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Pressed, poked, and prodded six ways to Sunday on the issue following Wednesday's win over the Clippers, Mike Brown delivered the most articulate expression of his vision for Pau Gasol we've heard this season.

"I personally don't think Pau is an every possession block guy. Not because he can't do it, but just because he's so skilled. If you keep putting him on the block time after time after time, I think defensively they're going to get a rhythm. They'll put a smaller guy on him, they'll get into his lower back, and they'll push him out further and further and further. So what you have to do is keep them guessing, and you keep them guessing by isoing him at the elbow sometimes. Bringing him up for a jumpshot at the elbow sometimes. Playing him in the pick and roll so he can pick and pop for a shot, or make the pass to [Andrew Bynum] ducking in on the backside. Then you put him on the post. So I think he's so versatile, that's why you move him around more than anything else. Andrew, he's a guy you put on the block all the time. They're two different types of players. Pau, as time goes on, will understand that because he'll see the benefits of being moved around because guys can't lock in and just try to beat him up all night on the post, play after play after play."

Brown is correct. Gasol really is too versatile to keep in one spot, particularly on a team no longer sporting Lamar Odom, but still featuring Bynum. Pau has always moved around the floor and performed a wide variety of functions. It's a perfectly solid strategy, one used well last night in his totally dominant 17 point first half. Gasol was effective attacking the glass, in the post, at the elbow, and high on the floor putting the ball on the deck and driving. His role, whether as scorer or facilitator, was large.

Gasol was correct. Beyond the ubiquitous questions of offensive balance and commitment to inside-out play surrounding the Lakers for the last few seasons, too often during the first 19 games Gasol has been marginalized, whether to make room for Bynum in the post or for Kobe Bryant in any number of locations near the paint. He is too good and too accomplished as a passer and scorer to be made an afterthought. Not enough action has been directed Gasol's way specifically for him, particularly given the work he's done defensively in Brown's scheme.

Against the Clippers that changed, as assistant coach John Kuester repeatedly called Gasol's number, particularly early.

As ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin notes, Kobe "called BS" on Gasol's complaints after the game, brushing aside questions of coaching adjustments and putting the onus directly on Pau himself. "I think the difference tonight was him," Bryant said. "His energy ... the mentality that he played with yielded some good things for us, which in turn I rewarded him and we rewarded him by getting him the ball more."

Aggressiveness brings touches, he said, and scoring opportunities. "You got to go," he said. "You got to go. And tonight he went."

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Sunday, Derek Fisher played his 501st consecutive game and 683rd over the course of his 15 year career. The majority of those have come as the lead guard in the triangle offense.

This year, for the first time since a three-year stint through Golden State and Utah between '04-'07, Fisher is being asked to run a traditional offense in which the point guard isn't another, interchangeable part but instead is, well, a point guard.

Like everyone else in a Lakers jersey, he's working through a learning curve. "There are a lot of things we're doing on the floor right now, we're making calls. We're dictating what's going to happen when a play starts, and we haven't yet developed the ability to react properly when a defensive player denies or takes something away. We start to look really choppy," Fisher said Saturday. "So for me, it's finding ways as we grow, to still control the tempo of a game, to make sure that we're executing properly, even when we really don't know what we're doing."

"There's a lot more pressure on that point guard to really get people to the right spots, to make sure we're moving where we're supposed to move, and really attacking that clock early, and not walking the ball up the floor."

Given how long he played in Phil Jackson's system and the way his skill set had come to be defined by it creates a perception Fisher is a triangle point guard who must now adjust his game to play a more traditional role. In fact, Fisher says it's the other way around. "I'm a point guard by nature. That's what I grew up playing, and I adjusted to become the best player I could be in the triangle. I've always preferred to have five or six assists as opposed to one or two. This system will allow me to facilitate more plays," he said.

Fisher is unequivocal in his enjoyment of the system change ("I love it."), and believes nobody should be surprised.

