With Phil Jackson seemingly reading and willing to reclaim his old role as skipper of the NBA’s most enigmatic franchise, the Lakers management made another head-scratching move, passing over Phil and his five titles in Laker land, opting instead for Mike D’Antoni of Phoenix Sun fame.
Simply, the Lakers must have seen what an outstanding did D’Antoni did with the Knicks a couple seasons back, and just felt that they couldn’t miss on the same opportunity for their franchise (For those that did not pick up on it, that was some sarcasm; in D’Antoni’s three seasons with the Knicks they failed to make the playoffs twice, and were swept in the first round in his final season with the franchise).
In actuality, this move makes no sense to me. You have the man who has had more success with the franchise and its fickle superstar than any other individual just waiting in the wing to reclaim the clipboard and you pass him over for a head coach who has no track record of sustained winning in the League?
Aside from his success with the Lakers alone, Phil is the NBA’s all-time winningest coach as far as championships are concerned, and is known for commanding the respect of multiple superstars and figuring out a way to make them play well together. Sounds a little like the current situation out in Los Angeles.
Sure people will point to D’Antoni’s success in Phoenix with current Lakers point Steve Nash, who won two MVP awards under Mike’s tutelage. However before making this argument some aspects must be considered. First, that was over half a decade ago. Nash has lost a step and a half since then, and will not be able to handle the amount of minutes it took for him to so successfully orchestrate the offense in Phoenix.
Second, Phoenix had a lot of shooters, the Lakers don’t. Nash was able to rack up assists by penetrating and kicking it out to a plethora of solid shooters that L.A. simply doesn’t have on its roster. Unless Gasol gets moved (which he now very well may) for some guys who can stretch the floor, the blueprint Nash and D’Antoni nearly perfected in Phoenix isn’t completely applicable in L.A.
Lastly, and maybe most importantly, is the fact that D’Antoni runs an up-tempo, run-and-gun style offense that may not be well-suited for his most important player, Kobe Bryant, who is one of the best half-court players of all time. Throw in the fact that Kobe is in his 17th(!!) NBA season, and it doesn’t seem likely that he is going to want to do a whole lot of running or gunning (well, maybe some gunning). Kobe has always benefitted from a structured offense (the Triangle, anyone?) and an up and down style of play seems ill-suited for Kobe at this stage in his career. Not to mention that D’Antoni disregards defense, another one of Kobe’s strong suits. How many losses until a disgruntled Kobe, who probably would have preferred Phil Jackson, takes a shot at D’Antoni?
Phil Jackson was the man for the job, however you look at it. The fact that Jackson was reportedly ready to accept the position and the Lakers passed him up makes the situation even more shocking. There is no one on the planet more qualified to lead a talented team to a title than Phil Jackson, and the Lakers decided to pass him up for a man who hasn’t even been able to take a franchise to the Finals.
Good Luck, L.A.
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