LA hires D'Antoni (4yr deal)

[illmatic99]

wow. Was so sure that it was gonna be Phil.

Mike Bresnahan ‏@Mike_Bresnahan

Mike D'Antoni signed a four-year deal with the Lakers. Phil Jackson was "asking for the moon," accoring to source familiar w/ the situation.

https://twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan

 

[illmatic99]

lol. LG is about to riot. They did not want this.

 

[NOVoodoo]

I thought Phil was making his decision on Monday...?

 

[NOVoodoo]

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/...pect-phil-jackson-decision-monday-sources-say

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers are expecting an answer from Phil Jackson on whether he will return to coach them Monday, sources told ESPN.

The excitement surrounding the anticipation of Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers was palpable at Staples Center on Sunday night.

If Jackson does want to return, it may take a day or so to work through all the details, and it's expected his first game back would be Friday against the Phoenix Suns rather than Tuesday against the San Antonio Spurs, a source said, but the job remains his to turn down.

 

[illmatic99]

Multiple sources from ESPN confirmed the D'Antoni thing.

J.A. Adande ‏@jadande

Kobe made it clear he wanted Phil, but said after game tonight that he let Lakers know he was fine with D'Antoni.

more: https://twitter.com/jadande

Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine

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

Arash Markazi ‏@ArashMarkazi

Steve Nash: "Everyone knows how much I love Mike. If he were the coach it would be seamless and terrific for me and for the team as well."

 

[THE HCP]

Showtime is back!

 

[THE HCP]

I bet the whole "travel restriction" thing was the biggest road block.

 

[NOVoodoo]

Is there any body else that hates the Lakers but is very excited to see D'Antoni running his offense with this group?

I couldn't take another day of Mike Brown. A lot of people said, "Why fire him after just 5 games?" .... I was calling for his resignation at the start of last season, and I'm not even a Lakers fan! My question is, why wasn't he fired after last year's 66?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

It'll be fun to watch this fast pace offense run these old folks into the ground!

 

[RoyToy]

Now they just need players that can actually make 3's

 

[NOVoodoo]

Now they just need players that can actually make 3's

If only Steve Nash were available...

 

[RoyToy]

If only Steve Nash were available...

He can't drive and kick it out to himself

 

[KingSpeed]

This gets more interesting

 

[Haakzilla]

...this has to be one of the most hilarious parts to this entire saga:

D'Antoni, who had knee surgery at the beginning of November, hasn't yet been cleared to travel, according to sources and "it'll be a couple of days before he comes in, but he's further along than people believe."

 

[NOVoodoo]

He can't drive and kick it out to himself

Isn't Kapono unemployed?

 

[Natebishop3]

This is hilarious. All those Laker douchbags who automatically thought they'd go back to Phil are stuck with D'Antoni. This is going to end gloriously. They don't have the personnel to run the SOL offense, just Nash.

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

I bet the whole "travel restriction" thing was the biggest road block.

I think him wanting control over player decisions was big.

While the Laker meltdown was fun to watch, I am looking forward to seeing them play uptempo.

 

[Natebishop3]

After reading the ESPN article, the move makes sense. They didn't want to go to the Triangle after the season had already started. They wanted a coach that suited Nash/Howard more than a coach that suited Kobe/Pau. I can see why they went with D'Antoni over Jackson. The SOL offense is probably much easier to implement.... however the Lakers don't have the shooters to make that offense effective.

 

[mook]

After reading the ESPN article, the move makes sense. They didn't want to go to the Triangle after the season had already started. They wanted a coach that suited Nash/Howard more than a coach that suited Kobe/Pau. I can see why they went with D'Antoni over Jackson. The SOL offense is probably much easier to implement.... however the Lakers don't have the shooters to make that offense effective.

They really don't have the shooters on the team to make a championship run regardless of who is coach.

Seems like Gasol is the guy they would hope to trade for shooters, but his $19m contract makes that pretty tough.

 

[Natebishop3]

They really don't have the shooters on the team to make a championship run regardless of who is coach.

Seems like Gasol is the guy they would hope to trade for shooters, but his $19m contract makes that pretty tough.

Yeah, but I think the SOL offense is particularly dependent on having shooters for Nash to kick to.

 

[illmatic99]

I can see them picking up guys like Pietrus and Delonte.

 

[julius]

For all Phil's faults, his teams played defense.

For all of D'Antonis greatness (green font) his teams don't.

Defense wins titles.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Yeah, but I think the SOL offense is particularly dependent on having shooters for Nash to kick to.

Lakers need Babbitt!

 

[Natebishop3]

Lakers need Babbitt!

It would be just our luck, D'Antoni would turn Babbitt into a 20 ppg player.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

This is great. Apparently Phil was "stunned" when they called back and told him they'd hired D'Antoni. This was a pout move by the (male) Busses. It's THEIR team, goddamnit, he can't have ANY of it. I think I know who public opinion will be with, particularly if the team struggles.

 

[Pinwheel1]

The speculation on Friday from one talk show was that with the Lakers new Cable Contact they needed to be fun to watch. The last few years they have been boring. The Clippers are stealing their thunder and Buss wants showtime back.

I think it will be a disaster with this group. Maybe D'Antoni will "adjust" his offense to adapt to these players.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Seems like Gasol is the guy they would hope to trade for shooters, but his $19m contract makes that pretty tough.

Doesn't it expire at the end of the season? That might make it more palatable. But what shooters are out there?

 

[Mamba]

Fuck me, this is garbage. We are too old for his offense. We don't have the shooters for the offense. This is going to end up ugly. Its the offensive-minded Mike Brown.

As for the travel restrictions on Phil, all reports and leaks from both Phil's camp and the Lakers' camp say that his demands were not absurd and that there was no travel restriction. The Lakers' just felt that the triangle was too complex to learn. In other words, Jim Buss is still a fucking moron.

 

[Natebishop3]

Fuck me, this is garbage. We are too old for his offense. We don't have the shooters for the offense. This is going to end up ugly. Its the offensive-minded Mike Brown.

As for the travel restrictions on Phil, all reports and leaks from both Phil's camp and the Lakers' camp say that his demands were not absurd and that there was no travel restriction. The Lakers' just felt that the triangle was too complex to learn. In other words, Jim Buss is still a fucking moron.

Yeah, I had basically read that too. That they were worried about implementing the triangle.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Lakers need Babbitt!

And a 2nd stint from Ammo!