Bryant Supports Bynum after Benching?
That’s why (Kobe) Bryant smiled a little when I told him about (Andrew) Bynum’s rebellious postgame comment about getting (Mike) Brown’s message not to take 3-pointers and in the next breath saying boldly: “But I’m going to take some more.”
“It’s somewhat amusing to me, because in some ways the edginess and the chippiness of him make it easy for me to relate to him – because I had some of that when I was young,” Bryant, 33, said about Bynum, 24. “So, it’s easy for me to see where he’s coming from.
“I understand where he’s coming from. And the first thing you want to do if you want to get the best out of somebody or the best out of your players is you have to understand what they’re feeling; you have to understand where they’re coming from and what they want to accomplish. That’s why it’s not that big a deal to me. You don’t see me sitting here trippin’ or sweatin’ or anything like that. I’ve been there.”
Bryant and Bynum have grown closer this season, particularly through traveling together via private jet to and from the All-Star Game in Orlando. Bryant hinted that Brown overreacted by immediately walking down the bench and pointing at Josh McRoberts to replace Bynum – then benching Bynum again early in the fourth quarter when he kept dominating the offense to little avail.
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