los Angeles. A firm timetable for when he can begin coaching has yet to be established.

 

"I love him," Kobe Bryant said of D'Antoni via email early Monday. Bryant wouldn't comment on Jackson.

 

Bickerstaff, who has overseen the Lakers over the weekend preparing for the start of the season Tuesday, since Mike Brown was fired, could help ease the transition to D'Antoni. The Lakers schedule is home heavy the first few weeks including a six game stretch during the middle of November. They are then off until Tuesday when they host the Dallas Mavericks in the home opener.

 

D'Antoni and his representatives – like most of the NBA – fully expected Jackson to return to the Lakers and were stunned to hear from team officials Sunday night.

 

"Mike thought it was a done deal that Phil Jackson was going to be the Lakers coach again," one league source said. "No one was more surprised that it didn't happen than Mike."

 

The Los Angeles Times first reported D'Antoni's hiring.

 

D'Antoni's hiring reunites him with All-Star point guard Steve Nash, who signed with the Lakers in the offseason. D'Antoni coached Nash in Phoenix, where they won at least 50 games for four consecutive seasons and advanced to the Western Conference finals in 2005 and '06. D'Antoni left the Suns after the 2007-08 season and was quickly hired to coach the New York Knicks. He went 121-167 in three-plus seasons with the Knicks before resigning on March 14 of last season.

 

Jackson had been the initial choice of Lakers management, and the team's fans certainly made their preference known, chanting, "We want Phil!" during each of the past two games during the pre seson. Bryant also made clear that he hoped Jackson would return to again coach him. Before Sunday's practice, Nash said Jackson's return would be a "coup for the franchise."

 

Lakers officials met with Jackson on Saturday, and one source who had spoken with him thought he was leaning toward returning. With Jackson presumably debating whether to take the job, Lakers officials then spoke with D'Antoni by phone and met with former Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy.

 

Bryant, who, as a child, watched D'Antoni play in Italy, had also said in recent days he would support D'Antoni's hiring.

 

D'Antoni's hiring came two days after the Lakers fired Brown following the franchise's first ever win-less pre season and a stretch dating back to the playoffs last season, the Lakers had lost 12 of their last 13 games. While Brown's efforts to install the read-and-react Princeton offense this season were resisted by some players, D'Antoni should have no trouble implementing a system that takes full advantage of Nash's skills. D'Antoni's up-tempo, "seven-seconds-or-less" offense made the Suns one of the NBA's most entertaining – and prolific – teams.

[Eaglerock562]

Mike D'Antoni - The revoluntionary idealist

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Tue, Oct. 31 2012, 3:30 PM EST

An insight to Coach Mike D'Antoni written by Kevin Arnovitz at espn.com

 

Name: Mike D'Antoni

Birthdate: May 8, 1951

 

Is he an emotional leader or a tactician?
D'Antoni doesn't involve himself in the granular X's and O's of the game so much as he's engaged in a campaign to revolutionize basketball with his tactical principles. Few coaches of this era have influenced today's NBA to the degree D'Antoni has. His contemporaries -- even for the most accomplished ones -- deal in battlefield strategy, while D'Antoni is much more of a game theorist. His teams craft their offenses around a few simple sets designed to produce quick results, and the principles guiding those schemes like tempo and spacing are more vital then the minutiae of the plays themselves. Stick to those principles, make smart reads, and you'll be successful.

 

Many revolutions have anthems, but not D'Antoni's, which feature few rah-rah speeches or rallying cries. D'Antoni motivates his players by offering them a system that's fun.

 

Is he intense or a "go along, get along" type?
Although he's a notorious sideline kvetch, D'Antoni usually carries himself with a loose, casual air, although New York clearly tested his temperament. He projects calm around his team and will rarely rip a guy except behind closed doors, but his also intensely competitive.

 

Does he rely on systems, or does he coach ad hoc to his personnel?
Throughout his career, D'Antoni has demonstrated a fundamental devotion to his system, one that preaches attacking immediately, spreading the floor and forcing defenses to react instantly. Players who can't shoot, move the ball, make quick decisions or aren't in condition to run the floor won't see big minutes for D'Antoni, who isn't all that interested in compromising his system to accommodate these shortcomings. For instance, it's nearly impossible to imagine a D'Antoni team playing a power, inside game. It simply isn't in his nature to build an offense around posting up a traditional big. Post-ups become isolations, and isolations breed stasis, which defies the principles of what's popularly known as Seven Seconds or Less.

 

If D'Antoni wants to post a guy up, he'll do it off pick-and-roll movement, or by running a flex screen way, way off the lane. But you won't see any hulking big men with their paws in the air asking for a simple entry pass from a wing stationed on the perimeter. That simply isn't why Mike D'Antoni got into this business.

