WEBVTT 00:00:08.091 --> 00:00:09.476 That's right, Fred. 00:00:09.676 --> 00:00:11.428 They're rocking and rolling outside Staples Center. 00:00:11.628 --> 00:00:13.743 This is the biggest commotion we've had 00:00:13.943 --> 00:00:15.858 in downtown Los Angeles since, uh- 00:00:16.058 --> 00:00:18.277 well, frankly, I can't remember the last time 00:00:18.477 --> 00:00:21.939 we had this much commotion in downtown Los Angeles. 00:00:22.139 --> 00:00:23.982 After the game was over, the fans from inside 00:00:24.182 --> 00:00:25.326 came pouring out here. 00:00:25.526 --> 00:00:27.240 It's a sea of purple and gold. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:28.954 It's been a dozen years 00:00:29.154 --> 00:00:30.289 since we've been the NBA champs, 00:00:30.489 --> 00:00:31.907 and of course, this is a city and a team 00:00:32.107 --> 00:00:33.125 that wanted it badly. 00:00:33.325 --> 00:00:34.535 Let's hope, with the new millennium, 00:00:34.735 --> 00:00:35.836 this'll be the first of many. 00:00:36.036 --> 00:00:38.980 Everybody is so excited over this Laker victory. 00:00:39.180 --> 00:00:42.125 And they have been this way since the day began. 00:00:42.325 --> 00:00:43.918 - We have our own Kobe Bryant 00:00:44.118 --> 00:00:46.108 of the next generation here. 00:00:46.308 --> 00:00:48.098 They sure love their Lakers. 00:00:48.298 --> 00:00:50.805 When we won the championship, it was great. 00:00:51.005 --> 00:00:53.312 I was cheering them on, and it was like, 00:00:53.512 --> 00:00:56.682 "Oh, I'm gonna go down and," you know, "celebrate now." 00:00:59.101 --> 00:01:01.487 And once I got to courtside, 00:01:01.687 --> 00:01:04.193 one of the NBA people stopped me and said, 00:01:04.393 --> 00:01:06.631 "Well, you can't come in with that pass," 00:01:06.831 --> 00:01:09.069 and it was like, "Uh, well, I'm Johnny Buss." 00:01:09.269 --> 00:01:11.238 And he said, "I don't care who you are. 00:01:11.438 --> 00:01:13.156 You can't come this far." 00:01:15.867 --> 00:01:17.744 Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. 00:01:17.944 --> 00:01:18.837 Back this up. Back this up. 00:01:19.037 --> 00:01:21.748 Here's Jimmy, Jeanie, Janie, Joey, Jesse. 00:01:21.948 --> 00:01:23.217 There's my dad, you know? 00:01:23.417 --> 00:01:26.670 It's Magic and I, the owners, that deserve the credit. 00:01:28.046 --> 00:01:30.265 To reference The Godfather, I felt 00:01:30.465 --> 00:01:34.136 more kicked out of the family than kicked out of the Lakers. 00:01:34.336 --> 00:01:37.180 Staples Center was a professional corporation. 00:01:37.380 --> 00:01:39.933 They probably didn't recognize John. 00:01:40.133 --> 00:01:42.486 I think it's an overreaction, big time. 00:01:42.686 --> 00:01:45.814 You get tired of saying, "Well, it's just John's way." 00:01:46.014 --> 00:01:47.658 Be part of the team or not. 00:01:47.858 --> 00:01:50.485 At that point, there were a lot of things 00:01:50.685 --> 00:01:52.663 that were difficult for my brothers. 00:01:52.863 --> 00:01:55.324 Well, Fred, it is getting a little bit busy out here, 00:01:55.524 --> 00:01:57.576 as they-of course, they predicted it would be. 00:01:57.776 --> 00:01:58.669 Everything's changing. 00:01:58.869 --> 00:02:01.213 Everything is gonna be different. 00:02:01.413 --> 00:02:04.499 We had won a championship in this new arena. 00:02:04.699 --> 00:02:06.844 Like, this was- this was the new era. 00:02:07.044 --> 00:02:09.763 Uh, well, there we have a problem. 00:02:09.963 --> 00:02:13.508 But there's never enough success to go around. 00:02:38.116 --> 00:02:39.660 There he is, his first shot as an owner. 00:02:39.860 --> 00:02:40.586 Think he likes it? 00:02:44.331 --> 00:02:46.166 At this moment, I can't believe it. 00:02:47.876 --> 00:02:48.969 What's the future? 00:02:49.169 --> 00:02:50.671 Want to replace your father at the top? 00:02:50.871 --> 00:02:52.931 Yeah. 00:02:54.466 --> 00:02:56.185 Between my daughters and my sons, 00:02:56.385 --> 00:02:59.221 there's certainly enough sports teams to go around. 00:03:03.392 --> 00:03:04.751 Are you and the rest of the family- 00:03:04.951 --> 00:03:06.311 are you guys all on the same page? 00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:10.023 The Lakers caught in the middle 00:03:10.223 --> 00:03:11.533 of a family power struggle. 00:03:16.822 --> 00:03:18.740 I think I've really left them with something. 00:03:24.996 --> 00:03:26.798 Magic Johnson, love that smile. 00:03:26.998 --> 00:03:28.458 It's great to be sitting across from you, Magic. 00:03:28.658 --> 00:03:29.635 - Thank you. Thank you. 00:03:29.835 --> 00:03:32.758 And more to smile about in 2000 than in a dozen years. 00:03:32.958 --> 00:03:35.529 I wanted them to win so bad, especially for Shaq, 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.301 and then for him and Kobe to come together finally 00:03:38.501 --> 00:03:39.353 as teammates, 00:03:39.553 --> 00:03:41.396 it was a beautiful thing to watch. 00:03:41.596 --> 00:03:44.641 We felt we had the talent all those years 00:03:44.841 --> 00:03:46.068 to really win a championship, 00:03:46.268 --> 00:03:48.195 and then not to be able to do that, 00:03:48.395 --> 00:03:51.565 that didn't set well with me or Dr. Buss and Jerry West. 00:03:51.765 --> 00:03:52.899 You know, I've had Jerry on the show, 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:53.992 and here's a guy who's- 00:03:54.192 --> 00:03:56.094 he wants the title more than anything. 00:03:56.294 --> 00:03:57.996 He's so shrewd in talent evaluation. 00:03:58.196 --> 00:04:00.907 There's a lot of word that any minute now, he could say, 00:04:01.107 --> 00:04:02.242 "I've had it. The pressure's too much." 00:04:02.442 --> 00:04:04.098 Do you think he'll stay? 00:04:04.298 --> 00:04:05.754 - I really think this time, 00:04:05.954 --> 00:04:09.207 he's really serious about retiring. 00:04:12.043 --> 00:04:14.362 The franchise was taking off 00:04:14.562 --> 00:04:16.682 and doing incredible things, 00:04:16.882 --> 00:04:19.134 but it was getting difficult for me, okay? 00:04:19.334 --> 00:04:20.227 Very difficult. 00:04:20.427 --> 00:04:22.646 These jobs take an enormous toll. 00:04:22.846 --> 00:04:26.024 Every day, if you win, you're up here. 00:04:26.224 --> 00:04:28.894 If you lose, you're down here. And that's the problem. 00:04:30.312 --> 00:04:33.648 I just hated the, uh-the wear and tear on you emotionally. 00:04:33.848 --> 00:04:34.950 That's the pr-the problem. 00:04:35.150 --> 00:04:37.110 He was talking about his heart 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:38.245 and the issues he had, 00:04:38.445 --> 00:04:40.555 the anxiety he was feeling at the time. 00:04:40.755 --> 00:04:42.866 He could hardly watch games anymore. 00:04:44.284 --> 00:04:45.377 Jerry, do you think 00:04:45.577 --> 00:04:48.413 you put too much pressure on yourself? 00:04:48.613 --> 00:04:50.874 - Well, that's the way I am. 00:04:51.074 --> 00:04:53.135 It's exactly the way I am. 00:04:53.335 --> 00:04:55.633 It felt like it just came out of nowhere, 00:04:55.833 --> 00:04:58.131 but, you know, you got the feeling inside 00:04:58.331 --> 00:05:01.101 like there was something personal 00:05:01.301 --> 00:05:05.138 between the two of them, you know, Phil and Jerry. 00:05:05.338 --> 00:05:07.932 Well, a lot of things had changed. 00:05:08.132 --> 00:05:10.527 Phil was now the face of the franchise 00:05:10.727 --> 00:05:13.772 from a front-office standpoint, and Jerry's 00:05:13.972 --> 00:05:17.034 kind of getting pushed to the back. 00:05:17.234 --> 00:05:21.029 I guess I could feel that he wasn't, you know, 00:05:21.229 --> 00:05:22.998 all that excited about Phil. 00:05:23.198 --> 00:05:25.951 You know, people think I don't like Phil Jackson. 00:05:26.151 --> 00:05:27.744 That's not the truth at all. 00:05:27.944 --> 00:05:29.546 Great respect for him, 00:05:29.746 --> 00:05:31.840 but he and I are two different people. 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:35.502 From my standpoint, you know, Jerry and I had 00:05:35.702 --> 00:05:39.014 a very workable relationship. 00:05:39.214 --> 00:05:40.515 Well, it's funny, you know? 00:05:40.715 --> 00:05:42.843 You-if you know Phil, you're gonna like him, 00:05:43.043 --> 00:05:44.561 and if you know Jerry, you like him, 00:05:44.761 --> 00:05:48.018 but, uh, between the two, they had big conflicts. 00:05:48.218 --> 00:05:51.476 They seemed to clash pretty much at the beginning. 00:05:51.676 --> 00:05:54.354 When he talked to Phil, it would be 00:05:54.554 --> 00:05:55.656 crossed arms or whatever. 