Lakers and Mike D'Antoni Agree to a 4-Year Deal

[ralaw]

I just chuckle at the notion that Kobe won't fit into this system......people we are talking about Kobe Bryant..... the system will be Nash/Howard or Gasol pick and roll and Kobe iso/attack from weak side or Kobe/Howard or Gasol pick and roll and Nash spot up. Either way Kobe will not be standing in the corner like Steve Kerr. There are variations off of a pick and roll set that will allow Kobe to attack from almost anywhere, but it will require him to move with the ball (Nash). I assume there will also be some double pick and roll sets as well.

 

[FedEx227]

I agree that Kobe is going to fit into the system fine, that's not what I'm arguing. I'm arguing you need a counterbalance to him that can catch and shoot. Meaning a lineup of Nash-Kobe-Metta-Gasol-Howard isn't going to be as effective as let's say Nash-Kobe-Meeks-Gasol-Howard. The system and plays themselves typically allow that corner guy to get free and get open. Of course, I'm not saying Kobe won't fit in, just saying it'll work differently.

 

[FedEx227]

In fact, I think the system would work wonders with Kobe at the 3 and Meeks or someone with a good jumper sitting on the outside. Kobe slips into the Marion spot but obviously does it 90 times better.

 

[chicubs2003]

I read this and i was shocked, The general belief is that Phil Jackson was going to accept the offer to Coach the lakers but management decided otherwise..

I am not a Mike D'Antoni fan, i think he is a decent coach, but is wayyy overated. Sure he won 61 games with the Suns but that dont mean shit unless you win a title. The lakers say they wanted to go for a title then they let the best coach in NBA history walk.


-No NBA Title/Losing Playoff Record
-Up-tempo offense will not work as well for some of the older guys like the triangle would of
-Not a defense guy
-Mike Woodson took Amare/Melo to the Playoffs not D'Antoni
-Stupid reason Howard would of picked up the triangle fine like Shaq did, Fuck Steve Nash hes not that valuable on this lakers team, which Howard/Nash were cited as reason why they didnt want the Triangle in place..

and lastly HES PHIL JACKSON

Yeah i was pissed when i heard this lol

 

[FedEx227]

Unless you win an NBA title as a coach you aren't worth shit?

You realize that means like 95% of the league at any given time isn't worth a shit. Mr. Bayless, there's more to the game then just winning a championship and there should be way more to evaluating a coach than title wins.

Also, the constant downplaying of his defense aka "Not a defense guy" despite his teams playing league-average defense while with the Suns and pretty above average with the Knicks (once they acquired Chandler). No, he doesn't preach defense but this isn't Don Nelson we're talking about, he's not letting the other team score. The high PPG totals are just a by-product of how quickly the Suns scored. Of course if you give the other team a ton more possessions they are bound to score. The thing is, D'Antoni was able to score a lot more than they did and had a really awesome four-year run on a team with a ton of roster turnover.

If given a choice in a vacuum of course I'd pick Phil, but I see why the Lakers backed off. Lack of long-term commitment, too many demands, too much money, too much control given up to appease someone not in it for the long haul.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

Yeah D'Antoni hasn't ever won a title, but he's never had Kobe and Dwight Howard either. Nash and Howard are going to do wonders in this offense, and Kobe will keep being Kobe. Their defense won't be as bad as traditional D'Antoni teams either just because of their personnel.

 

[FedEx227]

If you can't win an NBA title with Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Shawn Marion and Kurt Thomas (won 54 games and made it to WCF) as your starting lineup you frankly don't deserve a job in this league.

 

[chicubs2003]

Unless you win an NBA title as a coach you aren't worth shit?

You realize that means like 95% of the league at any given time isn't worth a shit. Mr. Bayless, there's more to the game then just winning a championship and there should be way more to evaluating a coach than title wins.

Also, the constant downplaying of his defense aka "Not a defense guy" despite his teams playing league-average defense while with the Suns and pretty above average with the Knicks (once they acquired Chandler). No, he doesn't preach defense but this isn't Don Nelson we're talking about, he's not letting the other team score. The high PPG totals are just a by-product of how quickly the Suns scored. Of course if you give the other team a ton more possessions they are bound to score. The thing is, D'Antoni was able to score a lot more than they did and had a really awesome four-year run on a team with a ton of roster turnover.

