Kobe: Lonzo needs 'get better now' mentality

Having played two decades in the purple and gold, Kobe Bryant understands Los Angeles Lakers fans always expect greatness.

In an interview with Chris McGee on Spectrum SportsNet’s "Connected With," Bryant urged the young, rebuilding Lakers - Lonzo Ball, in particular - to approach each game with the mentality of being great immediately.

"He needs to get better now," Bryant said of Ball, according to Josh Martin of USA Today.

The five-time champion added that other youngsters, such as Julius Randle and Kyle Kuzma, must also take the same approach toward being great. That mentality would presumably also apply to last year's No. 2 pick, Brandon Ingram.

Bryant compared the rebuild to his own situation when he joined the Lakers in the late-'90s. He was just a teenager out of high school, but developed quickly and won his first title by age 22.

"We never thought, 'OK, we're gonna win four years from now.' We really thought, 'This is our year. We're gonna get this done. We're gonna push, push, push, push, push, get better now.' And in the process of having that kind of impatience, you develop. If you're just patiently going about it, you'll never get there. For players, it's a kind of patient impatience," Bryant said.

He was realistic in his expectations of this roster, though. They're hardly in a position to challenge for the playoffs, and he urged fans to patient.

"This team here is not a contending team. They haven't won anything. ... So patience has to be required. That day will come. These young players will grow, and then everybody will look up and marvel at the amount of talent that we have."