00:05:55.856 --> 00:05:57.440 Whatever the body language was, you could tell 00:05:57.640 --> 00:05:59.743 it was something going on. 00:05:59.943 --> 00:06:02.112 We were in the locker room after every game, 00:06:02.312 --> 00:06:03.530 and then the first game at Staples- 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:05.073 Staples had just opened- 00:06:05.273 --> 00:06:06.458 we walk in, 00:06:06.658 --> 00:06:09.123 and Phil just stops 00:06:09.323 --> 00:06:11.588 and, in so many words, 00:06:11.788 --> 00:06:14.503 tells Jerry to get out of the locker room. 00:06:14.703 --> 00:06:17.419 Said, "Get the * out my locker room" 00:06:17.619 --> 00:06:18.804 in front of the whole team. 00:06:19.004 --> 00:06:21.765 My eyes got big like they are now. 00:06:21.965 --> 00:06:23.967 I know Jerry took a little offense to it, 00:06:24.167 --> 00:06:25.686 but there is a whole host of things 00:06:25.886 --> 00:06:27.929 that might've been affecting Jerry at that time 00:06:28.129 --> 00:06:29.314 that I have no relationship to. 00:06:29.514 --> 00:06:31.933 It got to the point where he basically didn't 00:06:32.133 --> 00:06:34.945 hardly talk to me, which was fine. 00:06:35.145 --> 00:06:37.188 Long as you're winning, that's fine with me. 00:06:37.388 --> 00:06:39.074 But I knew- I knew that I wasn't- 00:06:39.274 --> 00:06:41.530 I was not gonna be there very much longer. 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:44.072 My father said Jerry had come in 00:06:44.272 --> 00:06:46.198 and wanted a piece of the team, 00:06:46.398 --> 00:06:48.125 something that my dad couldn't- 00:06:48.325 --> 00:06:52.162 couldn't give him, and so, uh, they had to part. 00:06:53.121 --> 00:06:55.836 I think that was difficult for my dad, you know, 00:06:56.036 --> 00:06:58.752 'cause, I mean, Jerry was one of his confidantes. 00:06:58.952 --> 00:07:00.086 To be candid with you, I don't want 00:07:00.286 --> 00:07:02.150 to be interviewed anymore. 00:07:02.350 --> 00:07:04.350 I just want to disappear. 00:07:04.550 --> 00:07:06.551 I didn't tell anyone. 00:07:06.751 --> 00:07:07.811 I just left. 00:07:08.011 --> 00:07:10.517 I took a newspaper ad, and I left town. 00:07:10.717 --> 00:07:13.224 I went-I went up to Alaska fishing. 00:07:13.424 --> 00:07:14.809 I read it in the paper. 00:07:15.009 --> 00:07:16.769 I was very upset. 00:07:16.969 --> 00:07:18.530 Jerry's my guy. 00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:21.283 I'm only here 'cause of him. 00:07:21.483 --> 00:07:23.201 I actually tried to stick up for him, 00:07:23.401 --> 00:07:25.695 and he says, "Nope, stand down, big fella. 00:07:25.895 --> 00:07:26.872 Let me handle it." 00:07:27.072 --> 00:07:29.583 I knew that it was gonna be a loss for the team, 00:07:29.783 --> 00:07:32.952 but, you know, Mitch and I knew each other for years. 00:07:33.152 --> 00:07:34.453 Patience and perseverance 00:07:34.653 --> 00:07:35.755 paid off for you personally, 00:07:35.955 --> 00:07:39.459 getting what you consider the best job in sports? 00:07:39.659 --> 00:07:41.636 Well, it is the jewel, in my opinion, 00:07:41.836 --> 00:07:44.714 certainly in the NBA, perhaps in all of sports. 00:07:44.914 --> 00:07:46.808 He had my vote, big time, because I saw 00:07:47.008 --> 00:07:50.286 how much he put into it, and my dad loved the guy. 00:07:50.486 --> 00:07:53.765 I remember Shaq and Kobe being pretty cruel to him 00:07:53.965 --> 00:07:55.817 at the practice facility. 00:07:56.017 --> 00:07:58.945 Mitch's office overlooked the court, 00:07:59.145 --> 00:08:02.115 and Shaq and Kobe used to slam basketballs 00:08:02.315 --> 00:08:05.402 up against Mitch's, uh, window while he was at the computer. 00:08:06.736 --> 00:08:09.201 He would jump, and they would just laugh. 00:08:09.401 --> 00:08:11.866 And then, you know, like, the respect level 00:08:12.066 --> 00:08:14.169 between what was shown to Jerry West 00:08:14.369 --> 00:08:17.038 and what was shown to Mitch at the very beginning 00:08:17.238 --> 00:08:18.998 was very, very different. 00:08:19.198 --> 00:08:20.759 - I don't-I don't-I don't- 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:22.293 I don't want to talk about Mitch. 00:08:22.493 --> 00:08:24.596 I'm a Jerry West guy. 00:08:24.796 --> 00:08:27.716 Even with all of the distractions and the chaos, 00:08:27.916 --> 00:08:28.892 what goes on on the court, 00:08:29.092 --> 00:08:30.760 that's the most important thing. 00:08:37.016 --> 00:08:38.476 Thank you very, very much, 00:08:38.676 --> 00:08:39.694 ladies and gentlemen. 00:08:39.894 --> 00:08:43.189 In June, the Lakers won the championship, huh? 00:08:45.108 --> 00:08:46.368 And all it does is add up 00:08:46.568 --> 00:08:48.945 to the seventh world championship 00:08:49.145 --> 00:08:50.739 of the Los Angeles Lakers. 00:08:53.366 --> 00:08:56.378 Them winning that championship in 2000- 00:08:56.578 --> 00:09:01.207 my dad was like, "Did Phil have to make it look so easy?" 00:09:03.668 --> 00:09:05.637 I never thought about anything 00:09:05.837 --> 00:09:07.889 but doing this job the best I could 00:09:08.089 --> 00:09:10.091 and getting on the horse to get back after it 00:09:10.291 --> 00:09:13.574 the next year, trying to do it again. 00:09:13.774 --> 00:09:17.057 And to my players, if they stay on track, 00:09:17.257 --> 00:09:19.100 we might win back-to-back. 00:09:21.811 --> 00:09:23.697 The real trick is winning two. 00:09:23.897 --> 00:09:26.858 Coming back and winning another one the next year- 00:09:27.058 --> 00:09:29.277 to do that is really special. 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:34.407 At that point, we had swept everybody up 00:09:34.607 --> 00:09:35.950 until the first game of the finals. 00:09:36.150 --> 00:09:37.660 It's Iverson. 00:09:38.787 --> 00:09:40.881 - Iverson was criticized a lot 00:09:41.081 --> 00:09:42.591 for trying to do everything by himself. 00:09:42.791 --> 00:09:45.051 Allen Iverson's really their prime mover. 00:09:45.251 --> 00:09:49.089 His constant furious attack creates the energy 00:09:49.289 --> 00:09:50.807 that this team thrives on. 00:09:51.007 --> 00:09:53.885 And steps over Tyronn Lue. 00:09:55.887 --> 00:09:58.690 The Sixers won game one, but ultimately, 00:09:58.890 --> 00:10:02.527 the Lakers just were the better team that year. 00:10:02.727 --> 00:10:07.065 I could look at Shaq or Derek or Kobe across the floor, 00:10:07.265 --> 00:10:09.275 and-and I was connected to them. 00:10:17.492 --> 00:10:18.877 Oh, man. 00:10:19.077 --> 00:10:22.122 Ah, he feels it- beautiful touch. 00:10:29.087 --> 00:10:31.348 They win tonight, 00:10:31.548 --> 00:10:36.761 what a magnificent finish, uh, to this playoff run. 00:10:38.263 --> 00:10:40.140 For the Lakers, who finish 00:10:40.340 --> 00:10:42.392 with a 15-and-1 run, 00:10:42.592 --> 00:10:44.444 the best overtime... 00:10:44.644 --> 00:10:47.213 You know, when you are able to do back-to-back, 00:10:47.413 --> 00:10:49.983 that's when they say, "Oh, crap, y'all were good. 00:10:50.183 --> 00:10:51.734 Y'all were a championship team." 00:10:51.934 --> 00:10:52.869 Back-to-back! 00:10:53.069 --> 00:10:54.487 - Back-to-back, just like this. 00:10:54.687 --> 00:10:55.572 Back-to-back, baby. 00:10:57.031 --> 00:10:58.950 Is this the beginning of a dynasty? 00:10:59.150 --> 00:11:00.794 - It possibly can be. 00:11:00.994 --> 00:11:02.295 Dr. Buss, that makes seven. 00:11:02.495 --> 00:11:04.084 You gotta be proud of this Laker team. 00:11:04.284 --> 00:11:05.874 Yeah, I'm very proud of this team. 00:11:06.074 --> 00:11:07.625 I don't think anybody expected 00:11:07.825 --> 00:11:09.293 we could really defend the title. 00:11:09.493 --> 00:11:10.962 It's the first time in a long time 00:11:11.162 --> 00:11:12.055 it's ever been done. 00:11:12.255 --> 00:11:14.011 Who knows? Maybe never again. 00:11:14.211 --> 00:11:15.767 A piece of history right here. 00:11:15.967 --> 00:11:17.644 Yeah, get it. 00:11:17.844 --> 00:11:20.638 We gonna get another one next year again, 00:11:20.838 --> 00:11:22.941 back-to-back-to-back. 00:11:23.141 --> 00:11:25.397 And without getting too far ahead, 00:11:25.597 --> 00:11:27.854 wouldn't it be sweet to three-peat? 00:11:28.938 --> 00:11:30.740 The way things work, 00:11:30.940 --> 00:11:34.281 it's almost impossible to three-peat. 00:11:34.481 --> 00:11:37.622 Once you price yourself out of a team, 00:11:37.822 --> 00:11:41.451 it's hard to keep that team to win another championship. 00:11:41.651 --> 00:11:43.878 Now a third one? Holy smokes. 00:11:44.078 --> 00:11:47.790 This repeat was fantastic, but at the same time, 00:11:47.990 --> 00:11:49.876 you're always looking at the next year. 00:11:53.504 --> 00:11:55.598 Wave your hands in the air. 00:11:55.798 --> 00:11:58.468 Everything's a plan breaking up- 00:11:58.668 --> 00:11:59.802 Oh, no, no, no. 00:12:02.347 --> 00:12:04.649 Winning a-la la la 00:12:04.849 --> 00:12:08.628 Winning a championship take everything you got 00:12:08.828 --> 00:12:12.607 Sacramento, they thought it was their year 00:12:12.807 --> 00:12:14.692 But I'm telling you it's not 00:12:16.402 --> 00:12:18.329 It's the dream matchup. 00:12:18.529 --> 00:12:21.995 The Sacramento Kings, the best record in the NBA, 00:12:22.195 --> 00:12:25.662 against the two-time defending champion LA Lakers. 