As part of Charley Rosen's ongoing story with Phil Jackson, the former Lakers coach talked about Kobe Bryant. What prompted it was that Bryant said in a GQ interview he disliked Jackson despite winning five rings with him as the coach. Jackson's response is classic Zen Master.
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"Ah, my good friend Kobe Bryant. ... Yes, quite often I could feel his hatred. I'm sure Kobe was pissed when I wrote in "The Last Season" that he was uncoachable. And, yes, we were often at loggerheads. He wanted more freedom and I wanted him to be more disciplined. This is a normal source of friction thing between coaches and players on just about every level of competition. But when I came back for my second stint with the Lakers, Kobe and I worked it all out. I gave him more of a license to do his thing, as long as it stayed within the overall context of the triangle. And we did win two more championships. Anyway, I've always seen Kobe as a truly great player, an intelligent guy and a remarkable person."
It would have been really fun to see Kobe give in to his anger to become stronger. We all know what happens when you give in to your anger though, and it's not good. There were definitely times in the early 2000's when they got their three-peat championships that Bryant really didn't like how Jackson was running the team and now we have total confirmation.
