Kobe Bryant news is up and the star player has spoken about the departure of former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni as "Balck Mamba" is set to take an active role in choosing the team's next coach

After a lackluster season of injuries and disappointments, what was then known as the "Showtime" franchise team in the NBA decided not to pick up D'Antoni's 2015-2016 option, that led to the coach's decision to walk away.

Kobe Bryant appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday evening and spoke about the matter. When asked about whether D'Antoni accepted a buyout of about $2 million, this is what the future Hall-of-Famer had to say:

"Honestly, I didn't care."

"Mike was dealt a really bad hand in dealing with all the injuries that he had here," Bryant added. "This is a tough place, man. If you're not winning, you're not going to survive, man."

The Los Angeles Lakers last experienced a championship in 2010, when they slugged out a grueling seven-game series against their long-time rivals, the Boston Celtics. It was also the last season that multi-titled head coach Phil Jackson handled the team. Since then, the team had been underperforming for their usual standards, and had gone through two coaching changes.

Another Kobe Bryant news is that he has expressed his intent to have an active role in choosing the next coach. "Black Mamba" also believes that the issue between the coach and players was not the problem but rather it is about the end-goal, which was to win games.

"Honestly, it's not really about whether the players like the coach or not," Bryant explained. "It's really about getting results. Liking somebody and those results don't necessarily go hand-in-hand."

"Sometimes when a coach is driving you, you don't necessarily like it, but it's a part of the process, and then once you win, everybody is buddy-buddy after that," he added.

Since Phil Jackson's departure, the Lakers were unable to find a suitable replacement for him. After all, he is one of the best coaches in the business with an impressive resumé.

Kobe Bryant, of course, still continues to laud his former mentor.

"I think he'll do fantastic," he said. "Especially the more people say that he won't be successful."