 

Does he share decision-making with star players, or is he The Decider?
His fierce belief in his system and his ego make him The Decider, unless, of course, the star player subscribes unreservedly to the system, as was the case with Steve Nash in Phoenix, but clearly not so with Carmelo Anthony in New York. D'Antoni tried to sell Anthony on the notion that the system makes the game easier then BullyBall does, that it allows a player like Anthony to be more efficient, and that it would tax his body less. Did this pitch make Anthony feel as if his coach didn't believe in his game? On a conceptual level, D'Antoni was a conventional basketball player playing for a coach who sees shattering convention as a personal mission. Even if you believe D'Antoni was right all along, is it possible he defended the ideal at the expense of problem-solving? The dynamic that materializes between D'Antoni and Kobe Bryant will inform this question a great deal once everyone settles in. Executive decision-making aside, D'Antoni needs players who can make decisions -- and fast -- because his system requires so many instantaneous reads.

 

Does he prefer the explosive scorer or the lockdown defender?
The explosive scorer, and shooters more then isolation scorers. D'Antoni has tradionally believed his team's best chances of winning occurs when its putting up 110 points. His allergy to defense is overstated, but he can't accomplish what he wants as a coach unless there's offensive versatility on the floor. In particular, bigs need to be able to shoot the ball, because that will draw opposing shot-blockers away from the basket, thereby-creating space in the middle of the floor for everyone else.

 

Does he prefer a set rotation, or is he more likely to use his personnel situationally?
D'Antoni prefers a set rotation. He believes in the guys that he believes in, and during the halcyon days in Phoenix, that often meant no more then seven players, each for heavy minutes. His teams don't overpractice and are given a fair amount of rest. So far as game situations, they rarely take precedent over doctrine. Let the other team adjust.

 

Will he trust young players in big spots, or is he more inclined to use his grizzled veterans
Despite being an outside-the-box coach, D'Antoni tends to trust his vets because they're more likely to comprehend a system and make smart decisions on the fly. Yet his most successful teams in Phoenix were populated with a bunch of young guys. The starters on 62-win 2004-05 team were 30 (Nash), 26 (Shawn Marion), 24 (Quentin Richardson), 23 (Joe Johnson) and 22 (Amar'e Stoudemire). And three of the six 30-minute-a-night players on the 61-win team in 2006-07 were 24 years old, while Marion was still only 28.

 

Are there any unique strategies that he particularly likes?
A basketball possession is best maximized early in the shot clock. It's during this narrow window when the defense is most vulnerable to attack and the offense controls space on the court. Once the defense gets set, it controls the layer of space around each offensive player, the passing lanes and the basket area. But during those first few seconds, it's squatter's rights in the half-court. If as an offensive player you can stake claim to the corner, it's yours -- and the ball will find you there before a defender can close. If you're a rolling big man, then set a drag screen early while the defense is backpedaling, then dive to the basket. The defense will either collapse, allowing the point guard to find any number of open perimeter shooters, or the ball will be delievered to you with your momentum carrying you toward the basket against a disoriented defense. By pushing the ball, a team can find mismatches, and keeping the middle of the floor open creates all sorts of vectors for drives and cuts. As D'Antoni's players move with purpose at high speed on offense, they must think about the most logical place to run. In the half court, D'Antoni's offense often generates movement by having the ball handler dribble sharply at a teammate to whom he'll either hand the ball off or use to rub off the pursuing defender to get just enough space to launch a quick-release jumper. Since the defense is stretched thin and constantly lured to the arc, the interior is open for back door cuts (see Marion, Shawn). These seem like logical precepts, but prior to D'Antoni's success in Phoenix, few NBA staffs adhered to them. D'Antoni is fiercely proud of the system he's popularized, an offense that features interchangeable parts, delights spectators and inspires players. One gets the impression that as much as D'Antoni wants to win a title, he could retire happily knowing he left a profound imprint on the game he loves.

 

What were his characteristics as a player?
Italian fans nicknamed D'Antoni "Arsene Lupin" the debonair thief of French crime fiction and cinema who worked deceptively, but as a force of good. As a pointn guard with Olimpia Milano, D'Antoni was a showman who became the team's all-time leader in points while leading the team to five Italian League Championships.

 

Which coaches did he play for?
D'Antoni's coach for 10 of his 12 seasons in Milan was American Dan Peterson, a luminary of the game in Europe who imported the tactical philosophies of Red Auerbach, John Wooden and Ray Meyer to the continent. With D'Antoni running point, Peterson eventually rolled out a run-and-gun offense that provided the inspiration for D'Antoni later in Treviso and the NBA. D'Antoni's each during theh first 20 games of his brief NBA career was none other than Bob Cousy, but D'Antoni played most of his games for Phil Johnson, a Kings fixutre during the franchise's nomadic years. D'Antoni also played briefly for Rod Thorn and Joe Mullaney on the last Spirits of St. Louis team.

 

What is his coaching pedigree?
In Milan, D'Antoni went straight from the court to the first chair. He built an illustrious career as a head coach in the Italian League, where he launched then refined his system. D'Antoni landed in Denver to coach the Nuggets during the strike-shortened 1998-99 team, which ranked sixth in the NBA in pace factor and posted a 14-36 record. In 2002, he joined Frank Johnson's impressive assistant crops in Phoenix that consisted of Tim Grgurich, Marc Iavaroni and Phil Weber. D'Antoni took over the reins in Phoenix midway through the 2003-04 season and immediately pushed the pace. After several seasons of success in Phoenix, D'Antoni became frustrated with new management and ownership and departed for New York. After nearly four seasons of drama with the Knicks between May 2008 and March 2012, D'Antoni resigned. Less then a year later, October 2012, he assumes the head coaching duties for the Lakers.