00:12:25.862 --> 00:12:27.589 Western Conference Final, game one. 00:12:27.789 --> 00:12:29.174 The Lakers and the Kings had faced 00:12:29.374 --> 00:12:32.752 each other in the playoffs for three straight years now. 00:12:32.952 --> 00:12:34.387 The Lakers had won each one. 00:12:34.587 --> 00:12:37.632 The Kings were the better team that season. 00:12:37.832 --> 00:12:39.967 The teams had built up animosity, 00:12:40.167 --> 00:12:42.103 mocked each other in the media. 00:12:42.303 --> 00:12:44.514 We're not worried about the Sacramento Queens, 00:12:44.714 --> 00:12:46.107 not at all. 00:12:46.307 --> 00:12:48.000 I think of the movie Gladiator 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:49.694 when I think of that series. 00:12:49.894 --> 00:12:54.399 It really was just this bloody, all-out battle. 00:12:56.025 --> 00:12:58.611 For a player like me, every team always got up 00:12:58.811 --> 00:13:00.205 for whatever team I was on anyway, 00:13:00.405 --> 00:13:03.449 but this year, it's just like they have that little extra. 00:13:03.649 --> 00:13:06.911 Shaq was one of the toughest opponents 00:13:07.111 --> 00:13:08.588 that I play against. 00:13:08.788 --> 00:13:10.748 When he catch the ball in low post, 00:13:10.948 --> 00:13:12.229 he can score anytime. 00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:13.741 He's unstoppable. 00:13:13.941 --> 00:13:15.253 But we were winning. 00:13:19.716 --> 00:13:21.096 We're down to seven seconds. 00:13:21.296 --> 00:13:22.477 When the ball went up, 00:13:22.677 --> 00:13:24.854 and then I saw Vlade slap at it, 00:13:25.054 --> 00:13:27.849 I thought for sure the game was over. 00:13:28.049 --> 00:13:29.642 Horry! 00:13:31.811 --> 00:13:34.359 I-I looked at Horry, and I couldn't believe 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:36.908 he was in the right position for that shot. 00:13:37.108 --> 00:13:40.278 Being at that game, Robert Horry hitting that shot 00:13:40.478 --> 00:13:42.705 was just electric, man, you know. 00:13:42.905 --> 00:13:45.453 The whole building was shaking. It was crazy. 00:13:45.653 --> 00:13:48.002 It felt great to tie that series up. 00:13:48.202 --> 00:13:51.080 I was just thinking, like, "Yeah, how you like me now?" 00:13:51.280 --> 00:13:53.291 That established me as Big Shot Rob. 00:13:57.754 --> 00:14:00.381 This Western Conference Finals series 00:14:00.581 --> 00:14:02.475 is even at three. 00:14:02.675 --> 00:14:03.935 You win this, you're going to advance 00:14:04.135 --> 00:14:06.141 to play for the third straight championship. 00:14:06.341 --> 00:14:08.347 This is the Lake Show you're playing- 00:14:08.547 --> 00:14:10.024 me, Kobe... 00:14:10.224 --> 00:14:12.235 Bryant for 3. Yes! 00:14:12.435 --> 00:14:14.441 - Bob, B Shaw, and Rick Fox. 00:14:14.641 --> 00:14:16.447 - Ah, this *! 00:14:16.647 --> 00:14:17.991 - I'm out there with some dogs. 00:14:18.191 --> 00:14:19.734 A free throw, but this time, 00:14:19.934 --> 00:14:21.870 it's Shaquille O'Neal. 00:14:22.070 --> 00:14:23.821 - Oh, we going to the Finals. 00:14:30.703 --> 00:14:32.046 Now we're in the Finals. 00:14:32.246 --> 00:14:33.790 We're gonna come out here, let it all hang out, 00:14:33.990 --> 00:14:34.924 and see what happens. 00:14:35.124 --> 00:14:36.676 Byron Scott, a mentor of yours. 00:14:36.876 --> 00:14:38.878 What's it like to have him now on the other side? 00:14:39.078 --> 00:14:40.296 I used to tell him all the time 00:14:40.496 --> 00:14:41.714 he was gonna be a great coach. 00:14:42.882 --> 00:14:45.843 I was coaching my first job with Jersey, 00:14:46.043 --> 00:14:47.645 and I'm matching wits with 00:14:47.845 --> 00:14:50.039 one of the greatest coaches of all time, 00:14:50.239 --> 00:14:52.233 two of the best players of all time. 00:14:52.433 --> 00:14:55.269 But we're playing against a team that was a monster, 00:14:55.469 --> 00:14:56.946 and I think we all knew that. 00:15:09.504 --> 00:15:11.169 Oh, here it is. O'Neal. 00:15:20.002 --> 00:15:22.175 Don't try to act like you don't know who we be, either. 00:15:22.375 --> 00:15:24.549 Oh, the Lakers are really attacking the basket. 00:15:24.749 --> 00:15:25.600 Beautiful. 00:15:25.800 --> 00:15:27.218 Shady Aftermath. 00:15:29.470 --> 00:15:31.514 I knew we was gonna sweep these *, 00:15:31.714 --> 00:15:32.941 so I'm in New Jersey. 00:15:33.141 --> 00:15:35.810 Game four, on the floor, me and Nate Dogg, 00:15:36.010 --> 00:15:39.522 with my sparkles and my 8 jersey on. 00:15:39.722 --> 00:15:41.023 We destined to win. 00:15:41.223 --> 00:15:42.325 What class. 00:15:42.525 --> 00:15:45.699 The Los Angeles Lakers have made it 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:49.073 three straight NBA championships. 00:15:51.576 --> 00:15:54.061 It's my experience that the third victory 00:15:54.261 --> 00:15:56.280 in, uh, three successive years is always 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.299 the most unique and most difficult one 00:15:58.499 --> 00:16:00.585 to fight your way through, and it certainly was this year. 00:16:00.785 --> 00:16:02.128 Winning championships are hard, 00:16:02.328 --> 00:16:03.721 but to win three in a row, 00:16:03.921 --> 00:16:05.506 that's some elite stuff right there. 00:16:10.636 --> 00:16:11.896 A three-peat, Dr. Buss. 00:16:12.096 --> 00:16:14.457 I mean, this squad has now gone down in history. 00:16:14.657 --> 00:16:17.018 It's etched its own name in the annals of history 00:16:17.218 --> 00:16:18.820 as far as the NBA is concerned. 00:16:19.020 --> 00:16:21.189 Um, I guess there's only a few teams 00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:22.448 that have ever done that, 00:16:22.648 --> 00:16:24.951 uh, and suddenly, we're one of them. 00:16:25.151 --> 00:16:28.029 I'm so proud of these guys, I can't even tell you. 00:16:28.229 --> 00:16:30.581 The fans in LA- 00:16:30.781 --> 00:16:34.202 I wish every one of them could be here at this moment. 00:16:34.402 --> 00:16:35.578 I'm outside the New Jersey Nets' locker room 00:16:35.778 --> 00:16:36.671 with Byron Scott. 00:16:36.871 --> 00:16:38.043 Hopefully, next year, we'll be able 00:16:38.243 --> 00:16:39.415 to play these guys again, and we'll see 00:16:39.615 --> 00:16:40.383 if it's a different story. 00:16:40.583 --> 00:16:42.943 See, I had those mixed emotions. 00:16:43.143 --> 00:16:45.304 'Cause I was like, "Damn." 00:16:45.504 --> 00:16:48.591 But I was also like, yes, it's my organization. 00:16:49.926 --> 00:16:52.845 Feeling the satisfaction to watch this particular team 00:16:53.045 --> 00:16:54.492 get back to the top again and do it, 00:16:54.692 --> 00:16:55.900 you know, for three straight years, 00:16:56.100 --> 00:16:57.250 something that we wanted to do, 00:16:57.450 --> 00:16:58.601 something that we tried to do. 00:17:00.186 --> 00:17:01.938 Magic and Kareem were able to win 00:17:02.138 --> 00:17:03.114 back-to-back titles, 00:17:03.314 --> 00:17:05.524 but yet they weren't able to three-peat. 00:17:08.236 --> 00:17:12.582 Once a dynasty expires, like we did, 00:17:12.782 --> 00:17:16.035 it was just-how long was it going to take 00:17:16.235 --> 00:17:19.309 for Jerry to build another dynasty? 00:17:19.509 --> 00:17:22.383 And it wasn't until almost ten years. 00:17:22.583 --> 00:17:25.378 Phil Jackson showed up, and they won three in a row. 00:17:32.218 --> 00:17:34.182 One, two, three! One, two, three! 00:17:34.382 --> 00:17:36.347 But all things that are great 00:17:36.547 --> 00:17:38.775 one day come to an end. 00:17:38.975 --> 00:17:40.234 Congratulations, the greatest. 00:17:40.434 --> 00:17:42.023 Congratulations, the most dominant. 00:17:42.223 --> 00:17:43.543 You need to take that jersey off 00:17:43.743 --> 00:17:45.064 and put your own jersey on, player. 00:17:45.264 --> 00:17:46.357 - About time now? - Yeah. 00:17:46.557 --> 00:17:48.943 Holla. Holla. 00:17:51.013 --> 00:17:52.848 This is what we work hard for right here tonight. 00:17:53.048 --> 00:17:55.109 Right here. 00:17:56.858 --> 00:17:57.826 She didn't want to golf. 00:17:58.026 --> 00:17:59.360 She didn't want to play cards. 00:17:59.560 --> 00:18:00.370 She was always at work. 00:18:00.570 --> 00:18:02.280 She was always doing her job. 00:18:04.073 --> 00:18:07.285 And she was always, you know, present. 00:18:08.870 --> 00:18:09.921 By that time, 00:18:10.121 --> 00:18:11.497 Phil and I were living together 00:18:11.697 --> 00:18:13.800 in a house by the beach. