Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant, speaking at the Lakers’ annual “All-Access” event at Staples Center on Monday, said they have “a determination to figure it out.”

And will win, it’s only a matter of time. 

Bryant said James’ approach to his maiden voyage with the Lakers is not conducive to long-term success, but that it was needed at this stage in the team’s development.

“It’s a test of Bron’s patience and also doing what he needs to do to keep the team’s head above water,” Bryant told Lakers play-by-play announcer Bill MacDonald at the “All-Access” event. “So, it’s a balancing act. They were struggling, Bron got the ball, took control, decided to start playing point, doing everything, doing everything.

“That’s not the recipe for winning championships by no means, but it is a recipe to keep your head above water, to give yourself a little breathing room and now it’s going back to teaching how to play the way that we want to play.”

“Coming in here, to this organization and this city, it’s not anything that’s new to him,” Bryant said of James. “He’s always had the spotlight. He’s been able to deal with that gracefully. I think the difference here is that you have a collection of players and a lot of talent, all young. And so the challenge is, can they figure out what their games are individually sooner rather than later?

“Because at the beginning of the season, you saw a collection of individual talent try to figure out what it is that they can do and where they can do it on the floor — what are their games? And at the same time, try to figure out how to make those games blend in as a group. Right? And you can’t have both.”

Bryant said that restlessness is OK for the young players to feel, but that pressure has to come from within each individual, not from the outside.

“The patience is on all of us. We have to be patient,” Bryant said. “But as a player, you’re never patient with yourself. You’re patient with each other, but not with yourself. You want to be there now. And you work to be there now with an understanding that it is going to take time. But you want to be there now. That’s the way that you accelerate growth. They have a lot of potential, man. They’ll figure it out.”

Bryant announced the launch of the Mamba Sports Academy on Monday

The Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission hosted the event and presented Bryant with a Harry Potter gift package, courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios, on stage at the conclusion of the Q&A. 

Kobe is staying pretty visible during retirement.