What happened to the Lakers’ front office? Weren’t they known as the league’s most brilliant group of manipulators (how else do you talk teams into Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and a nice pile of crap)? Weren’t they the ones that refused to panic (even when Kobe demanded a trade they didn’t give in, then when Kobe demanded they trade for Jermaine O’Neil they still refused to rush into anything and ended up stealing Pau- imagine having O’Neil over Gasol now)? So what in the name of Mitch Kupchak just happened?!
Let’s start with the firing of coach Mike Brown… just five games into the season! No reasoning (short of Brown kicking the owner in the balls and spitting on him while he rolls around on the ground) is good enough to warrant a firing as fast as Kobe can jack up a fall-away jumper. Speaking of Kobe, what no one seems to realize is that this is all his fault!! Maybe I exaggerated things a bit there, but the Princeton offense was his idea! That’s right, the terrible offensive system, which was the main reasoning for Brown’s firing, was suggested to him by the one and only Kobe Bean Bryant; and let’s be honest, was he really going to say ‘no’ to Kobe? Still, the offense wasn’t even that bad! It didn’t look as aesthetically pleasing as the 6th-best offense in the league (it’s statistical ranking), but it certainly wasn’t bad. It was definitely an upgrade from last year’s offense of stand-around-and-wait-for-Kobe-to-do-something. In fact, Kobe had been playing as efficiently as ever in the Princeton system (Laker-haters were getting scared they wouldn’t be able to make Kobe jokes anymore). Add in Gasol being the perfect big man for the system and Howard being the perfect guy to catch lobs and the system actually looked like it could work. The biggest issue was what Nash would be doing, as he seemed to be wasting his talent standing around in the first two games. But don’t forget, Nash only played in one and a half games!! You’re telling me one of the all-time best point guards wouldn’t be able to figure out the offense and start running a few more pick-and-rolls by season’s end? Was this system perfect? No. But a firing this soon in the season is unheard of, and completely contrary to the Lakers’ tendency not to panic. However, Brown probably wasn’t the right hire a year ago anyway (he just didn’t fit with this team), so I can excuse them for this.
(Will Mike D'Antoni be able to lead these four superstars to a title? Only time will tell...http://cdn2.elitedaily.com/elite/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/elite-daily-mike-dantoni-lakers1.jpg)
The next puzzling move in this bizarre sequence was the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as the next Lakers head coach. Many (most?) Laker fans were extremely upset he was hired instead of that tall guy that used to coach in L.A.- what’s his name again? Oh well, I’ll figure it out by the time we get to him (By the way, was anyone else half-expecting Laker fans to riot in the streets? If they do it for winning why don’t they do it when things go bad, too?). However, as those fans who really follow the game of basketball know, D’Antoni may have been the perfect fit for this team. He has a link to most of their key players- he coached Dwight in the ’08 Olympics, was Kobe’s idol in the Italian League while Kobe was a kid in Italy, and everyone already knows how Nash flourished playing under him in Phoenix. D’Antoni’s offense will utilize the skills of all these players, plus those of Gasol- the perfect Euro big D’Antoni never had in Phoenix. Compare these Lakers to the best Suns teams, the ones that reached the Conference Finals and should have gone further: Nash is on both teams, so that’s a wash. In the backcourt with him you replace Joe Johnson with Kobe Bryant- like trading in a Honda Civic for a Ferrari. Shawn Marion gets switched out for Metta World Peace- a pretty fair trade seeing as both are strong, powerful small forwards who are elite defenders. Then change out Boris Diaw and slide Pau Gasol into the power forward spot- yea, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s an improvement. Finally, if you thought Amare was good playing with Nash in D’Antoni’s system, just wait until you see what Dwight Howard can do- it may actually be unfair. Seriously, Stern needs to make a rule against this (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, either). Even though he may not have been the most popular choice, the X’s and O’s work out with D’Antoni at the helm and they should still be able to compete for a championship, so I can excuse them for this, too.
