I for one am not opposed to having Phil on board. But I am a little concerned about him running things all on his own as he has in NY. I like the idea of us still having checks and balances here for his ego. Jim Buss can go - I've never been a fan and he's dug his own grave with his terrible coaching hires and by his own timeline ultimatum. I don't see how he can deliver on it unless the FO has a home run off season. I don't think Phil can do the GM role. I'd like to see Mitch continue on in that case because he understands the cap, and makes good trades unlike Phil. Also would like to keep Ryan West on to be groomed as the next GM and for his help in drafting which has been excellent. Perhaps if Phil is here we will get Luke which makes all the sense in the world.
Jerry West and Phil don't get along. I'd find it very difficult to believe that if Phil is hired in the same capacity as Jim, Ryan would stay.
I think I'm a little confused by your post RandleROFY. You are saying you find it difficult to believe Ryan would leave if Phil is hired? I didn't say he'd leave. I said we should retain him if possible to eventually take over GM from Mitch.
FWIW, Pincus hinted at the same thing saying 'there is bad blood between Phil and Jerry. I DON'T know if Ryan would stock around for that?' Sure, it's all speculating, but I'd bet dollars to donuts that Ryan leaves, IMO.
Ok, so you meant that you would find it hard to believe he'd stay, not leave, if Phil was hired. Yeah, I have no idea - it's about 4 steps removed in the hypotheticals. 1. Jim Buss has to step down or be fired according to his timeline ultimatum, which wouldn't be until next summer. 2. Phil would have to opt out of his job which pays him $10 million a year. 3. Jeannie would have to hire him. Then they would need to figure out what job description he is taking on and who they want to retain. Right now it all seems like a long ways off, but I could very well see it happening and I'm not totally opposed. I would hope that Ryan West wouldn't be collateral damage in moves but who knows? If this rumor does have legs though then the speculation about keeping Byron Scott for one more year makes MUCH more sense. If the FO has basically resigned itself to this happening then they would wait until Phil is here to go after Luke (also given the speculation about Luke waiting another year to see if he needed to step in for Kerr again). Again, I'm not opposed to Phil coming here. And I'm not opposed to Jim Buss stepping down if he can't deliver what he promised. I'm not even opposed to the Triangle necessarily although I am not convinced it's the best system to utilize our young core. However, it is way better than the "system" or whatever it is that Boron is running out there.
There's certainly tension between Jerry and Phil, but I'm not sure that'd stretch to Jerry's kids. Jerry can be a surly guy and I'm not sure Ryan has the same personality. It is possible there's a deep family rift there, but I don't think so. Either way, I'm not all that interested in Phil. I don't want him and his "Triangle or bust" attitude here.
I'd give Mitch/Jim 1 more season. I'd probably give Mitch a little more latitude, though. I am not on the Phil bandwagon. I am a less apathetic toward Jim. I do know Mitch and Phil get along. They have worked together in the past, but I'd much rather us be more competitive next year and steer clear of Phil, and I honestly like Phil a great deal.
If Jim leaves, so be it. He's the one that has given a self-imposed deadline and declared us in a great position before the season began. That's on him.
Who in LA doesn't love Phil, you know? But I'm not interested in forcing the Triangle on the franchise. If he wants to be here in an advisory capacity, then fine. He can be around and hang out at the facility and tell Mitch what good he sees in so-and-so and all that fun stuff. As a decision maker? No thanks. Stay in NY.
As much as I'm not a fan of Jim, I'd love nothing more for him to prove me wrong, produce a true contender and fulfill the role his father set up for him of handling the basketball side of things. But if I were a betting man I sure wouldn't wager much that he will succeed. I've seen the coaching hires he's chosen. I've listened to him say some incredibly stupid things in public including his very public war of words with Phil and Jeannie. I don't think he's a very sharp guy. But we'll see. He's got one more year and a whole lot of cash to get some free agents here. Might even keep that pick, too. There's a long way to go before Phil even comes into this discussion in any kind of real way.
Not really interested in Phil running things. If we're going to overhaul things I would like to see some new blood.
I don't know Michael Grange's work, but he seems to be a very legit sports columnist. So you may well be right, John. Very possible that Phil did leak this to him. This one I actually put some stock into. Now what actually happens we'll have to see of course.
as much as i love phil and everything he did for this franchise, i don't want him back in LA the lakers seriously need to get over phil and finally, move on from him. even though he's been gone for 5 years now, there's always been that rumour or two floating around about him coming back. at this point, people will be calling for phil's corpse to coach the team 50 years from now. to be honest, i'd much rather see mitch promoted and ryan west moved to the GM role. phil's definitely not the brightest mind in the game when it comes to front office decisions and his tenure in NY has shown that. and the last thing this team needs is kurt rambis as HC