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:15.835 Before I would leave for work, he'd say, 00:18:16.035 --> 00:18:17.971 "What time are you gonna be home?" 00:18:18.171 --> 00:18:20.256 He did like to cook, and he would tell me 00:18:20.456 --> 00:18:21.716 what he was gonna make. 00:18:23.551 --> 00:18:25.515 I had my dog, Princess, 00:18:25.715 --> 00:18:27.680 but he called her Cujo. 00:18:29.182 --> 00:18:32.560 And they would be home during the day, when I was at work. 00:18:32.760 --> 00:18:35.229 When he was cooking, he would hold her. 00:18:36.731 --> 00:18:39.150 Are you getting some kisses from little Princess Cujo? 00:18:39.350 --> 00:18:40.410 And there were some times 00:18:40.610 --> 00:18:43.137 that I would be late for dinner, 00:18:43.337 --> 00:18:45.865 and it- it really bothered him. 00:18:47.742 --> 00:18:50.578 A lot of times, she'd get caught in a conversation 00:18:50.778 --> 00:18:52.559 when another owner had called. 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:54.340 Something always came up. 00:18:54.540 --> 00:18:57.377 At the end of the day, there was always something going on. 00:18:59.337 --> 00:19:01.055 She knew kind of the life 00:19:01.255 --> 00:19:05.593 and the heart and soul of what this was all about. 00:19:05.793 --> 00:19:08.021 - I paid my dues. 00:19:08.221 --> 00:19:11.441 Jeanie, when you came to the Lakers, 00:19:11.641 --> 00:19:13.526 were you treated as though you'd paid your dues, 00:19:13.726 --> 00:19:16.229 or was there a sense of, "Ah, this is the boss' daughter"? 00:19:16.429 --> 00:19:19.440 Um, well, I'll always be Jerry Buss' daughter. 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:21.776 I don't like to see the pressures 00:19:21.976 --> 00:19:23.328 that are put on her. 00:19:23.528 --> 00:19:26.180 Uh, I think that I feel responsible 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:28.524 when she gets into so much stress, 00:19:28.724 --> 00:19:30.868 and I kind of wish I could remove it, 00:19:31.068 --> 00:19:32.796 but it's too late now. 00:19:32.996 --> 00:19:36.165 You'd feel that way no matter what I was doing in my life 00:19:36.365 --> 00:19:38.802 because you're my dad. 00:19:39.002 --> 00:19:41.759 He worried about her. 00:19:41.959 --> 00:19:44.516 He wished in some ways 00:19:44.716 --> 00:19:47.101 she could have taken a break. 00:19:47.301 --> 00:19:51.389 He told me, "I really wish she would get married again 00:19:51.589 --> 00:19:53.483 and have a family." 00:19:53.683 --> 00:19:57.028 This is my shower. Isn't this fun? 00:19:57.228 --> 00:20:00.064 The women that were my age that were my friends- 00:20:00.264 --> 00:20:02.024 you know, by- by then, were-were, 00:20:02.224 --> 00:20:03.985 you know, building their family, 00:20:04.185 --> 00:20:05.119 having their children. 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:08.406 I think she's always wanted to have kids. 00:20:08.606 --> 00:20:10.041 Um, she talks about it. 00:20:10.241 --> 00:20:13.202 She would be just like my dad, probably sad. 00:20:13.402 --> 00:20:15.517 Because she's so into the business, 00:20:15.717 --> 00:20:17.832 how could you possibly raise a family? 00:20:19.917 --> 00:20:23.212 I don't think I could have been a working mom. 00:20:23.412 --> 00:20:25.265 I think that would have torn me apart. 00:20:25.465 --> 00:20:29.202 Do enough in your job so you don't get behind. 00:20:29.402 --> 00:20:33.139 Do enough, you know, so you don't miss milestones 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:35.692 of your child's development. 00:20:35.892 --> 00:20:39.612 Not, um, judgmental of anybody who- 00:20:39.812 --> 00:20:43.733 who felt like they could do it all, but that wasn't me. 00:20:45.234 --> 00:20:48.033 Dr. Buss told her, "You know, 00:20:48.233 --> 00:20:50.832 you don't have to work so hard." 00:20:51.032 --> 00:20:55.666 But I think she really felt that it would please her dad. 00:20:55.866 --> 00:21:00.500 I think everything was more based on pleasing her father 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:03.386 and getting his approval. 00:21:03.586 --> 00:21:07.385 That's probably the- the most motivating factor 00:21:07.585 --> 00:21:11.491 for, um, working hard and dedicating myself here, 00:21:11.691 --> 00:21:15.598 is, you know, to-to impress him with my ability. 00:21:20.103 --> 00:21:22.522 My father understood it was time for him 00:21:22.722 --> 00:21:24.782 to kind of back out of the Lakers. 00:21:24.982 --> 00:21:27.985 He certainly was grooming Jimmy and Jeanie, 00:21:28.185 --> 00:21:30.154 uh, during that period of time. 00:21:30.354 --> 00:21:32.123 When your father owns the team, 00:21:32.323 --> 00:21:35.660 you would assume eventually, you're going to own the team. 00:21:36.786 --> 00:21:38.980 Around that time, my title changed. 00:21:39.180 --> 00:21:41.374 My dad said, "It would be better 00:21:41.574 --> 00:21:44.093 if you were assistant GM." 00:21:44.293 --> 00:21:46.737 I think my dad wanted me to start, 00:21:46.937 --> 00:21:49.144 you know, having that distinctiveness 00:21:49.344 --> 00:21:51.551 that, "Okay, he's not just a scout." 00:22:04.397 --> 00:22:06.340 Dr. Buss created a job for me 00:22:06.540 --> 00:22:08.284 to work in the front office 00:22:08.484 --> 00:22:12.405 to hopefully increase Jimmy's understanding of the sport. 00:22:12.605 --> 00:22:15.708 My dad knew, for the team to be successful 00:22:15.908 --> 00:22:20.872 and for me to be successful, that Jimmy had to understand 00:22:21.072 --> 00:22:23.624 exactly what it was like on the road. 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:31.132 But I had my doubts that my brother would be able 00:22:31.332 --> 00:22:35.991 to sustain that kind of routine and schedule 00:22:36.191 --> 00:22:40.650 and, you know, be on time 'cause it's hard. 00:22:40.850 --> 00:22:45.646 It's a-it's a grueling life, and it takes a toll on you. 00:22:45.846 --> 00:22:47.532 - There was not much downtime. 00:22:47.732 --> 00:22:50.134 I was scouting pretty much all the time. 00:22:50.334 --> 00:22:52.737 Uh, I think he enjoyed the attention 00:22:52.937 --> 00:22:55.135 that the Lakers gave him. 00:22:55.335 --> 00:22:56.333 Jimmy liked being recognized. 00:22:56.344 --> 00:22:58.988 Now he could date any girl in Los Angeles. 00:22:59.088 --> 00:23:01.607 He could get into any club in Los Angeles. 00:23:01.807 --> 00:23:04.327 Jimmy lived a different life than I did, 00:23:04.527 --> 00:23:06.671 going to clubs after hours. 00:23:06.871 --> 00:23:09.833 Jimmy said, "I don't think Phil likes me." 00:23:10.033 --> 00:23:11.501 - I left him behind sometimes. 00:23:11.701 --> 00:23:12.969 He was out too late at night, 00:23:13.169 --> 00:23:15.488 couldn't make it to the bus on time. 00:23:15.688 --> 00:23:17.915 It was one time, and I was standing 00:23:18.115 --> 00:23:20.143 when the bus started to drive away. 00:23:20.343 --> 00:23:22.178 I just said, "You know, this is the way 00:23:22.378 --> 00:23:23.950 "we operate as an organization. 00:23:24.150 --> 00:23:26.317 "You gotta be part of what we do, 00:23:26.517 --> 00:23:28.485 "and this is how we live on the road. 00:23:28.685 --> 00:23:31.813 You go on four hours of sleep, you get four hours of sleep." 00:23:32.013 --> 00:23:34.282 I'm not sure Jimmy felt comfortable, you know, 00:23:34.482 --> 00:23:37.694 having conversations with people like Phil Jackson, 00:23:37.894 --> 00:23:39.404 and understandably so, right? 00:23:39.604 --> 00:23:40.914 Phil won championships. 00:23:41.114 --> 00:23:44.033 He's played in the NBA ten years, you know, 00:23:44.233 --> 00:23:45.293 and you're the owner's son. 00:23:45.493 --> 00:23:47.499 How are you supposed to feel comfortable? 00:23:47.699 --> 00:23:49.706 I was sitting in a meeting with Mitch, 00:23:49.906 --> 00:23:51.883 my dad, Phil Jackson. 00:23:52.083 --> 00:23:55.712 They asked a question, and I stumbled. 00:23:55.912 --> 00:23:58.139 And after that, my dad said, 00:23:58.339 --> 00:24:01.467 "You are not ready unless you can answer 00:24:01.667 --> 00:24:04.011 those kind of questions fluently." 00:24:04.211 --> 00:24:06.356 I thought I was smart enough to have 00:24:06.556 --> 00:24:09.058 a conversation with a Mitch Kupchak in basketball 00:24:09.258 --> 00:24:10.872 or anybody else, but I- 00:24:11.072 --> 00:24:12.487 it turned out I wasn't. 00:24:12.687 --> 00:24:15.448 And that made me just study that much harder. 00:24:15.648 --> 00:24:18.989 It seemed like everything was okay with Jimmy 00:24:19.189 --> 00:24:21.739 because my dad still had him under his wing. 00:24:21.939 --> 00:24:24.490 It was exactly what he wanted, you know. 00:24:24.690 --> 00:24:26.376 Jeanie rising up in the business. 00:24:26.576 --> 00:24:30.125 Jimmy rising up in- in the player side of things. 00:24:30.325 --> 00:24:33.981 I oversaw ticketing, broadcast, sponsorship, 00:24:34.181 --> 00:24:37.765 and Jim oversaw players, coaches, trades. 00:24:37.965 --> 00:24:41.349 So I'm on the side of producing revenue, 00:24:41.549 --> 00:24:46.346 and the basketball side's on the side of spending revenue. 00:24:46.546 --> 00:24:48.565 Even though they were climbing together, 00:24:48.765 --> 00:24:52.060 Jeanie was getting information from elsewhere. 