[Eaglerock562]

Chasing Six: 1 on 1 with Stephen A. Smith & Kobe Bryant

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Tue, Oct 31 2012, 6:00 PM EST

(Lakers shooting guard, Kobe Bryant recently sat down with Stephen A. Smith over the weekend discussing the Lakers winless pre-season, the sudden firing of Mike Brown, the hiring of Mike D'Antoni instead of Phil Jackson and the expectations as the season begins tonight)

 

Stephen A. Smith (SA): Well Kobe, your 17th season in the NBA is just hours away and before the games even count on the record books you've already had a interesting month. What are your thoughts as you look back at what has transpired over the last few weeks and this weekend?

 

Kobe Bryant (KB): Crazy man, crazy. If you would've told me a few months ago that we would have gone through the whole preseason without a win and that we would have a new head coach I would've looked at you and thought you must have so much hatred for this organization that you thought of the worst possible scenario for us to be in, but this is a first. It's the first time the organization didn't win a preseason game, and with the talent that we've assembled here I have to say that is very unacceptable and we as players need to own up to it.

 

SA: Just 72 hours ago Mike Brown was relieved of his coaching duties. Now some will say that he was not given a fair chance with this roster. Some say that if you go back to last season even when those new guys were not here that from the end of last season til the end of the preseason the record was a disasterous 1-13. What are your thoughts on the way the organization went about dealing with that?

 

KB: If there is one thing about this organization that separates them from everyone else, is that they do not tolerate and they don't stand for below average. The excuses are all there for someone to use like you said, the new guys weren't here last year, Dwight just recently got cleared to play and played the last two or three games of the preseason. Looking back on it, I think coach Brown was put in a tough spot from the beginning. I mean, he's replacing the greatest coach in the game, there was a lockout so he couldn't have no contact with any of the players til that was over, there was just alot of things kept coming up that we as a team and an organization weren't expecting and didn't plan for. I know that management when it comes to this type of decision they don't make it just to make it. Dr. Buss, Mitch, Jim, they don't make these sudden decisions unless they have already covered their bases and did their homework and I trust them. They made some very bold moves over the summer and they have a history of pulling off a bold move and it works out in the end and I'm confident that this to will work itself out in the end.

 

SA: Well speaking of it working out in the end. As soon as they announced they had relieved Mike Brown of his duties, the rumors started to fly and then the reports started coming in and the first person on everyone's mind including myself was Phil Jackson, your old coach, that this is exactly the situation, exactly the roster for him to make a return again, to coach this team and to coach you. You have stated that you felt like you let him down two years ago and that you want the opportunity to make it up to him and to make it be that he goes out the right way. What were first thoughts when you heard Phil's name mentioned first?

 

KB: I wasn't healthy two years ago, I was basically playing on one leg and I wanted to make sure he went out on top, it's what he deserved. He has meant so much to me in my career, and we might have had our differences when he first coached here, but when he came back the second time I learned so much from him that I really couldn't see myself playing for anyone else. When I heard his name mentioned I was kind of surprised. I know that he wouldn't have inquired about the situation if he wasn't healthy enough.

 

SA: Well at the end of the weekend when it came down to a decision, the decision wasn't the most popular one if you based it on popularity. Everyone was expecting Phil Jackson to be named the head coach, but management went a different direction and went with the second choice in many peoples eyes and hired Mike D'Antoni. What is your relationship like with Mike D'Antoni, you guys were part of Team USA together?

 

KB: Coach D'Antoni is a very knowledgable coach, he is set in his ways about scoring the ball. We got to spend sometime together over the past eight years with TEAM USA and I liked his style of offense, he was always preaching if you can rebound and get the ball ahead of the defense and get an easy basket, go for it. I think the most important thing is that we have Steve Nash, who played under coach D'Antoni in Phoenix so that will make the transition in offensive philosophy easier to digest. The hardest part about making a coaching change especially during the season or even before the season is that the practice time to get accustom to his style is so short that we have basically learn on the fly until we can get a few practices under our belt and first month of the season we don't have that much time off between games to where we can get a few good practices under out belt, so we'll have to use this first month as extended practices, but I'm not that worried about it, we have a veteran team here, guys who understand and know the game very well, it's just a matter of us all being on the same page.

 

SA: So after a winless preseason, the experts still have you guys as the team to beat in the Western Conference. You got a few tests very early in the season looking at the schedule. You have Dallas tonight, the Clippers on Friday, the Spurs in a few weeks, the Nets as well will be here, is it safe to say that if you guys don't start out like it's expected that doubt might surround this team if the record isn't reflecting the expecations?

 

KB: Well my goal, and I know our team goal is to win this whole thing. For me I want to win every game, I think that we have a serious shot here and expectations are always going to be high when you play for the Lakers and they should be. We shouldn't settle for anything less and we'll start that marathon run tonight and just hope that everyone enjoys the ride.