"A lot of people back in '04 when I left and went to Golden State really only focused on the contract as far as why I left. But it was really the desire to be outside of the triangle and try some new things," he said. "A new challenge of really being a point guard, and handling the basketball and deciding who is going to get the ball where. That's exciting. To make a play for somebody else is as exciting to me as hitting a shot myself. That's how I came into this league. I had never run the triangle before I came into the NBA."

For what it's worth, two of Fisher's three highest efficiency seasons came with the Warriors, playing that more traditional role. The Lakers have to hope something similar happens this year, despite the passage of time. With long odds for a sizable upgrade from outside the organization, the question of how well Fisher (and Steve Blake) perform is key to L.A.'s title hopes. Last season, the Lakers had the least productive point guard tandem in the league. ESPN.com's John Hollinger has argued it was quite possibly the worst tandem at any position on any team in the NBA. Some of that was the triangle's natural limitations on point guard production, particularly when surrounded by Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom.

Most of it wasn't.

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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After two weeks of anger and confusion following the collapse of the Chris Paul trade and the inexplicable dumping of Lamar Odom, a night of civic embarrassment at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers and a day to let the first wisps of public criticism from his new coach sink in, Kobe Bryant coolly emerged from the Lakers' training room Tuesday afternoon with a message.

If there is a solution to what is ailing the Los Angeles Lakers, as far as Bryant is concerned, new coach Mike Brown will be part of it.

For months we waited and wondered whether Bryant would finally give his seal of approval to Brown, who was hired by Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, executive vice president Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak without any conversation or consultation with the franchise's best player.

Bryant had been left out of the loop, and while he's never publicly said he was miffed at that decision-making process, his silence spoke volumes.

In the first few days of training camp, Bryant paid Brown some light compliments. Then Tuesday, without much prompting, he went all the way and tried to make an ally for however long they are both charged with righting the Lakers ship.

"What I've heard about him [before this season] was he was a pushover, he doesn't say what he's thinking and all this other sorts of stuff," Bryant said. "I haven't seen that at all. He's been the complete opposite. He's been detail oriented, he's been up front and open and honest. He praises guys when they do well, he jumps on them when they're messing up right away."

It was an interesting statement to make on the day after Brown had criticized Bryant's defense in the Lakers' blowout loss to the Clippers in an exhibition game Monday night.

A way of symbolically blessing the Brown hire, and letting his teammates know they needed to buy into the new systems and culture Brown and his staff have been preaching since camp opened almost two weeks ago.

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Here are your 10 additional things to take away from the Lakers' 114-95 preseason loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday ...


There wasn't much for Mike Brown to smile about after the Lakers trailed by as many as 27 en route to a 19-point rout.

But, after opening his postgame remarks by admitting it was an "ugly game from us," Brown couldn't help but break out a grin and chuckle a little bit when talking about how rookie point guard Darius Morris played.

"The rook came in and he was either feast or famine, which was OK," said Brown. "It was his first taste of NBA experience."

That first taste was more than just a nibble because starting point guard Derek Fisher sat out Monday as a preventative measure as he continues to work himself back into playing shape. And so Morris played just 34 seconds less than Steve Blake on Monday and was the lone true bright spot for the Lakers, finishing with 11 points, three assists and three rebounds in 24 minutes.

"Coming out that tunnel, it was just an honor," the L.A. native and Winward School graduate said of wearing his No. 1 Lakers jersey for the first time.

Morris made an immediate impact when he checked into the game as Brown's first substitute midway through the first quarter.

After Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum combined for three straight turnovers, Morris found the ball in his hands as the shot clock was winding down on the possession. Rather than playing hot potato with the ball and dumping it off to a teammate, Morris rose up and connected on a 22-footer before the 24 seconds had eclipsed.

"I think that was like the ice breaker for me," Morris said. "For that one to go in was a huge boost for my confidence."

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As I was walking from the media room to the court to watch guys shoot around before tonight's game, I saw Mike Brown come into the building carrying a suit over one arm, and an ironing board, still wrapped in plastic, under the other.

An ironing board?

"I like to iron my shirts before the game," he said.

