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LA Lakers Hire Mike D'Antoni

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Nightperson

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Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine
Says one source of LA Times report that Mike D'Antoni will coach Lakers: "Yes ... just happened."

Sam The Bullshit Whisperer ‏@SamAmicoFSO
Also, according to LA Times' @Mike_Bresnahan, D'Antoni will get 4-year deal from Lakers.


Awful hire, should have gave Phil Jackson the farm.
 
Have fun losing in the first round for the next 4 years, LA.
 
The Lakers have their new coach and it's not Phil Jackson.

According to the L.A. Times, the Lakers will name Mike D'Antoni their new coach. D'Antoni reportedly signed a four-year deal with the team.

With all signs pointing towards a Jackson return, reportedly the 11-time NBA champion coach was just asking for too much. Jackson's health issues have been well documented and according to numerous reports, Jackson was hoping to arrange a special travel schedule to accomodate him.

According to the report, Jackson was "asking for the moon."

By that account, it sounds like it's not Jackson who turned the Lakers down, but the Lakers who turned Jackson down. Which is a very interesting twist.

So the Lakers turned to their next choice, D'Antoni, who has a good relationship with Steve Nash and is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in the game. With the Lakers working to fit in new pieces, D'Antoni is likely seen as a coach that can maximize the offensive talents the team has on the floor.

D'Antoni reportedly interviewed with the team on Saturday by phone.

There is some complication as D'Antoni is recovering from knee replacement surgery and isn't expected to be on his feet until December.

How does D'Antoni fit? Here's what Zach Harper of CBSSports.com wrote:

The Lakers weren't a bad offensive team to start the season, so it's easy to say D'Antoni isn't going to fix that. You also need more than a couple of practices to get D'Antoni's system implemented, although Nash's presence can certainly help direct traffic and explain where guys need to be. It might not take as long as it would with an unfamiliar point guard.

Aside from D'Antoni being a very good coach, I'm for the Lakers pursuing him because it would give them an identity their star players can embody. An identity has been missing so far this season. Not sure how many other available coaches can instill that right away.

What the Lakers tried to do under former coach Mike Brown was install an offense based around off-ball movement and cutting, when the strength of the team was seen in the pick-and-roll game. Something of course that's a strength of D'Antoni's system.

The Lakers fired Mike Brown on Friday, just five games into the season after the team started 1-4. Under interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff, the team has gone 2-0.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/e...ke-dantoni-to-be-the-next-coach-of-the-lakers

What a twist.
 
What a mistake. But these are the same guys that hired Mike Brown.
 
This actually might work.

Offensively this team should be really really good.

Defense I don't think will be the issue it has been in other D'antoni stops because Dwight/Kobe/Artest are good defenders, and won't allow that team to turn into Phoenix.

All I know is Phil must have been asking for $15 million a year, because had his price even been reasonable he would be coaching this team.

He was making $12 million his last stint, and given the situation you know he was looking for more than that since he figured he had the team over a barrel.

Next to Phil, the D'antoni hire has Kobe's approval I am sure because I know he is a big fan of his.

At least Nash will finally be used right as he looked miserable in Mike Brown's system.
 
Gasol and MWP don't fit at all, Amare watch for the Lakers upcoming.
 
We're gonna keep hanging on to this notion that Kobe is still a good defender?
 
We're gonna keep hanging on to this notion that Kobe is still a good defender?

Night in night out in the regular season....No.

Come the playoffs when a series gets tight, he is still a good defender when he has to be.

If anything that should improve itself since he won't have to carry the Lakers offensively the way he has the past few seasons now that he has some help.
 
You don't fire Mike Brown for Mike Dantoni. Phil Jackson yes, Mike Dantoni no. They say its a 4 year deal, but we will see how long he lasts. Regardless it should be fun.
 
You don't fire Mike Brown for Mike Dantoni. Phil Jackson yes, Mike Dantoni no. They say its a 4 year deal, but we will see how long he lasts. Regardless it should be fun.

It is being reported as 3 yr/12million with team option for 4th year.

Nash is up in 3 years not coincidentally.

Sounds about right.

This hire was all about Steve Nash, and trying to get some productivity out of him as it wasn't happening with Mike Brown.

When you have a veteran team you have to bring in a coach they want to deal with, and if nothing else MD fits that mold. Whether it works or not who knows, but there will be no Kobe death stares at him which is progress from where they were a few days ago.
 
It makes sense to a degree. Offensively they have the most talent in the league, and D'Antoni has been successful on the offensive side of the ball. He re-joins Steve Nash, which had to be a solid selling point.

L.A already has invested everything into this season, I would have went above and beyond to get Phil Jackson back into the fold.

But, we'll see how it goes..
 
L.A already has invested everything into this season, I would have went above and beyond to get Phil Jackson back into the fold.

I would normally agree, but from what is coming out Phil wanted to be able to skip certain road trips and have his hand picked successor coach those games, as well as have significant say over personnel.

Couple those demands with wanting a reported $12-15 million a year salary and it just sounds like it was a bridge too far.

The travel restrictions thing to me would have been the dealbreaker. You have to be there every night to coach the team, and if that was even a question in his mind then his heart clearly wasn't in it and he was just looking for a big payday.
 
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kobe Bryant's quote on Mike D'Antoni after Friday's game: "I love D’Antoni and what he brings." Loves Phil, but D'Antoni, too.</p>&mdash; Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/267913568123498497" data-datetime="2012-11-12T08:55:46+00:00">November 12, 2012</a></blockquote>
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
so MDA is gonna try to run his offense on a team that lacks shooters, spacing, and athleticism/youth. good luck.
 

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