What makes the D’Antoni hire so disappointing for Laker fans is the possibility of who they could have had. I still can’t remember his name, let me look this up… That’s right, it was Phil Jackson! Now, everyone needs to realize one thing- Phil’s system was not the perfect fit for this team. In the Triangle, Nash would end up becoming a spot up shooter and many of the same problems that arose in the Princeton offense would arise in the Triangle. But, the Triangle isn’t what makes Phil so great- he does so much more than just X’s and O’s. With so many egos on one team [and if you think a team with Howard (couldn’t choose what he wants for breakfast), Kobe (fiery competitor), Pau (softer than a baby’s bottom), Nash (used to the ball in his hands 24/7), and Metta (throwing elbows and thanking his therapist) won’t run into some chemistry problems then you’re as crazy as World Peace], Phil would have been the perfect fit. He is arguably the best coach ever anyway, but it is inarguable that he is the best coach at meshing personalities together on championship teams. Just look at his track record: in Chicago, he brought Jordan (an insane competitor- so much so that he made many teammates hate playing with him) and Pippen together with players like Dennis Rodman (everyone knows about how crazy this guy was) and Toni Kukoc (a player that Jordan and Pippen despised so much before he came from overseas that they tortured him in the ’92 Olympics) to win six championships. Then in L.A. he got Kobe and Shaq to get along long enough to win three championships in a row (and as soon as that was over we all found out how hard that must have been), and did so again with Kobe (the craziest competitor since Jordan), Gasol (a soft and sensitive personality), Bynum (who acts like a moody 5-year old), and Artest (a guy who once tried to fight an entire arena full of people) to win two more. There is a reason he is called the Zen Master. D’Antoni may have the better on-court system, but he can’t compare to all the little things Jackson could do to turn this team into champions (here’s how I know Jackson was the right guy for the job: Laker-haters were terrified of having Phil back on the Lakers sidelines. If a guy inspires fear in opponents, that’s usually a good sign for your team). Phil was the right guy for the job; that is almost inarguable.
More important than the fact that they made the wrong decision was how they went about it. This was a man that has raised five championship banners for you- this is how you treat him? He already came out of retirement to save your asses once- and ended up winning two more championships. Now he was willing to do it again and you lead him on then screw him over? Good luck ever getting help from him again. The most interesting dynamic in play here, I believe, is who Phil Jackson is dating- that would be Jeanie Buss, daughter of former owner Jerry Buss and sister of current owner Jim Buss. How awkward is that Thanksgiving dinner going to be?
In the end, the intentions of the front office were excusable, how they went about executing their plan was not.
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I hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions on how to improve the column or any other topic feel free to contact me at my email address [email protected], on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/adam.colman.9 or on Twitter @AdamRColman.
Thanks for the support!
Let’s start with the firing of coach Mike Brown… just five games into the season! No reasoning (short of Brown kicking the owner in the balls and spitting on him while he rolls around on the ground) is good enough to warrant a firing as fast as Kobe can jack up a fall-away jumper. Speaking of Kobe, what no one seems to realize is that this is all his fault!! Maybe I exaggerated things a bit there, but the Princeton offense was his idea! That’s right, the terrible offensive system, which was the main reasoning for Brown’s firing, was suggested to him by the one and only Kobe Bean Bryant; and let’s be honest, was he really going to say ‘no’ to Kobe? Still, the offense wasn’t even that bad! It didn’t look as aesthetically pleasing as the 6th-best offense in the league (it’s statistical ranking), but it certainly wasn’t bad. It was definitely an upgrade from last year’s offense of stand-around-and-wait-for-Kobe-to-do-something. In fact, Kobe had been playing as efficiently as ever in the Princeton system (Laker-haters were getting scared they wouldn’t be able to make Kobe jokes anymore). Add in Gasol being the perfect big man for the system and Howard being the perfect guy to catch lobs and the system actually looked like it could work. The biggest issue was what Nash would be doing, as he seemed to be wasting his talent standing around in the first two games. But don’t forget, Nash only played in one and a half games!! You’re telling me one of the all-time best point guards wouldn’t be able to figure out the offense and start running a few more pick-and-rolls by season’s end? Was this system perfect? No. But a firing this soon in the season is unheard of, and completely contrary to the Lakers’ tendency not to panic. However, Brown probably wasn’t the right hire a year ago anyway (he just didn’t fit with this team), so I can excuse them for this.