Fair enough. I once ran into Eric Clapton at a laundromat. Turns out he finds it relaxing to do his own laundry while on the road. Everyone has his habits, and you have to respect guys who don't require a valet for daily tasks. Even better, Brown picked up his ironing board himself at Target on the way to the arena.

Call it a hunch, but I doubt Phil Jackson spent much time roaming the aisles of his neighborhood Tar-zhay.

You have to hand it to Phil Jackson for his impeccable sense of timing.

Back in 1998, as soon as he walked away from basketball for the first time because he knew the Chicago Bulls were going to be dismantled from their championship form, the league entered into a lockout that cut the 1998-99 season to 50 games.

This spring, when he retired for what he vowed to be for good (even though Mike Wilbon begs to differ), the league entered into a lockout that wasn't resolved for 149 days and will cut the 2011-12 season to 66 games.

Had he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to give one more go of it with the Lakers this year, he would have ended up experiencing a severe case of déjà vu.

You see, just less than a year ago, on Dec. 29, 2010, during his pregame media session before the Lakers beat the Hornets 103-88 in Andrew Bynum's first start of the season, Jackson was asked about the opposing franchise being purchased by the league as he stood in a narrow hallway in front of the visitor's locker room at New Orleans Arena.

Looking back and reading Jackson's response to the questions on Thursday was downright eerie after NBA commissioner David Stern intervened to veto a three-team trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic to the Hornets.

Here's an excerpt of the story that ran on ESPNLosAngeles.com:

"Who's going to trade who to whom? Who's going to pull the button on trading player or when Chris [Paul] says he has to be traded? How's that going to go? I don't know. Somebody's going to have to make a very nonjudgmental decision on that part that's not going to irritate anybody else in this league ... I don't know how they're going to do that."

The Hornets basketball decisions and day-to-day operations will continue to be controlled by team president Hugh Weber and general manager Dell Demps, but Jackson was skeptical any move made by New Orleans would be viewed as the league helping out another franchise.

"That's what everybody is going to be afraid of: Who is going to be helping who out?" Jackson said.

Just by happenstance, I left a message with Jackson's agent, Todd Musburger, on Thursday morning to see if Phil felt like talking and catching up the Lakers' fan base as to what he's been doing with his life the last five months.

Jackson was on my mind because Gasol had mentioned how he has stayed in touch with his ex-coach on Wednesday.

Todd's son, Brian Musburger, called me back to politely decline the request on Phil's behalf, saying that Jackson would rather stay quiet for the time being.

And so, Jackson's premonition will have to speak for itself.

The whole incident reminded me of a quote Derek Fisher told me when I asked him to compare Jackson to an animal for a profile I did on Phil for NBA.com back in January 2009:

"A fox," says Derek Fisher, who has played for Jackson for seven of the nine seasons that Jackson's been in L.A.. "He's really sly. He doesn't make a lot of noise when he's around. He just kind of comes and does what he wants to do and needs to do and then he disappears back out into the woods. He's just chilling amongst the trees."

Jackson saw the mess that was coming and picked a perfect time to disappear back out into the woods.

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Question: What is the mark of a fair referee, an appetizing flan dessert and Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom’s Sixth Man of the Year season in 2010-11?

Answer: Consistency.

Odom had perhaps the finest season of his 12-year career last season, showing a consistency that he had lacked in the past. And yet, his spot on the team going forward is somewhat uncertain.

He was already dangled in a trade offer to Minnesota prior to the draft in June in an attempt to acquire the Timberwolves’ No. 2 pick, according to reports. And Wednesday, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Chad Ford reported that the Lakers are expected to offer “some combination” of Odom, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to Orlando in a bid for Dwight Howard.

If Odom avoids being dealt out of town this season, his future with the Lakers is still tenuous despite that he is signed through 2012-13.

He is set to make $8.2 million next season, but only about $2 million of that is guaranteed, meaning the Lakers could decide to avoid the luxury tax hit that would come from carrying Odom on their books. Two seasons from now, 2013-14, is the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement when the new, harsher luxury tax penalty kicks in. But general manager Mitch Kupchak will surely be tasked with paring down the payroll every opportunity he gets between now and then.

