Makes me shake my head, even though I'm a Celtics fan.
Report: Lakers leaning toward keeping Mike D’Antoni
Dan Feldman
Apr 2, 2014, 12:29 PM EDT
41 Comments
Phoenix Suns v Los Angeles Lakers Getty Images
Kobe Bryant reportedly wanted Mike D’Antoni fired. Pau Gasol and D’Antoni have had their run-ins. As have Chris Kaman and D’Antoni.
Oh, and the Lakers stink. At 25-49, they’re on pace for their worst record in 54 years.
Momentum appears to be squarely against D’Antoni – though not necessarily in the Lakers’ front office.
Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report:
D’Antoni has one more guaranteed season left on his Lakers contract, and the club is leaning toward retaining him despite some privately disgruntled players and massive public disdain. It’s not clear which way the Lakers will go with him.
The first sentence is very useful information. The second sentence is a pretty major qualifier. It sounds as if the Lakers are somewhere in the vicinity of 55-45 for keeping D’Antoni – hardly odds that justify betting big money on D’Antoni’s return.
There is no doubt D’Antoni, the 2004-05 Coach of the Year, was a great coach. His high-tempo Suns won 62, 54, 61 and 55 games between 2004-05 and 2007-08.
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, D’Antoni should be tickled. Since D’Antoni’s peak Phoenix offenses took the league by storm, other teams are playing faster and shooting more 3-pointers
D’Antoni was ahead of his time, which leads to the question… How good a coach is D’Antoni now?
Maybe his schematic advantage has slipped since other coaches have caught onto the value of playing quickly and shooting 3s. That leaves D’Antoni to set himself apart by continuously innovating and better teach his schemes.
But it seems D’Antoni’s message is already wearing thin in Los Angeles – though thanks to the coach’s agent, Kaman is talking a much softer tone now – and players don’t tend to listen better with more time.
The factor most working in D’Antoni’s favor: The Lakers might settle for one more rebuilding year next season – getting younger and avoiding the luxury tax (and delaying repeater penalties) before a loaded 2015 free agent class that includes Kevin Love. If they do that, they as might as well keep D’Antoni rather than paying two coaches. Plus, they’ll be better positioned to hire a new coach a year later when the team is better.
I doubt that plan would sit well with Kobe, who wants to contend immediately. So, if the Lakers keep D’Antoni due to rebuilding, it could cause a rift between the coach and the team’s biggest star.
In other words, the Lakers are weighing paying an extra few million for coaching and the odds of internal combustion. Not a fun choice, but it would at least be understandable why they’d keep D’Antoni.