00:24:52.260 --> 00:24:54.320 As far as the basketball operations, 00:24:54.520 --> 00:24:58.191 I really didn't get much feedback from her 00:24:58.391 --> 00:25:00.735 until Phil Jackson came involved. 00:25:01.611 --> 00:25:03.580 Phil Jackson had her ear 00:25:03.780 --> 00:25:06.078 about what was happening with the team. 00:25:06.278 --> 00:25:08.576 It kind of separated Jimmy and Jeanie. 00:25:14.916 --> 00:25:17.043 Shaq and Kobe and the rest of the Lakers 00:25:17.243 --> 00:25:19.387 knows that it's over. 00:25:19.587 --> 00:25:23.224 The next year, they lost that playoff series. 00:25:23.424 --> 00:25:26.803 Just the weight and the grind of going to the finals 00:25:27.003 --> 00:25:30.723 three straight years caught up with them. 00:25:30.923 --> 00:25:32.233 You see the sadness on the faces 00:25:32.433 --> 00:25:35.687 because they had something special, and it was over. 00:25:35.887 --> 00:25:37.355 But then they reload with Gary Payton 00:25:37.555 --> 00:25:38.573 and Karl Malone. 00:25:38.773 --> 00:25:41.025 So now it's back to, "Oh, this team's gonna be 00:25:41.225 --> 00:25:42.952 back in the finals again." 00:25:43.152 --> 00:25:46.322 I was getting older, 14th year. 00:25:46.522 --> 00:25:47.782 I said, "Where should I go? 00:25:47.982 --> 00:25:49.242 "Is this gon' make my legacy 00:25:49.442 --> 00:25:51.127 to win a championship?" 00:25:51.327 --> 00:25:56.624 And then that call came from my little brother, Shaq. 00:25:56.824 --> 00:26:00.678 "Bro, you about to be a free agent. 00:26:00.878 --> 00:26:04.382 Come on over here and let me get you one of these chips." 00:26:04.582 --> 00:26:06.509 And then me and Karl had been talking 00:26:06.709 --> 00:26:08.219 about playing together. 00:26:09.220 --> 00:26:10.809 Well, Karl Malone was- 00:26:11.009 --> 00:26:12.398 he was a Laker Buster. 00:26:12.598 --> 00:26:16.102 Like, can we please just get this guy on our team? 00:26:16.302 --> 00:26:18.417 Gary Payton, same thing, you know. 00:26:18.617 --> 00:26:20.532 He's just- just would crush us. 00:26:20.732 --> 00:26:23.151 Dr. Buss built a way to get both of us. 00:26:24.569 --> 00:26:28.114 I'd like to acknowledge, uh, Dr. Jerry Buss, you know, 00:26:28.314 --> 00:26:29.824 the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, 00:26:30.024 --> 00:26:32.418 and of course, the Buss family. 00:26:32.618 --> 00:26:34.912 Me and Karl-we were still doing things, you know. 00:26:35.112 --> 00:26:36.339 We-we were still good. 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:39.083 Everybody was talking about- we was gonna be special. 00:26:39.283 --> 00:26:41.261 And them two kids was phenomenal. 00:26:41.461 --> 00:26:44.255 They were crazy, and they were just starting to roll. 00:26:45.715 --> 00:26:49.135 Then all-all everything broke-broke apart. 00:26:55.391 --> 00:26:57.727 Earlier today, charges were filed 00:26:57.927 --> 00:26:59.654 against Kobe Bean Bryant 00:26:59.854 --> 00:27:03.616 of one count of *ual assault. 00:27:03.816 --> 00:27:06.486 I think I was at the Beverly Center, 00:27:06.686 --> 00:27:09.739 and I was like, "Nah. 00:27:09.939 --> 00:27:11.166 Are you sure?" 00:27:11.366 --> 00:27:12.792 Did you call him? 00:27:12.992 --> 00:27:17.705 Yeah, but impossible to get through at that time. 00:27:18.706 --> 00:27:21.009 I left the Lakers in 2003. 00:27:21.209 --> 00:27:23.211 But I called him and left him a long message 00:27:23.411 --> 00:27:26.255 and hoped that everything, you know, 00:27:26.455 --> 00:27:29.133 turned out well for him. 00:27:29.333 --> 00:27:30.310 He called me. 00:27:30.510 --> 00:27:32.228 I just remember he was just like, 00:27:32.428 --> 00:27:33.763 "You know that's not true, right, Rick?" 00:27:33.963 --> 00:27:36.078 I said- I-I said, "Bro, I know." 00:27:36.278 --> 00:27:38.193 And so I was concerned for him. 00:27:38.393 --> 00:27:40.436 He was super upset 'cause he felt mis- 00:27:40.636 --> 00:27:41.896 you know, he felt misrepresented 00:27:42.096 --> 00:27:44.240 and misunderstood, and... 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:46.451 After three months of seclusion, 00:27:46.651 --> 00:27:49.654 Kobe Bryant told reporters how he's really feeling. 00:27:49.854 --> 00:27:50.580 Are you scared? 00:27:50.780 --> 00:27:52.415 Terrified. Not-not much- 00:27:52.615 --> 00:27:54.579 not so much for myself but just for, 00:27:54.779 --> 00:27:56.744 uh, what my family's been going through. 00:28:00.081 --> 00:28:02.217 One thing we noticed: 00:28:02.417 --> 00:28:04.756 Shaq wasn't particularly supportive 00:28:04.956 --> 00:28:07.096 publicly at that time or privately. 00:28:07.296 --> 00:28:10.049 Some things were said that got back to Shaq 00:28:10.249 --> 00:28:14.262 that Kobe had mentioned to the cops. 00:28:15.888 --> 00:28:17.941 There's a street code, you know. 00:28:18.141 --> 00:28:20.318 You don't bring anybody else's name into it. 00:28:20.518 --> 00:28:25.565 And so therein lies the tension that-that came after. 00:28:26.732 --> 00:28:28.401 Most of the season my rookie year, 00:28:28.601 --> 00:28:29.911 we were on edge. 00:28:30.111 --> 00:28:33.448 You know, part of it was like, "Is this Shaq's team? 00:28:33.648 --> 00:28:34.958 Is it Kobe's team?" 00:28:35.158 --> 00:28:38.661 Part of it is what he was going through. 00:28:38.861 --> 00:28:41.101 But as it gained more power 00:28:41.301 --> 00:28:43.341 and more coverage in the media, 00:28:43.541 --> 00:28:46.711 then it affected our locker room more. 00:28:46.911 --> 00:28:48.170 - The Lakers' offseason started 00:28:48.370 --> 00:28:49.430 with the budget-friendly additions 00:28:49.630 --> 00:28:52.091 of future Hall of Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton 00:28:52.291 --> 00:28:54.510 and talks of a 70-plus win season. 00:28:54.710 --> 00:28:55.561 Now the Lakers have 00:28:55.761 --> 00:28:57.522 a recurring problem to tend to: 00:28:57.722 --> 00:28:59.724 the on-again, now off-again relationship 00:28:59.924 --> 00:29:01.859 between Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal. 00:29:02.059 --> 00:29:04.153 They had reached a certain impasse 00:29:04.353 --> 00:29:06.693 the beginning of the season before the first game. 00:29:06.893 --> 00:29:08.922 The latest in their long line of rifts 00:29:09.122 --> 00:29:11.100 came after Shaquille O'Neal suggested 00:29:11.300 --> 00:29:13.279 that Kobe Bryant should pass more 00:29:13.479 --> 00:29:15.581 until his legs get stronger. 00:29:15.781 --> 00:29:17.408 Bryant said he didn't need advice 00:29:17.608 --> 00:29:19.097 on how to play his position, 00:29:19.297 --> 00:29:20.586 to which Shaq responded, 00:29:20.786 --> 00:29:22.705 "I'm not telling him how to play his position. 00:29:22.905 --> 00:29:25.145 I'm telling him how to play team ball." 00:29:25.345 --> 00:29:27.385 Phil said, "This is gonna stop. 00:29:27.585 --> 00:29:29.633 I'll take Shaq," and he said, "Mitch, you take Kobe." 00:29:29.833 --> 00:29:31.881 And we just got to say that you can't be crushing 00:29:32.081 --> 00:29:33.266 each other in the press. 00:29:33.466 --> 00:29:35.768 I mean, it's not-that's not how teammates operate. 00:29:35.968 --> 00:29:38.429 You know, if it continues, we're gonna have to fine you. 00:29:38.629 --> 00:29:39.847 We say what we need to stay as a team, 00:29:40.047 --> 00:29:41.265 and then we go out, and we handle it, 00:29:41.465 --> 00:29:42.859 uh, like professional athletes. 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:45.144 So I did say it to Kobe, yeah. 00:29:45.344 --> 00:29:46.654 And he nodded his head. 00:29:46.854 --> 00:29:48.231 And I said, "Do you understand?" 00:29:48.431 --> 00:29:49.490 He goes, "I understand." 00:29:49.690 --> 00:29:53.494 And on his way home, he called the writer. 00:29:53.694 --> 00:29:56.201 Our Jim Gray just got off the phone with Kobe, 00:29:56.401 --> 00:29:58.555 who apparently has responded to Shaquille again. 00:29:58.755 --> 00:30:00.837 Well, Mike, he has an awful lot to say. 00:30:01.037 --> 00:30:02.708 As far as Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe said, 00:30:02.908 --> 00:30:04.580 "It doesn't matter whose team it is. 00:30:04.780 --> 00:30:05.882 "Nobody cares. 00:30:06.082 --> 00:30:09.001 "But since it is his team, no more coming into camp 00:30:09.201 --> 00:30:10.470 "fat and out of shape. 00:30:10.670 --> 00:30:13.343 "If leaving the Lakers at the end of the season 00:30:13.543 --> 00:30:16.490 "is what I decide to do, a major reason for that 00:30:16.690 --> 00:30:19.637 "will be Shaq's childlike selfishness and jealousy. 00:30:19.837 --> 00:30:21.689 "I asked Phil to say something 00:30:21.889 --> 00:30:24.350 "to calm the situation down before it boiled over, 00:30:24.550 --> 00:30:26.560 "but he backed away. 00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:28.571 So now here we are." 00:30:28.771 --> 00:30:30.573 I was in Oakland at home. 00:30:30.773 --> 00:30:33.442 I got a call from Devean George. 