(Will Mike D'Antoni be able to lead these four superstars to a title? Only time will tell...http://cdn2.elitedaily.com/elite/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/elite-daily-mike-dantoni-lakers1.jpg)
The next puzzling move in this bizarre sequence was the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as the next Lakers head coach. Many (most?) Laker fans were extremely upset he was hired instead of that tall guy that used to coach in L.A.- what’s his name again? Oh well, I’ll figure it out by the time we get to him (By the way, was anyone else half-expecting Laker fans to riot in the streets? If they do it for winning why don’t they do it when things go bad, too?). However, as those fans who really follow the game of basketball know, D’Antoni may have been the perfect fit for this team. He has a link to most of their key players- he coached Dwight in the ’08 Olympics, was Kobe’s idol in the Italian League while Kobe was a kid in Italy, and everyone already knows how Nash flourished playing under him in Phoenix. D’Antoni’s offense will utilize the skills of all these players, plus those of Gasol- the perfect Euro big D’Antoni never had in Phoenix. Compare these Lakers to the best Suns teams, the ones that reached the Conference Finals and should have gone further: Nash is on both teams, so that’s a wash. In the backcourt with him you replace Joe Johnson with Kobe Bryant- like trading in a Honda Civic for a Ferrari. Shawn Marion gets switched out for Metta World Peace- a pretty fair trade seeing as both are strong, powerful small forwards who are elite defenders. Then change out Boris Diaw and slide Pau Gasol into the power forward spot- yea, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s an improvement. Finally, if you thought Amare was good playing with Nash in D’Antoni’s system, just wait until you see what Dwight Howard can do- it may actually be unfair. Seriously, Stern needs to make a rule against this (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did, either). Even though he may not have been the most popular choice, the X’s and O’s work out with D’Antoni at the helm and they should still be able to compete for a championship, so I can excuse them for this, too.
What makes the D’Antoni hire so disappointing for Laker fans is the possibility of who they could have had. I still can’t remember his name, let me look this up… That’s right, it was Phil Jackson! Now, everyone needs to realize one thing- Phil’s system was not the perfect fit for this team. In the Triangle, Nash would end up becoming a spot up shooter and many of the same problems that arose in the Princeton offense would arise in the Triangle. But, the Triangle isn’t what makes Phil so great- he does so much more than just X’s and O’s. With so many egos on one team [and if you think a team with Howard (couldn’t choose what he wants for breakfast), Kobe (fiery competitor), Pau (softer than a baby’s bottom), Nash (used to the ball in his hands 24/7), and Metta (throwing elbows and thanking his therapist) won’t run into some chemistry problems then you’re as crazy as World Peace], Phil would have been the perfect fit. He is arguably the best coach ever anyway, but it is inarguable that he is the best coach at meshing personalities together on championship teams. Just look at his track record: in Chicago, he brought Jordan (an insane competitor- so much so that he made many teammates hate playing with him) and Pippen together with players like Dennis Rodman (everyone knows about how crazy this guy was) and Toni Kukoc (a player that Jordan and Pippen despised so much before he came from overseas that they tortured him in the ’92 Olympics) to win six championships. Then in L.A. he got Kobe and Shaq to get along long enough to win three championships in a row (and as soon as that was over we all found out how hard that must have been), and did so again with Kobe (the craziest competitor since Jordan), Gasol (a soft and sensitive personality), Bynum (who acts like a moody 5-year old), and Artest (a guy who once tried to fight an entire arena full of people) to win two more. There is a reason he is called the Zen Master. D’Antoni may have the better on-court system, but he can’t compare to all the little things Jackson could do to turn this team into champions (here’s how I know Jackson was the right guy for the job: Laker-haters were terrified of having Phil back on the Lakers sidelines. If a guy inspires fear in opponents, that’s usually a good sign for your team). Phil was the right guy for the job; that is almost inarguable.
More important than the fact that they made the wrong decision was how they went about it. This was a man that has raised five championship banners for you- this is how you treat him? He already came out of retirement to save your asses once- and ended up winning two more championships. Now he was willing to do it again and you lead him on then screw him over? Good luck ever getting help from him again. The most interesting dynamic in play here, I believe, is who Phil Jackson is dating- that would be Jeanie Buss, daughter of former owner Jerry Buss and sister of current owner Jim Buss. How awkward is that Thanksgiving dinner going to be?
In the end, the intentions of the front office were excusable, how they went about executing their plan was not.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you enjoyed reading! If you have any questions, comments, or other suggestions on how to improve the column or any other topic feel free to contact me at my email address [email protected], on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/adam.colman.9 or on Twitter @AdamRColman.
Thanks for the support!
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