Teams will have to pay an incremental tax that increases with every $5 million above the tax threshold ($1.50, $1.75, $2.50, $3.25, etc.), whereas in the past it was just a dollar-for-dollar fee and the Lakers paid it readily ($19.9 million in 2010-11; $21.4 million in ’09-10). With the luxury tax line estimated to be somewhere around $70 million in 2012-13 and the Lakers already pledging to pay about $46.9 million to Kobe Bryant and Gasol that season, letting Odom go could be a necessary sacrifice to avoid a wallet-gauging luxury tax penalty for owner Dr. Jerry Buss.

If he stays on the team for all of 2011-12, Odom can do a lot to convince Buss to dip into his incoming Time Warner Cable television deal money next season to keep the versatile forward around by continuing to be consistent performer game to game rather than a once-in-a-while dynamo as he’s been for most of his career.

Odom shot 53 percent from the field last season, the best percentage of his career. He registered 28 double-doubles and played in all 82 games. He won the hearts of Lakers fans who had written him off as a tantalizing talent that would never realize his full potential.

Not too long ago, a great game by Odom would almost come as a surprise.

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Sweet Virginia, there's (most likely) going to be a basketball season!

It's been a long time coming -- 149 days to be exact -- but finally we can start talking basketball, not B.R.I., as -- if the NFL taught us anything -- what follows from here will be one of the crazier months the NBA has ever seen. A free-agency period that will likely be so accelerated it'll make speed dating seem intimate by comparison, along with a truncated training camp/preseason and, in a month or so, a slimmed-down version of a real season.

Is it ideal? Nope. But to quote the great Ned Ryerson, it "sure as heck-fire" beats the alternative.

It will take some time to determine exactly how the new CBA will impact the Lakers as a franchise, but in the meantime, there are plenty of other questions to ask.

1. Who wins the battle between the well-rested knee of Kobe Bryant (and his ankle, back, finger and general skeletal structure) and a compressed schedule?

2. Who wins the battle between the well-rested will of Bryant and the authority of Mike Brown?

3. What will Brown's system look like, and how quickly will the Lakers be able to pick it up?

4. In what frame of mind does Andrew Bynum arrive? Can he, as Kobe said he'd have to, "fall in line"?

5. If Bynum's play outstrips his traditional role in the offense, who loses shots?

6. We think Pau Gasol will be fine. Gasol thinks he'll be fine. But will Gasol be fine?

7. What happens if Gasol isn't fine?

8. Given that he's never been a paragon of offseason fitness (save USA Basketball years), what will Lamar Odom look like when camp opens after a long lockout?

9. Even if the core remains championship-caliber, the Lakers still have needs, from shooting to backup center to scoring off the bench and beyond. Where does the front office focus its attention in a tiny window for free agency?

10. If Shannon Brown goes, who backs up Kobe at the 2?

11. Is Devin Ebanks, who certainly could have used some time in the training facility around the coaching staff this summer, nonetheless capable of being part of the rotation?

12. How much will the incredibly grueling experience of leading the NBPA impact Derek Fisher's performance on the floor?

13. Is Fisher still going to be the starter on a Triangle-less Lakers team? How does Brown handle things if he isn't?

14. Can Steve Blake bounce back from his disappointing debut season in purple and gold, in a system with more traditional point guard duties?

15. Enough to start?

16. What happens if he can't?

17. Does a shortened season with more games per week help or hurt the Lakers?

18. When the trade deadline rolls around, who makes the big decisions for the Lakers: Mitch Kupchak or Jim Buss?

19. Who does what on Brown's coaching staff?

20. Untethered from the Triangle, does Metta World Peace's performance offensively improve, or was the system not the problem?

21. Who makes 3-pointers on this team?

22. How much help do the Lakers need on the wing? Can the World Peace/Matt Barnes combination (in those times Kobe isn't at the 3) get the job done?

