Fisher: Kobe Wants Winners, Not Just All-Stars

HONOLULU - From afar, before he returned to the Lakers this summer, Derek Fisher felt the pain of both Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson.
Fisher understood their frustration when both lashed out and questioned the organization's commitment to making the team better, calling for significant improvements.
But to Fisher, Bryant's rant was never solely about bringing in top talent. To Fisher, Bryant's rant had a deeper meaning.
"I never thought it was 'I've got to get Kevin Garnett' or 'I've got to get Jason Kidd' or 'I've got to get Jermaine O'Neal,' " said Fisher, who has played eight years with Bryant and won three championships with him.
"I just felt he said, and still is saying, 'I need some winners. I want some winners.' "
The Lakers made unsuccessful bids to get Garnett and O'Neal and didn't pull the trigger on the Kidd trade last season. They re-signed Chris Mihm and Luke Walton and brought back Fisher.
To Fisher, who has become a confidante to Bryant, the superstar hasn't given up on his teammates. He just wanted some more "warriors."
"I hear him saying, 'Give me guys that I like, that I see that put their shoes on every night to win,' " Fisher said.
"My name isn't Jason Kidd. But I guarantee you that Kobe is going to appreciate what he gets from me on a night-in and night-out basis, compared to what he's had at that position."
Kobe as Facilitator
Jackson has placed Bryant in a new role this season, the role of facilitator in the offense.
It means Bryant starts the offense before he takes over and shoots, and it has been a slow process, Jackson said.
"We talked a little bit about what I'd like to see that's not apparent yet," Jackson said, referring to the practice sessions. "It's a new role and so it'll take some kind of guidance, I think, for him to see that."
Mihm Back in Action
On March 12, 2006, Chris Mihm went down with a sprained right ankle. He played in one more game after that, wound up having two surgeries on the ankle and missed all of last season recovering.
Mihm was back in the starting lineup Tuesday night in the Lakers' exhibition opener against Golden State.
"I'm just excited to put the jersey on again," Mihm said. "It's been a while."
Luke Walton, who has a sore right hamstring, didn't suit up, and neither did Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, both of whom are recovering from surgery.
Curfew Not a Zen Concept
When told that first-year Kings coach Reggie Theus said he was going to impose a midnight curfew when his team is on the road, Jackson smiled.
"Wow!" Jackson said. "Good luck, Reggie."
It would seem to be a hard thing to enforce, Jackson was told.
"Stand in hallways," Jackson said, laughing. "Make a fool out of yourself."
When Fisher played last season for Utah, Coach Jerry Sloan imposed a midnight curfew on the road.
He said when they stayed in a team hotel, there was security on both ends of the hallway ready to inform Sloan of any violators.
"I got checked one time for coming in at 12:15 a.m." Fisher said. "It was in our (team) handbook, but I hadn't read it yet."

By Broderick Turner
The Press-Enterprise