Ex-Coach Luke Walton Discussion

luke had a team with almost no credible defenders at 11th in defensive rating last year, and was headed for even more success this year until the injuries hit. i think he did well in that regard. and i wouldn't say he's been inflexible with his offense. he wants to do what gs does, but settles for more iso and pick and roll because we don't have enough high hoop iq players and/or shooters to do much else.

again, the most damning thing has been the way the whole team has quit in the last month. coach has to bear some responsibility for that--particularly when motivation and player relations is one of his supposed strengths.

but who's the guy that's going to come in and do better? you really want a bring a college guy in? i don't. most of the really promising assistants have been snatched up in the past few years (including 2 or 3 of our own), so we'd have to be ahead of the curve on that stuff (how much do you trust that?).

in the retread market, here's one: i think portland is about to get blasted in the first round of the playoffs again (probably by houston, blech). they'll probably fire stotts. i'd hire him. all he does is make lemonade out of lemons. portland's had no business being this good for the past three years. none. it's why they get beat in the playoffs--not because stotts sucks, but because he's doing it with smoke and mirrors and that's hard to do for 4 consecutive games against the same team.

anyway, for reasons like that, i don't see any use in firing luke early. it's not like any of his assistants are potential keepers who need an audition.

 

I'd give BShaw a look at least

 

well SOURCES has spoken

 

Luke was set up for failure from day 1. Truth.

 

that's what i've been saying

don't see why they're keeping luke around when he's 100% gone after the season

 

Because the season isn't over. Finish what you start. Be a man and finish the job. Then figure out the other stuff later when you are suppose to deal with it.

I always remember former Philadelphia Eagles coach Ray Rhoades being asked if he thought about stepping down before the season ended because he was all but a lame duck during the last months of the year, and his response was, I'm paraphrasing, "I'm not Jim Mora, I don't quit" (Jim Mora quit in the middle of the season with the Saints in 1996)

Society has become such a pisser. Bunch of cheaters who get validated for the sake of the dollar and no regard for integrity. When a job isn't going to go anywhere, quit in the middle of it anyways. Really trashy way to live your life.

Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles and still walked up the line and hit his free throws. THAT is a man. THAT is someone you can admire. THAT is how you finish your job!

 

why would you want an employee to finish a job that's he's performing poorly at?

 

The sad thing is this team could actually do REALLY well in the Triangle around Lebron and his passing. Lebron isn't the most skilled in the post, but he still presents a size and strength advantage the way Shaq did at his position. The triangle also simplified movement and spacing and didn't require any advanced movement. Moving over to the weakside after entry, getting into the space of the level of the ball to provide options, and the occasional dive option. They could even work it around Ingram and his length in the post.

Granted, this requires knockdown shooters to execute this, but I think the Triangle was so well spaced that it made average shooters better.

 

Because this is sports, there is no replacement for the job in March. You want to use everyday jobs out there to this, fine. I don't. Sports are a completely different working environment.

 

sports or not, the players aren't responding to him, he hasn't improved on any one aspect of the gm...all this fiasco does it continue to make him and the team look bad

 

Finish the season. Fire him. Then focus on the right replacement, not the flavor of the month. The Lakers keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Do it different for once. I told you guys about the Anthony Davis thing and how not to ask for a trade, he did it, and it turned into all the other players that demanded a trade, the Lakers get played and f***ed.

Lakers need to stop talking. When they talk, nothing happens. They are killing themselves with their talk. Jeannie Buss is not good at this job. She should stick to marketing. She doesn't have a clue how to run the Lakers, just like her brother. Rob and Magic did a great job putting the Lakers in a position for open space. JUST like Jim and Mitch did. Magic got Lebron, but he got Lebron when Lebron wanted to come anyways, he didn't have to woo him.

After the Paul George situation, is when I realized the impact Lebron had on other players. He isnt really respected by guys outside the banana boat crew. You hear ex players and current players when Kobe is brought up and everyone has so much respect for him. I do not see that a lot with Lebron. When Allen Iverson was playing, he had so much respect around the league and he was known as a selfish player. Lebron is a different breed. His passiveness is more Mariah Carey to me. He is about himself thru and thru, where guys like Kobe and AI were doing what they were doing to win or accomplish something. All have ego, all are selfish to a degree, but reasons why make a difference.

With all that, I said, let's see how the season goes and maybe Lebron can come thru with some young talent that he might be able to lead. It was far worse than I thought.

 

yeah you were def. right about the AD fiasco, it wouldn't have been as embarrassing had it not been for Magic and his thirtyness, you'd think someone would get the hint when the otherside is ignoring your calls but then to have leaked that he even tried to reach out to the other guys in Pelicants org was just so pathetic.

 

I am trying very hard not to be mad at Magic and Rob because I think they had the right idea in getting out of the rut. They flipped Jim and Mitch's mistakes in 18 months and they should be commended for doing it and doing it as fast as they did. But then they went back to exactly what Jim and Mitch did when acquiring talent minus Lebron. They got hasbeens, didn't guide the young talent except to give them ultimatums with the stupid body fat s***. And worse, they keep going for the homerun when the ball park is not Fenway, but Dodger Stadium but with 500 foot walls all the way around.