23. Does Andrew Goudelock have a legitimate shot to make the team? Will there be space for Derrick Caracter?

24. Darius Morris surely will have a roster spot, but is there any chance he can contribute, even a smidge?

25. Given the increased importance of every game in a 66-game season relative to the normal 82, how do the Lakers measure minutes for their veterans, Bryant and Gasol in particular?

26. Who are the most viable contenders in the Western Conference, and which ones pose the biggest problems for the Lakers specifically?

27. To what degree were L.A.'s problems last season based on fatigue and the burden of working toward a fourth straight Finals?

28. How much was coaching?

29. How much reflected shortcomings in the roster?

30. Does a compressed schedule throw a wrench in Kobe's plans to practice more relative to the last few seasons?

31. How much will the schedule allow the team to practice?

32. While Kobe's minutes and shots per game were down last year, his shots per minute and usage rates were up. Does that continue this year?

33. Is there even a small possibility that Luke Walton is healthy enough to contribute?

34. Even if he is, does he have a role in a non-Triangle system?

Missing any? Add your queries in the comments section below ...

First things first: Age, in and of itself, is not the problem.

The Mavs, older than the Lakers, dominated the Western Conference en route to the Finals, where they continue to acquit themselves nicely. No question L.A.'s core carries real mileage, but upgrading the roster isn't simply a question of cutting open prospective additions and counting their rings. Shannon Brown was the second youngest player in the rotation, and after the first six weeks of the season was almost uniformly unproductive.

He's also the team's best pure athlete, which raises the next point: The Lakers can unquestionably use a few more dudes with more speed and athleticism, but the benefit is mitigated if they don't come with other skills. The hoops landscape is littered with players possessing great quickness who can run and jump out of the gym, except they aren't necessarily good defenders, nor are they automatically great on the break or working off the dribble. The Lakers still have to choose players with the skills best meshing with what they want to do on the floor, hopefully with the speed and athleticism to enhance the overall product. But if my choice is a relatively unskilled uberathlete or a deadeye shooter, give me the shooter.

Finding the right guys won't be easy. Under any CBA, the Lakers will be limited financially in the free agent market, and a tradeable piece like Lamar Odom isn't part of the problem. Moving him to add speed and hop somewhere else plugs one hole while creating another, undercutting the upgrade. Point guard and small forward are the biggest problems areas in this category for the Lakers, but are also filled with their least valuable assets.

But assuming for the sake of argument they can find a player or two with the right profile, the benefits could be substantial. The Lakers couldn't effectively change the pace of games last year. The second unit was charged, at least theoretically, with pushing the ball, but never did with consistency, making the Lakers a very one-note crew. On the other end, at his introductory press conference Mike Brown listed "multiple efforts"-- helping, then helping again-- and consistent, aggressive close outs on shooters as two of defensive tenets. Then, there's the ability not simply to force turnovers, but capitalize on the other end.

Obviously speed and quicks help in all three areas.

Fortunately, it won't take much for the Lakers to again be a consistent defensive force, as opposed to the box-of-chocolates group gracing the floor this season, particularly if they can keep most of their length near the basket. Some of this year's problems are self-correcting. The "low hanging fruit"-- fresh motivation following the loss to Dallas, the perception they can't win without Phil Jackson, that they're too old, etc.-- Kobe Bryant noted at his exit interview will add plenty of new energy and focus. Brown's "defense, defense, defense" mantra hopefully adds more, and a pair or two of spry legs can do the rest, lifting L.A.'s overall team speed.

In those moments the Lakers had all the moving parts working in concert, they didn't look particularly old and slow. Some fresh pop would be welcome, but there's a danger in simply making speed and athleticism the defining characteristics of whatever players they choose in upgrading the roster. The Lakers don't need a bunch of decathletes to win a title.