00:30:33.642 --> 00:30:35.411 And he said Shaq had told 00:30:35.611 --> 00:30:37.179 some of the other guys on the team, 00:30:37.379 --> 00:30:38.948 "When Kobe gets to practice tomorrow, 00:30:39.148 --> 00:30:40.324 I'm gonna beat his *." 00:30:40.524 --> 00:30:41.501 It was on. 00:30:41.701 --> 00:30:42.960 B Shaw was off the team, 00:30:43.160 --> 00:30:46.497 but he still could tell each and every person 00:30:46.697 --> 00:30:49.050 what it was to their face. 00:30:49.250 --> 00:30:51.544 And so I'm like, "B, you need to come down, man. 00:30:51.744 --> 00:30:52.970 This is getting out of hand." 00:30:53.170 --> 00:30:55.923 So we brought all of these- all these veterans in, 00:30:56.123 --> 00:30:57.642 and we hashed it out. 00:30:57.842 --> 00:30:59.560 - It felt like it was, uh- 00:30:59.760 --> 00:31:01.887 it could have been World War III. 00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:05.499 At the time, I remember getting 00:31:05.699 --> 00:31:06.859 the assignment from my editor. 00:31:07.059 --> 00:31:09.186 He just said, "I need you to call some legal experts 00:31:09.386 --> 00:31:10.938 "and find out how this is gonna play out 00:31:11.138 --> 00:31:12.490 and what is this- what's next, and"- 00:31:12.690 --> 00:31:14.233 you know, and I think we were all almost shocked, 00:31:14.433 --> 00:31:16.193 like, "Oh, Kobe might have to miss time 00:31:16.393 --> 00:31:17.954 as he goes through pretrial allegation." 00:31:18.154 --> 00:31:20.765 I mean, he'll have to fly back and forth to Colorado. 00:31:20.965 --> 00:31:23.576 These were the types of things we were trying to answer. 00:31:23.776 --> 00:31:26.120 It's a big night, first time that Kobe 00:31:26.320 --> 00:31:29.081 has played a preseason game, 00:31:29.281 --> 00:31:31.217 and this is his refuge. 00:31:31.417 --> 00:31:33.961 Uh, he has shown a very calm demeanor so far. 00:31:34.161 --> 00:31:35.555 Go on the outside. 00:31:35.755 --> 00:31:38.804 What has been your reaction to the reception 00:31:39.004 --> 00:31:42.053 that you have received in arenas across America? 00:31:42.253 --> 00:31:44.847 You know, I- I try to block it out. 00:31:45.047 --> 00:31:46.441 I try not to have a reaction. 00:31:46.641 --> 00:31:49.560 Um, like I said, I go into arenas just, you know, 00:31:49.760 --> 00:31:51.195 anticipating the worst. 00:31:51.395 --> 00:31:52.739 I get calls on our radio show, 00:31:52.939 --> 00:31:55.149 people screaming at me, saying, "How can you say 00:31:55.349 --> 00:31:56.409 anything good about this guy?" 00:31:56.609 --> 00:31:59.078 Bryant was booed loudly by the audience. 00:31:59.278 --> 00:32:02.531 He's being the blame for breaking the team up. 00:32:02.731 --> 00:32:04.554 You can't help but overhear 00:32:04.754 --> 00:32:06.377 fans booing or whatever, 00:32:06.577 --> 00:32:09.376 but, you know, I do my best to block it out. 00:32:09.576 --> 00:32:12.564 And welcome back to, once again, 00:32:12.764 --> 00:32:14.951 a sold-out Staples Center, 18,997, 00:32:15.151 --> 00:32:17.338 for a matchup between the Lakers 00:32:17.538 --> 00:32:18.765 and the Denver Nuggets. 00:32:18.965 --> 00:32:20.141 When I got drafted in '03, 00:32:20.341 --> 00:32:21.768 everybody was trying to figure out 00:32:21.968 --> 00:32:24.345 how Kobe's going to play, was he gonna play, 00:32:24.545 --> 00:32:25.804 what games he was gonna sit out. 00:32:26.004 --> 00:32:27.097 Now, there is a change 00:32:27.297 --> 00:32:28.307 in the starting lineup. 00:32:28.507 --> 00:32:29.725 Kobe's status for tonight 00:32:29.925 --> 00:32:30.943 is still in question. 00:32:31.143 --> 00:32:33.604 Before the game, he wasn't on the scout report. 00:32:33.804 --> 00:32:36.732 And first half is going. 00:32:36.932 --> 00:32:38.367 He comes in. 00:32:38.567 --> 00:32:40.277 This was the scene here at Staples Center 00:32:40.477 --> 00:32:41.788 just moments ago. Kobe Bryant... 00:32:41.988 --> 00:32:44.081 He walks to the team's bench, you know, 00:32:44.281 --> 00:32:46.367 ready to go, not stretching, not warming up. 00:32:46.567 --> 00:32:49.712 Just come in and didn't play well. 00:32:49.912 --> 00:32:52.123 But he wound up hitting, like, a big shot at the end. 00:32:52.323 --> 00:32:53.341 Kobe's gonna go. 00:32:53.541 --> 00:32:54.709 Couple of left-handed dribbles. 00:32:54.909 --> 00:32:57.065 Has a look at it. 00:32:57.265 --> 00:32:59.222 Oh! The Lakers win! 00:32:59.422 --> 00:33:00.807 This man is going 00:33:01.007 --> 00:33:03.092 through so much shit off the court. 00:33:03.292 --> 00:33:05.186 He flew in from a court case. 00:33:05.386 --> 00:33:08.264 And the fact that he played and, at the end of the game, 00:33:08.464 --> 00:33:09.982 hit the game-winning shot or whatever 00:33:10.182 --> 00:33:13.144 said a lot about his mental and his perseverance 00:33:13.344 --> 00:33:14.445 as a-as a person. 00:33:14.645 --> 00:33:17.532 - This kid is incredibly tough. 00:33:17.732 --> 00:33:20.317 He's just tougher than any of the other athletes, 00:33:20.517 --> 00:33:22.695 mentally as well as physically. 00:33:26.657 --> 00:33:28.117 It's just been amazing for us to have this opportunity 00:33:28.317 --> 00:33:30.169 to play basketball here, and it's been 00:33:30.369 --> 00:33:34.081 even more amazing to win back-to-back championships. 00:33:35.875 --> 00:33:37.626 Thanks for your continued support. 00:33:37.826 --> 00:33:38.886 We're going into year seven. 00:33:39.086 --> 00:33:41.259 It feels great. It's unbelievable. 00:33:41.459 --> 00:33:43.592 Here, I had been an important part 00:33:43.792 --> 00:33:45.726 of all the growth of the Sparks. 00:33:45.926 --> 00:33:50.181 But it just seemed like, gosh, it just wasn't going right. 00:33:50.381 --> 00:33:52.191 Things were getting off balance. 00:33:52.391 --> 00:33:55.394 My dad worried about the toll 00:33:55.594 --> 00:33:57.822 it would take on Johnny 00:33:58.022 --> 00:34:00.449 because he knew how hard it was. 00:34:00.649 --> 00:34:02.159 You know, there's a lot that goes behind 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:05.821 running an organization, and the WNBA started growing 00:34:06.021 --> 00:34:08.657 a little bit more and taking a bigger hold. 00:34:08.857 --> 00:34:11.494 So that required him to spend more time. 00:34:11.694 --> 00:34:12.628 And I think probably 00:34:12.828 --> 00:34:15.164 the day-to-day wear and tear of the business 00:34:15.364 --> 00:34:16.665 probably kind of got to him. 00:34:16.865 --> 00:34:17.967 - It was like-oh, you know. 00:34:18.167 --> 00:34:20.511 It'd bring back all the memories. 00:34:20.711 --> 00:34:22.263 You know, back then, I had a hard time 00:34:22.463 --> 00:34:26.050 with the Lazers and-and working within the system. 00:34:27.384 --> 00:34:30.596 And so it was just better off that I backed away. 00:34:33.933 --> 00:34:36.936 It was another day in the office kind of thing 00:34:37.136 --> 00:34:38.729 with John leaving the Sparks. 00:34:40.773 --> 00:34:44.485 I thought he was doing such a fantastic job with it, 00:34:44.685 --> 00:34:47.288 winning championships and- 00:34:47.488 --> 00:34:51.325 but, you know, he has his- he has his own thought pattern. 00:34:51.525 --> 00:34:54.286 And I took time to understand what my place is, 00:34:54.486 --> 00:34:57.248 not only in the family business but in life itself. 00:34:57.448 --> 00:35:01.636 And I just felt like it's not my place. 00:35:01.836 --> 00:35:04.547 And I went to my dad, and I said, "It's time to go." 00:35:04.747 --> 00:35:07.049 And he said, "Well, let's sell it. 00:35:07.249 --> 00:35:08.551 Let's just sell it." 00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:12.221 And that was the end of Johnny's involvement 00:35:12.421 --> 00:35:14.807 in the family business. 00:35:17.935 --> 00:35:19.236 Kobe, you've elected to opt out 00:35:19.436 --> 00:35:21.188 of your contract at the end of the season. 00:35:21.388 --> 00:35:22.356 Can you explain why? 00:35:23.649 --> 00:35:27.157 Well, I've never really been a free agent before. 00:35:27.357 --> 00:35:30.865 So, um, I'd kind of like to see what's out there. 00:35:31.065 --> 00:35:32.533 As much as the allegations 00:35:32.733 --> 00:35:34.001 were hanging over the season, 00:35:34.201 --> 00:35:36.745 Kobe's free agency was hanging over the season too. 00:35:36.945 --> 00:35:38.172 If he didn't feel comfortable, 00:35:38.372 --> 00:35:41.208 if things weren't made to his liking, 00:35:41.408 --> 00:35:43.419 he had the freedom to walk away. 00:35:44.295 --> 00:35:46.630 Playing with Shaq has given me championship rings, 00:35:46.830 --> 00:35:48.182 but individually, 00:35:48.382 --> 00:35:50.801 uh, I can do what I do individually on- 00:35:51.001 --> 00:35:52.553 on any team. 00:35:54.096 --> 00:35:55.372 I don't know what the future holds. 00:35:55.572 --> 00:35:56.715 Do you think there'll be 00:35:56.915 --> 00:35:58.700 a part of you at one point 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:00.486 to say, "I'll show them. 00:36:00.686 --> 00:36:03.572 I'll be on a team without the big fella"? 00:36:03.772 --> 00:36:08.068 You know how I am as far as my competitiveness 00:36:08.268 --> 00:36:10.037 and responding to challenges. 00:36:10.237 --> 00:36:11.906 If I wanted to respond to that challenge, 00:36:12.106 --> 00:36:13.624 it's definitely an urge. 00:36:13.824 --> 00:36:17.077 Kobe said to me, "I want to do this 00:36:17.277 --> 00:36:19.755 without a dominant big man." 00:36:19.955 --> 00:36:21.916 He didn't say to me, "Because Michael did it," 00:36:22.116 --> 00:36:23.384 but I know. 00:36:23.584 --> 00:36:27.388 Michael was the gold standard for Kobe. 00:36:27.588 --> 00:36:31.258 You know, we found out later that on Super Bowl Sunday, 00:36:31.458 --> 00:36:35.241 Kobe had gone to meet with Jerry Buss. 00:36:35.441 --> 00:36:39.025 At no time did Kobe and I discuss 00:36:39.225 --> 00:36:43.295 whether he would come back based on Shaq or Phil. 00:36:43.495 --> 00:36:47.566 I don't believe that Kobe gave him an ultimatum. 00:36:47.766 --> 00:36:50.298 I think that was Jerry Buss' understanding. 00:36:50.498 --> 00:36:52.830 And then right before the All-Star break, 00:36:53.030 --> 00:36:57.701 the Lakers formally announce that contract extension talks 00:36:57.901 --> 00:37:01.088 with Phil Jackson are off the table. 00:37:01.288 --> 00:37:04.500 You used the words "psychological war" 00:37:04.700 --> 00:37:05.968 between you and Kobe. 00:37:06.168 --> 00:37:07.966 One of the things that really changed 00:37:08.166 --> 00:37:09.764 our relationship in the last year 00:37:09.964 --> 00:37:11.849 was that there were some heated words. 00:37:12.049 --> 00:37:15.786 I-I actually said to Kobe that it's too destructive 00:37:15.986 --> 00:37:19.723 to have that vitriolic hot flow coming out of you 00:37:19.923 --> 00:37:21.725 towards me because it-it undermines 00:37:21.925 --> 00:37:23.435 what the team has to do. 00:37:23.635 --> 00:37:24.945 And at that particular time, 00:37:25.145 --> 00:37:26.438 I realized that our relationship 00:37:26.638 --> 00:37:27.656 had disintegrated. 00:37:27.856 --> 00:37:29.400 What happened when you went to see 00:37:29.600 --> 00:37:31.410 Mitch Kupchak in late January? 00:37:31.610 --> 00:37:33.454 The essence of what I said is, 00:37:33.654 --> 00:37:35.489 "I don't think I can coach Kobe anymore. 00:37:35.689 --> 00:37:36.832 "I can't reach him. 00:37:37.032 --> 00:37:40.411 "And if you want me to continue on with this ball club, 00:37:40.611 --> 00:37:41.962 "then the change has to be made. 00:37:42.162 --> 00:37:45.499 And if you want Kobe on this ball club, then I have to go." 00:37:45.699 --> 00:37:47.042 - You're the coach. 00:37:47.242 --> 00:37:48.385 You figure it out. 00:37:48.585 --> 00:37:50.049 And if you're not gonna do it, 00:37:50.249 --> 00:37:51.514 I'll find somebody else to do it. 00:37:51.714 --> 00:37:56.302 But if it comes down to Kobe or you, I'm keeping Kobe. 00:37:56.502 --> 00:37:58.178 Wilbon, will they lose Phil Jackson? 00:37:58.378 --> 00:37:59.230 Yes. 00:37:59.430 --> 00:38:00.564 Will they lose Kobe Bryant? 00:38:00.764 --> 00:38:03.309 Eh. And will Shaq ask out? 00:38:04.977 --> 00:38:07.129 - Shaq famously said to my dad, 00:38:07.329 --> 00:38:09.281 you know, "Show me the money. 00:38:09.481 --> 00:38:12.493 Yeah, that-that was not a good moment. 00:38:12.693 --> 00:38:15.279 It-it just added more stress to the situation. 00:38:15.479 --> 00:38:17.031 I think he was kind of not joking, 00:38:17.231 --> 00:38:18.907 but joking, but-and not. 00:38:19.107 --> 00:38:20.584 I'm a businessman. 00:38:20.784 --> 00:38:21.961 You're not gonna pay me 120 00:38:22.161 --> 00:38:23.912 and then come back and pay me 80 00:38:24.112 --> 00:38:25.881 when I'm worth 200. 00:38:26.081 --> 00:38:28.250 Look, a lot of stuff was going on that year. 00:38:28.450 --> 00:38:30.043 A lot. 00:38:31.837 --> 00:38:34.323 Kobe had a situation that was going on 00:38:34.523 --> 00:38:36.809 that was still overriding his career. 00:38:37.009 --> 00:38:41.663 Everything that portended for failure or for loss 00:38:41.863 --> 00:38:46.518 happened, and still, here we were in the finals. 00:38:46.718 --> 00:38:48.946 The rumors that were going around 00:38:49.146 --> 00:38:54.151 about Phil wasn't coming back, Shaq wasn't coming back, 00:38:54.351 --> 00:38:57.204 it was a real distraction for the team 00:38:57.404 --> 00:39:00.682 and was really undermining to Phil in-in trying 00:39:00.882 --> 00:39:04.161 to get the team focused so that we could win 00:39:04.361 --> 00:39:06.005 that championship. 00:39:06.205 --> 00:39:08.174 But instead, it just all fell apart. 00:39:08.374 --> 00:39:12.878 All of the shenanigans had-had drained everybody 00:39:13.078 --> 00:39:16.006 to a point where I felt we walked in 00:39:16.206 --> 00:39:18.809 as a totally spent team. 00:39:19.009 --> 00:39:20.264 Well, I think most of us thought 00:39:20.464 --> 00:39:21.520 the Lakers would sweep the Pistons, 00:39:21.720 --> 00:39:23.931 maybe the Pistons would take one game off them, 00:39:24.131 --> 00:39:26.308 and the exact opposite happened. 00:39:26.508 --> 00:39:29.612 The Lakers won one game. 00:39:29.812 --> 00:39:33.232 I was on tour in Europe, and I'd go find a sports bar 00:39:33.432 --> 00:39:35.692 that was open at 4:00 in the morning 00:39:35.892 --> 00:39:37.953 and watch the game, and they would lose. 00:39:38.153 --> 00:39:40.656 I remember just, like, walking back to the hotel, 00:39:40.856 --> 00:39:42.199 like, you know, a three-mile walk back 00:39:42.399 --> 00:39:43.459 'cause there's no cabs. 00:39:43.659 --> 00:39:45.452 And I'm tired, and the * Lakers 00:39:45.652 --> 00:39:47.421 lost to the Pistons. 00:39:47.621 --> 00:39:53.085 Detroit basketball! 00:39:54.086 --> 00:39:59.099 It culminated in severe disappointment. 00:39:59.299 --> 00:40:03.846 I can't help but think that perhaps we're a better team 00:40:04.046 --> 00:40:05.940 than we showed in the finals. 00:40:06.140 --> 00:40:10.185 Was this probably your last game as a Laker? 00:40:10.385 --> 00:40:12.541 Um, I don't know. 00:40:12.741 --> 00:40:14.698 Um, you know, 00:40:14.898 --> 00:40:17.592 we'll have to wait till the summer to find out. 00:40:17.792 --> 00:40:20.487 Maybe losing this one, this opportunity is- 00:40:20.687 --> 00:40:22.039 is enough for me to- 00:40:22.239 --> 00:40:24.825 uh, to say that it's time to give it up. 00:40:25.025 --> 00:40:28.587 To lose that series to Detroit was 00:40:28.787 --> 00:40:32.708 kind of the end of the line, and everybody could feel it. 00:40:34.626 --> 00:40:37.174 My dad told Phil, like, "You know, 00:40:37.374 --> 00:40:39.723 I'm probably gonna trade Shaq." 00:40:39.923 --> 00:40:43.764 And Phil said, you know, that would be a huge mistake. 00:40:43.964 --> 00:40:47.806 And my dad said, "Well, it- it really won't matter to you 00:40:48.006 --> 00:40:49.349 because you're not coming back." 00:40:51.351 --> 00:40:54.196 I think basketball coaches 00:40:54.396 --> 00:40:57.316 are effective for about five years. 00:40:57.516 --> 00:40:58.367 I really do. 00:40:58.567 --> 00:41:00.861 That whole situation just ran its course, 00:41:01.061 --> 00:41:03.455 and it was time to start fresh. 00:41:03.655 --> 00:41:08.202 But you're a nine-time championship-winning coach. 00:41:08.402 --> 00:41:10.004 You're not just any coach. 00:41:10.204 --> 00:41:12.039 How could that decision have been made 00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:13.632 to choose Kobe over that coach? 00:41:13.832 --> 00:41:16.460 You know, I- I have great respect 00:41:16.660 --> 00:41:17.720 for Dr. Buss. 00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:20.881 I have respect for his decision. 00:41:21.081 --> 00:41:22.558 I understand his decision. 00:41:22.758 --> 00:41:24.476 If you'd have won that championship 00:41:24.676 --> 00:41:27.054 against Detroit, would you have made the same change? 00:41:27.254 --> 00:41:28.897 - I think in Phil's case, 00:41:29.097 --> 00:41:31.266 I think he would have retired anyway. 00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:38.440 Phil came home and opened a bottle of champagne 00:41:38.640 --> 00:41:40.075 and said he was relieved 00:41:40.275 --> 00:41:42.236 he wasn't gonna have to come back. 00:41:45.405 --> 00:41:47.249 Drank a bottle of champagne and talked 00:41:47.449 --> 00:41:51.165 about what a great time we'd had for those five years 00:41:51.365 --> 00:41:55.082 and what a difference it was gonna make in our lives. 00:41:55.282 --> 00:41:56.884 Jeanie and I know that, you know, 00:41:57.084 --> 00:41:58.794 if I'm not here with this organization, 00:41:58.994 --> 00:42:00.295 you know, she is. 00:42:00.495 --> 00:42:01.597 She's gonna be here. 00:42:01.797 --> 00:42:03.966 Getting involved with a player or a coach, 00:42:04.166 --> 00:42:05.059 you could get traded. 00:42:05.259 --> 00:42:07.686 You get-you might not sign back. 00:42:07.886 --> 00:42:10.264 I mean, that's just- that's part of the job. 00:42:10.464 --> 00:42:13.233 There wasn't that, um, compassion 00:42:13.433 --> 00:42:17.646 about the fact that the man I'm in a relationship with 00:42:17.846 --> 00:42:19.114 just lost his job. 00:42:19.314 --> 00:42:21.191 Like, "How does that make you feel?" 00:42:21.391 --> 00:42:23.410 You know, "Are you okay?" 00:42:23.610 --> 00:42:26.071 I always knew that when I started dating Phil 00:42:26.271 --> 00:42:28.532 six years ago that there would be a day 00:42:28.732 --> 00:42:29.875 where he would leave the Lakers. 00:42:30.075 --> 00:42:32.102 Was he still gonna live in Los Angeles? 00:42:32.302 --> 00:42:34.329 I knew I could only live in Los Angeles. 00:42:34.529 --> 00:42:36.331 Was he gonna move to Montana? 00:42:36.531 --> 00:42:38.333 Was he gonna take another job? 00:42:39.543 --> 00:42:42.341 I was getting flashbacks of what it was like 00:42:42.541 --> 00:42:45.404 when my husband was playing volleyball in Italy 00:42:45.604 --> 00:42:48.468 and how hard it was to keep my career going. 00:42:50.929 --> 00:42:52.981 Things weren't gonna last forever, 00:42:53.181 --> 00:42:56.393 and this was the time that I was gonna have to, 00:42:56.593 --> 00:42:57.569 you know- 00:42:57.769 --> 00:43:00.480 you know, just kind of figure out my life. 00:43:12.409 --> 00:43:15.170 Usually, when, uh, something happens, 00:43:15.370 --> 00:43:18.690 like the firing of a coach, I would know about it, 00:43:18.890 --> 00:43:22.210 but I wake up, and I turn on ESPN like I always do. 00:43:24.379 --> 00:43:26.531 "Phil Jackson fired as Laker coach." 00:43:26.731 --> 00:43:28.684 I'm like, "Nah, that ain't true." 00:43:28.884 --> 00:43:30.515 So I called Mitch. I said, uh, "What's going on?" 00:43:30.715 --> 00:43:32.348 "Yeah, there's gonna be some changes around." 00:43:32.548 --> 00:43:33.981 I was like, "You're gonna get rid of the man 00:43:34.181 --> 00:43:36.808 "that took us to the finals four out of the five years, 00:43:37.008 --> 00:43:38.685 all the stuff he had to go through?" 00:43:42.522 --> 00:43:46.952 In the spring of 2004, we tried to extend Shaquille, 00:43:47.152 --> 00:43:52.407 and we didn't get to the number that he wanted to get to. 00:43:52.607 --> 00:43:55.285 He made it clear to us during his negotiation 00:43:55.485 --> 00:43:56.837 that unless we paid him 00:43:57.037 --> 00:44:00.624 the maximum amount of money for the maximum term, 00:44:00.824 --> 00:44:03.051 he wanted to be traded. 00:44:03.251 --> 00:44:05.837 You know, everybody wants to get paid more. 00:44:07.464 --> 00:44:11.635 You start to look at a losing proposition, 00:44:11.835 --> 00:44:14.158 so you have to sometimes blow it up. 00:44:14.358 --> 00:44:16.504 When somebody says, "Trade me," 00:44:16.704 --> 00:44:18.850 they're saying, "Listen, you know, 00:44:19.050 --> 00:44:21.519 we should part our ways." 00:44:21.719 --> 00:44:24.543 And you have to trade people 00:44:24.743 --> 00:44:27.567 before they're not tradable. 00:44:28.819 --> 00:44:30.162 When you start to hear the suggestion 00:44:30.362 --> 00:44:33.407 that, you know-people saying that you're old, slow, 00:44:33.607 --> 00:44:36.126 weak, how do you take that? 00:44:36.326 --> 00:44:39.746 Of course, I'm slow and weaker, but I'm still me. 00:44:39.946 --> 00:44:41.507 I'm still Diesel. 00:44:41.707 --> 00:44:42.795 - I mean, let's face it. 00:44:42.995 --> 00:44:43.884 Dr. Buss, the Lakers got 00:44:44.084 --> 00:44:46.253 the best years from Shaquille. 00:44:46.453 --> 00:44:47.804 They definitely did. 00:44:48.004 --> 00:44:52.226 I guess they wanted to spend on the young guy, 00:44:52.426 --> 00:44:56.138 and, uh, they didn't want to deal with the old guy. 00:44:56.338 --> 00:44:58.473 I figured they would get rid of me first. 00:44:58.673 --> 00:44:59.733 - Why you first? 00:44:59.933 --> 00:45:02.152 - Because he's their guy. 00:45:02.352 --> 00:45:05.401 He's younger, energetic, more athletic. 00:45:05.601 --> 00:45:08.650 He's the future, whatever that means. 00:45:08.850 --> 00:45:11.245 And I understood that. 00:45:11.445 --> 00:45:13.638 I don't take nothing personal, man. 00:45:13.838 --> 00:45:16.032 Mr. Buss called me, said, "Hey, man. 00:45:16.232 --> 00:45:17.543 "I love you. 00:45:17.743 --> 00:45:19.870 "I understand you don't want to take less money. 00:45:20.070 --> 00:45:21.255 Miami is interested in you." 00:45:21.455 --> 00:45:24.212 "Okay, I'll go to Miami. Thank you, sir." 00:45:24.412 --> 00:45:26.420 Cool with me. Business is basketball. 00:45:26.620 --> 00:45:28.212 Do you have any regrets, 00:45:28.412 --> 00:45:30.005 having traded Shaquille? 00:45:30.205 --> 00:45:31.056 - None. 00:45:31.256 --> 00:45:33.967 I mean, that's a franchise decision 00:45:34.167 --> 00:45:35.852 done, in my opinion, 00:45:36.052 --> 00:45:38.934 for the best health of the franchise. 00:45:39.134 --> 00:45:42.017 I think he took it more personally 00:45:42.217 --> 00:45:44.444 than it was intended. 00:45:44.644 --> 00:45:46.947 I certainly knew that trading Shaquille, 00:45:47.147 --> 00:45:49.649 we were gonna take our lumps, or at least I was, 00:45:49.849 --> 00:45:51.535 and I also knew that Kobe was a free agent, 00:45:51.735 --> 00:45:53.737 and it's kind of like, "Well, what if he goes too?" 00:45:53.937 --> 00:45:54.955 Right? 00:45:55.155 --> 00:45:57.040 You know, my fourth year as a GM, 00:45:57.240 --> 00:45:59.409 it could be- this could be it, right? 00:45:59.609 --> 00:46:00.994 It could be all she wrote. 00:46:05.791 --> 00:46:07.092 We want to get you caught up right now 00:46:07.292 --> 00:46:08.835 on the latest breaking news from the Kobe Bryant case. 00:46:09.035 --> 00:46:11.671 The criminal case against him appears to be over. 00:46:13.423 --> 00:46:15.142 Well, Anderson, we expected to see 00:46:15.342 --> 00:46:18.595 a civil trial in the case, but it will not happen. 00:46:18.795 --> 00:46:21.515 Both sides have reached a civil settlement. 00:46:21.715 --> 00:46:24.017 The case is now completely over. 00:46:25.685 --> 00:46:27.070 Kobe, Phil Jackson has left 00:46:27.270 --> 00:46:29.031 the organization, and Shaquille O'Neal. 00:46:29.231 --> 00:46:31.650 There's a wide-ranging perception in the public 00:46:31.850 --> 00:46:33.243 that you were at the controls. 00:46:33.443 --> 00:46:37.030 How much did you have to do with both of their departures? 00:46:37.230 --> 00:46:39.416 - Oh, zero. Nothing. 00:46:39.616 --> 00:46:40.751 But, you know, people's perception- 00:46:40.951 --> 00:46:43.211 they always want to run with the biggest story. 00:46:43.411 --> 00:46:45.831 You know, they say, "Oh, well, him and Shaq didn't get along, 00:46:46.031 --> 00:46:47.591 "so, you know, Shaq's leaving. 00:46:47.791 --> 00:46:50.710 He's not happy there, so Kobe must have ran him out." 00:46:50.910 --> 00:46:52.054 That's not true. 00:46:52.254 --> 00:46:55.715 I mean, we had eight overall good years together, 00:46:55.915 --> 00:46:56.850 and we had our rocky times- 00:46:57.050 --> 00:46:58.931 you know, we had our share of arguments- 00:46:59.131 --> 00:47:00.812 but we were able to win three titles. 00:47:01.012 --> 00:47:03.306 And, you know, now we've gone separate ways. 00:47:06.518 --> 00:47:09.396 But ultimately, I'm happy to be playing for the Lakers. 00:47:09.596 --> 00:47:12.074 This is a happy day. 00:47:12.274 --> 00:47:15.068 In order to be the godfather, whoever's in charge, 00:47:15.268 --> 00:47:17.508 you gotta take him out. 00:47:17.708 --> 00:47:19.748 So when I got traded, 00:47:19.948 --> 00:47:23.585 kid just- he finally gets what he wants. 00:47:23.785 --> 00:47:27.247 He's been waiting for this moment since he's 18. 00:47:27.447 --> 00:47:30.625 Tired of being in the shadow of people. 00:47:30.825 --> 00:47:32.386 It's all his. 00:47:32.586 --> 00:47:35.714 Kobe Bryant has just checked back in. 00:47:42.489 --> 00:47:44.099 Remember this, 'cause I'ma bring 00:47:44.299 --> 00:47:45.692 a championship to Miami. I promise. 00:47:45.892 --> 00:47:47.085 A lot of people probably thought 00:47:47.285 --> 00:47:49.037 I was gonna be doing this interview, taking shots. 00:47:49.237 --> 00:47:51.047 No, doesn't matter what I think. 00:47:51.247 --> 00:47:54.792 But, uh, you know, some people go-do certain things 00:47:54.992 --> 00:47:56.845 to-to get that power. 00:47:57.045 --> 00:47:59.464 Be careful what you wish for. 00:47:59.664 --> 00:48:01.182 - You said it. 00:48:01.382 --> 00:48:02.517 I'm here in LA. 00:48:02.717 --> 00:48:04.185 I'm trying to do the best job I can. 00:48:04.385 --> 00:48:06.804 He's down in Miami trying to do the best job he can, 00:48:07.004 --> 00:48:08.732 and I wish him all the best. 00:48:08.932 --> 00:48:12.560 And, you know, I'll see you on December 25th.