What i mean was 61 wins/Coach of the Years is impressive, but it really dosent mean shit if you cant lead a team in the playoffs. You can have all the Coach of the Year awards in the world but it dosent always translate to NBA Titles. Which too me Id take NBA titles over Coach of the Year awards anyday. I agree there should be more to evaluating coaches then NBA titles, but shit Phil's won 11 of them, Won a few with just Kobe/Pau.

Im pretty bias toward D'Antoni i guess time will tell, i was just not impressed last year especially..

He went 18-24, With Melo/Amare/Chandler, Mike Woodson takes over a similar roster and has been 22-6 so far.. I dont know maybe he'll prove me wrong but i think its a mistake..

 

[chicubs2003]

@FedEx227 Also Thanks for the Skip Bayless reference :shotsfired:

 

[FedEx227]

Don't blame the Knicks on him though. They essentially hired him because he was a perfect fit for the roster they had. Then they traded just about every player that worked well in his system for someone who is the antithesis of it (Melo).

And what more do you want from the guy, he turned a Suns team constantly in roster flux into a regular contender in the hyper-competitive Western conference. Never got to the Finals but like I pointed out look at the rosters he led to the WCF or at least relatively deep into the playoffs.

 

[ram29jackson]

Did anyone actually thing Phil was coming back?

nope

 

[chicubs2003]

Don't blame the Knicks on him though. They essentially hired him because he was a perfect fit for the roster they had. Then they traded just about every player that worked well in his system for someone who is the antithesis of it (Melo).

And what more do you want from the guy, he turned a Suns team constantly in roster flux into a regular contender in the hyper-competitive Western conference. Never got to the Finals but like I pointed out look at the rosters he led to the WCF or at least relatively deep into the playoffs.

I do blame him partially for the Knicks mess, obviously he's not 100% to blame like most coaches..
Wilson Chandler and Gallanari wouldnt of changed his fortunes there..

And Im not saying he didn't do a good job with the Suns, but he did have a MVP Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire when he was a freak, and Shawn Marion in his prime, those 3 in there prime could of competed with Duncan/Parker/Ginobli in my mind. They had the talent to match up against San Antonio.

I'm just not a fan of his work, I dont think hes championship pedigree, but i do think hes a good coach, but they should gotten Phil Jackson if they wanted a Championship breed of a coach. I think they should of gave Jerry Sloan a look, who would be a championship coach well if it wasnt for Michael Jordan and Company lol

I agree with you long term commitment is important but LA has always been and always will be about winning now.

Time will tell tho..Hopefully they got it right this time, because I knew from Day 1 that Mike Brown wouldnt work out in LA.

 

[ralaw]

What i mean was 61 wins/Coach of the Years is impressive, but it really dosent mean shit if you cant lead a team in the playoffs. You can have all the Coach of the Year awards in the world but it dosent always translate to NBA Titles. Which too me Id take NBA titles over Coach of the Year awards anyday. I agree there should be more to evaluating coaches then NBA titles, but shit Phil's won 11 of them, Won a few with just Kobe/Pau.

Im pretty bias toward D'Antoni i guess time will tell, i was just not impressed last year especially..

He went 18-24, With Melo/Amare/Chandler, Mike Woodson takes over a similar roster and has been 22-6 so far.. I dont know maybe he'll prove me wrong but i think its a mistake..

I've never been a big D'Antoni fan either, but with the Suns he was climbing and had his team's in contention. The road to a championship isn't scripted, so sometimes guys win COY awards before they actually win a title, while other guys win titles before they win awards. In NY it was obvious Melo didn't really care for him, which is why the team started winning the minute he was gone (ala Lakers with Mike Brown).

Having said that I have my concerns with his style with this team, because with the Suns he had long, athletic and versatile guys who were in their prime playing together as a team. Everyone knew their role and Nash was the QB that made it all work. However, Nash isn't that player anymore and the Lakers certainly don't have a lot of long, athletic and versatile players in their athletic prime. It will be interesting to see how it all comes together.

 

[EmpireWF]

When everything had become too hard with the New York Knicks, D'Antoni walked into the office one morning and surrendered. Carmelo Anthony had stopped listening to him, stopped running his plays, and ownership never supported the coach. When Anthony grumbled to Bryant about D'Antoni's defensive acumen on a trip to Los Angeles before the coach's resignation in New York, one witness says Bryant shot back to Anthony – only half-kidding – that, seriously, when the hell have you ever played defense?

-wojo


:kobe:

 

[FedEx227]

That's awesome... and true.