Kobe Bryant calls Andre Iguodala ‘Pippenesque’

The Denver Nuggets (8-9) helped to facilitate the trade that brought Dwight Howard to the Lakers, acquiring Andre Iguodala for Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington.

Iguodala is one of the Nuggets leading scorers at 15.6 points per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. He’s also collecting 5.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

“I’ve been a fan of his since he came out of Arizona,� said Lakers All-Star Kobe Bryant, who has a strong relationship with Iguodala off the court. “I’ve always tried to look out for him as much as I could, talk to him about the game and things like that. I’m just happy for him to be in a situation where he feels comfortable.�

Bryant and Iguodala share the same agent, Rob Pelinka of the Landmark Sports Agency.

“He does a good job. He’s a very good defender,� said Bryant. “He’s ‘Pippenesque’ in terms of his length and his ability to cover ground.�

Nuggets Coach George Karl didn’t have a problem helping the Lakers acquire Howard, given Denver’s desire to acquire Iguodala.

“I don’t think we’re at that level yet. If we go to the conference finals and it becomes, ‘We have to beat the Lakers,’� said Karl. “Like Philadelphia and Boston in the eighties and Detroit and Chicago in the nineties, they obviously made decisions on how to beat that team. I don’t think we’re there yet.�

The Lakers, who knocked the Nuggets out of the playoffs last year in a hard-fought seven-game series, beat Denver on Friday night 122-103 at Staples Center.

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You can email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.