Scale of Importance (1-10): 7

Previous Offseason Needs Posts:

• Outside Shooting
• Point Guard Production
• Center Depth

If you missed it, Mike Brown appeared on the always Lakers-friendly "Lopez Tonight" with George Lopez on Tuesday evening for a lively segment, another indication of how the new sheriff is a lot different than the old one. Phil Jackson appeared on talk shows as well, but almost never in his second stint with the team (the exception being a 2009 appearance with Conan O'Brien, while the rest of the team went on with Jimmy Kimmel). Mostly because he didn't want to, but also because he didn't have to. Brown, on the other hand, has a PR battle to fight as well as a basketball team to coach, which makes this kind of thing important.

It's not a criticism. Brown is introducing himself, establishing his personality and energy in a still-skeptical town, replacing a guy retiring to killer views atop coaching's Mt. Olympus. The extent he's able to do so successfully will have an impact on his working environment when training camp eventually rolls around.

Tuesday afternoon in El Segundo, the Lakers officially introduced Mike Brown as their new head coach. First impressions: He seems like an intensely hard working, highly prepared, and genuinely good guy. (He's also a joy to transcribe, in contrast to Phil Jackson, which while perhaps insignificant to you is a major joy for me.)

All of this we knew coming in, of course, and how any of it translates into success or failure whenever next season rolls around is obviously an open question. Certainly Brown showed confidence in his ability, sticking up for his record in Cleveland while acknowledging how much the experience taught him. He is, Brown said, a better coach now. All told given the generally negative context surrounding the hire, I think Brown acquitted himself well, particularly as the Q and A went along.

Below is some of the video from his press conference. There's heaps of it, so be sure to check back for updates.

Opening Statement:

Brown on:

1. The players with whom he's communicated.
2. Differences between himself and Phil Jackson.
3. What he wants to do offensively. "A lot of what I'm going to take offensively will stem from the time I was in San Antonio. I was in San Antonio for three years, part of a championship team in 2003, and we had two big, skilled seven footers in Tim Duncan and David Robinson. We'll do something similar to what they did, with a little sprinkle of the triangle offense, and a little sprinkle of what I want to bring to the table, also. We'll kind of combine it. I think you have to tailor your offense to your personnel. You can't take your offense from team to team to team. Whereas defensively i think it's the opposite. I think you can take your defense from team to team, as long as you have effort and want from your group of guys."
4. On where he stands in the process of hiring a staff.
5. On establishing "his" culture for the Lakers.
6. On the potential for a work stoppage.



Again, be sure to check back for additional video from the day's events.

The Mike Brown Era officially begins Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., when he's introduced to the media at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo.

Don't expect to be dazzled with wit or one liners. As ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst told us in a recent podcast, Brown isn't someone who wins press conferences. Disappointing for us-- when you cover them for a living, having people at the center looking to "win" is welcome-- and perhaps for you, too. No question, L.A. as a city values entertainment and personality, something the guy Brown replaces certainly understood.

PODCAST
Andy and Brian talk with ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin about new coach Mike Brown, Jim Buss' statement in hiring Brown and what the future holds for the Lakers. Plus, Dave's plans for a new lockout lifestyle. Podcast

Just one of the many ways in which the times they are a' changin'.

Nobody knows whether Brown has the makeup to succeed as Lakers coach (you'll find people on both sides of the argument, though more skepticism than optimism) or if ultimately he'll prove himself the best of the available candidates (see previous parenthetical) one thing is abundantly clear: The generally negative reaction from fans and media alike surrounding his hire means Brown will have little, if any, of the honeymoon period usually afforded a new coach. Following Phil Jackson, it likely wouldn't have been all that substantial even if he was more popular, but from moment one people will be looking for signs Brown is in over his head.

The narrative has been established. As Brown well knows (see the perception his Cleveland teams were consistently bad offensively, despite clear evidence to the contrary) once narratives are written, they're difficult to edit. Brown will have to prove he knows what he's doing, rather than be exposed as someone who doesn't. The former is a lot tougher, because any number of things are capable of undoing the work of perfectly good coaching.

Gravitas, something Jackson oozed and Brown lacks, brings more benefit of the doubt.

Fair or unfair isn't the issue, and many of the same questions would have undoubtedly impacted the other available candidates. To a certain degree, Brown has been penalized for being a flawed option chosen from of a crop of other flawed options. Much of the criticism projected on to him is actually a critique of Jim Buss and the process bringing Brown to Los Angeles, something Buss himself noted in an interview with the L.A. Times.

