But (Kobe) Bryant noted that he has publicly and loudly supported Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak even before he made the trade for (Steve) Nash.

“I believed it because we’ve done it,” Bryant said. “We’ve done it over and over and over. You think about the three-peat run we’ve had with myself and Shaq. How quickly we rebuilt that. It took a couple years, but all of a sudden we’re back in the NBA Finals. It takes a lot of patience and smart decision making on management’s part.

“There’s certain franchises that always seem to figure things out and we’re one of them.”

Asked if Nash was enough to put the Lakers over the top again, or if the Lakers needed to add another piece, Bryant shrugged and said: “I don’t know if they’re done. I don’t think they’re done.

“They’ve obviously had a track record of things that have proven to be beyond what other teams in the league can do. The moves that they make, they just seem to come out of nowhere. Steve Nash, that just kind of came out of nowhere. Pau Gasol, that just came out of nowhere. That’s just kind of been our M.O.”

via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles