Mike Brown was formally introduced as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, and by all accounts he did very well in his first opportunity to make an impression the the assembled Los Angeles media. Brown touched on the two most important bases. He showed respect to Phil Jackson, and the foundation of what hopefully develops into a good relationship with Kobe.
Brown was sure to talk about what an incredible job Jackson did, but also made it very clear that he should be judged on his own merits, not how he stacks up against Jackson's. He also mentioned a conversation he had with Kobe, saying that they had touched base on a few things other than basketball. You never know with Kobe, he might not be able to get on board with a coach he wasn't consulted about when hired, but Brown made it sound like he is going to make building that bond a big priority.
Front to back, it was a polished presentation. Brown didn't seem ill at ease in front of a big city press corps, but then again, they weren't throwing 98 mile-an-hour cheese this afternoon. Today was just batting practice. Facing the heat after his first three-game losing streak will be something else entirely, and he'd be well advised to delay that press conference as long as possible.
Brown did well on Tuesday, but an introductory press conference is sort of like the Summer League. You can show flashes of being good, but judgement will ultimately be made on how he performs during the regular (and in the case of the Lakers, post-) season.