PODCAST
Andy and Brian discuss new Lakers coach Mike Brown with ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. Windhorst covered the Cavaliers for the Cleveland Plain Dealer while Brown was the coach. Podcast

In that regard, he's correct.

All Brown did was allow himself to get hired by the premier basketball franchise on the planet and earn over $18 million for the privilege. Hard to fault him for that.

Unfortunately, as Dr. Buss continues moving to the background, the fairly rampant speculation (some might say cynicism) regarding Jim Buss' ability leading the franchise does Brown little good. Today, Brown is the wrong coach hired by the wrong guy, someone threatening the incredible legacy established for the Lakers by Dr. Buss. Again, the narrative may not be entirely fair, but fair isn't a driving force. Plenty of people will look for fault in Brown in order to find it in Jim Buss.

For the first time in a long time, trust in the coach and highest levels of the front office isn't implicit. Under the best of circumstances, coaching the Lakers is a difficult, pressure filled job. The context in which Brown assumes it only makes it harder.

When Phil Jackson announced this past summer his return for "the last stand," a flurry of questions followed. How big a pay cut did he accept? Is Brian Shaw the heir apparent? Will Phil really walk away at season's end? How much does his presence increase the three-peat odds? If a championship does come, could a case be made for the best Lakers era under Jerry Buss' watch?

However, few, if any, people -- and I include myself among the guilty -- appeared to think it was worth pondering one specific question:

Is it a potentially bad omen that Jackson required so much coaxing to come back?

Who could blame PJ for his reservations? After all, we were talking about a man in his mid-60s with health issues that make strolling the Staples Center -- much less the rigors of NBA travel -- look like a chore. We were talking about a man with nothing left to prove, a man who appeared at peace about the prospect of going out on a high note.

Ultimately, Jackson's second thoughts won out, and at the time they felt like a crucial piece of the puzzle fitting into place. In retrospect, this may have been a case of various parties (Jackson, chief recruiters like Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, the Lakers organization) getting greedy with one too many trips to the well. The desire to chase another three-peat is understandable, but history can't be created by pushing a square peg into a round hole. Sometimes, the ingredients are better on paper than when combined to adhere to a recipe.

As it turned out, Jackson's gut was smarter than his heart. Just like his players, their coach wasn't up for the task of winning a third straight title.

By his own admission, Jackson didn't accumulate rings on the strength of X's and O's. Not that he can't operate a whiteboard, but what made Jackson a great coach was his ability to motivate players. To understand what makes individuals tick and use that knowledge to mine for success. To live in the moment and react, like an extension of the triangle offense itself.

The legend of Jackson wasn't necessarily as a basketball guru but rather as a man almost mystically capable of discovering the proverbial answers. This season, however, answers consistently eluded him.

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Call it "The Triangle: Postmortem."

This week, we join up with Ramona Shelburne, covering the following...

1. What went wrong against the Mavs, and should we have seen it coming?
2. Fact or fiction: Brian Shaw is the right man to replace Phil Jackson.
3. Finally, a special "Stay or Go?" edition of Rapid Fire, setting the table for an offseason of potential roster reconstruction.

Click here to watch...

I realize we're dipping back into Tuesday's exit interviews, here (our video processing department- that would be us- is a little backed up at the moment) but, not surprisingly, Derek Fisher had some very interesting things to say not only about Phil Jackson, the failings of the 2010-11 season, and whether the team could be competitive next season as currently constructed... but also if there will be a next season in which to try.

Fisher, president of the Player's Association and dressed like a guy about to roll into a summer's worth of business meetings, didn't sound terribly optimistic, meaning anyone ready to juggle his schedule to accommodate the Oct. 9 preseason opener in Fresno might want to hold off for a bit.

Here, he talks about what went wrong, and his feelings about losing Jackson:



More from Fisher on Jackson:



Click below for his feelings about Brian Shaw, and comments on the CBA...

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