Kobe Bryant Discussion: Mamba Out!

Phil, the guy they should've hired would have. I agree with you all the way sirronstuff.

 

It's not pointless. You just said it yourself - we would have been better coached and there is no chance Phil would have run him into the ground in that regard when he had a bad wheel. Would it have stopped the achilles injury from happening? I don't know that for sure, but he would have been less at risk. I'll blame Damphony till the cows come home. Always will. But it started at the top with the FO making that hire and stabbing Phil in the back. Bad move all around. Bad look. Bad hire. Jim thankfully is nowhere near this franchise any longer. Thank you Jeannie for making us a contender once again.

 

Do you not remember how that all went down?

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ing-proves-buss-family-wants-showtime-control

Phil Jackson Snub, D'Antoni Hiring Proves Buss Family Wants Showtime, Control
JESSE DORSEYNOVEMBER 12, 2012



NICK LAHAM/GETTY IMAGES
THE PHIL JACKSON SNUB IS RINGING AROUND THE LEAGUE TO PRETTY CONSISTENT REVIEWS. HIRING MIKE D'ANTONI WASN'T A BAD MOVE, BUT THE WAY THE LAKERS AND THE BUSS FAMILY AS A UNIT HANDLED THINGS WASN'T IN THE MOST EXEMPLARY OF WAYS.

DEBATE CAN RING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT JACKSON WOULD HAVE COME IN AND WHIPPED THE LAKERS INTO SHAPE ON HIS WAY TO YET ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP. WORD IS AFTER FILLING HIS FINGERS WITH RINGS HE NEEDS ONE FOR HIS RIGHT FOOT TO BALANCE IT OUT WITH THE RING ON HIS LEFT BIG TOE. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN MOVING FORWARD IS A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT JUST THAT, BUT THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ANY REAL WAY OF DETERMINING HOW JACKSON WOULD HAVE DONE.


ALL WE CAN DO NOW IS SIT BACK AND SEE HOW THE MIKE D'ANTONI-STEVE NASH REUNION PANS OUT AND HOPE FOR SOME ENTERTAINING BASKETBALL.

THERE IS ONE OTHER THING WE CAN LOOK INTO REGARDING THIS SITUATION. IT SEEMS MORE OR LESS OBVIOUS THAT AFTER THE WAY JIM BUSS AND HIS FAMILY HANDLED THE ENTIRE COACHING SITUATION THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE OF A SAY IN THE BASKETBALL DECISIONS MOVING FORWARD.

THE FIRST LITTLE HINT OF BUSS' HANDS HELPING MOLD THE COMPANY'S CLAY WAS ALL THE WAY BACK IN 2005 WHEN HE FELL IN LOVE WITH ANDREW BYNUM. HE WAS ALWAYS CRITICAL OF PHIL JACKSON'S USE (OR MISUSE IF YOU ASK BUSS) OF BYNUM IN THE TRIANGLE OFFENSE, SEEING AS HOW BUSS WAS A BIG REASON THE LAKERS DRAFTED BYNUM.

FROM THERE WE SAW BUSS COMPLETELY EXPEL ALL HINTS OF PHIL JACKSON AFTER THE 2011 SEASON ENDED WITH A SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF EXIT, SOMETHING THAT IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE IN THE EYES OF THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS.

PHIL PRETTY MUCH EXPLAINS ALL OF THAT HERE:

THE PRESUMED REPLACEMENT FOR JACKSON WAS LONG-TIME ASSISTANT COACH BRIAN SHAW, BUT BUSS DISLIKED SHAW'S CONNECTION WITH JACKSON AND THE TRIANGLE, SO HE PICKED MIKE BROWN INSTEAD. ON HIS WAY OUT OF LOS ANGELES, SHAW EXPRESSED HIS DISPLEASURE WITH THE FRONT OFFICE AND ITS LACK OF COMMUNICATION, WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN AN ISSUE IN THE MOST RECENT COACHING SEARCH AS WELL.

NOW BUSS HAS GONE IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION YET AGAIN WHEN IT COMES TO A POSSIBILITY OF CONTINUING DOWN A PATH THAT WOULD LEAD BACK TO JACKSON.

OVER THE COURSE OF FOUR DAYS, BUSS PUBLICLY BACKED MIKE BROWN AND FIRED HIM TWO DAYS LATER, THE MEDIA GOT WIND OF A NEAR-CERTAIN JACKSON RETURN DEPENDENT UPON BUSS GIVING HIM A SAY IN CONTROL OF THE TEAM, AND THEN BUSS SIGNED D'ANTONI BEFORE JACKSON COULD GIVE THE TEAM AN ANSWER ON MONDAY.

LOS ANGELES HIRING D'ANTONI CAN AND SHOULD BE LOOKED AT FROM TWO ANGLES.

FIRST IS THE ONE THAT MOVES AWAY FROM JACKSON. NOT ONLY DID THE MOVE KEEP JACKSON FROM COMING BACK, BUT IT ALSO CEMENTED BUSS' DESIRE TO HAVE A SAY IN RUNNING THE TEAM ON EVERY LEVEL THAT HE CAN.

THIS IS A TEAM FORMED BY MITCH KUPCHAK, BUT MODELED AFTER JIM BUSS' DESIRES.

SECOND, THIS IS A RETURN TO DAYS OF OLD WHEN THE LAKERS RAN THEIR OPPONENTS OUT OF THE BUILDING. IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AN INTENDED CONSEQUENCE, BUT LOS ANGELES IS ON THE WAY TOWARD BRINGING BACK THE SHOWTIME ERA.

REALISTICALLY, THIS HAPPENED WHEN THE LAKERS PUT STEVE NASH ON THE FLOOR WITH DWIGHT HOWARD AND KOBE BRYANT, BUT NOW THEY'VE GOT THE COACH THEY ALWAYS NEEDED TO PUT US ALL IN A TIME MACHINE.

WHETHER OR NOT THAT IS A GOOD DECISION IS VERY MUCH UP IN THE AIR, BUT IT'S THE DECISION OF THE BUSS FAMILY. THE RESULTS ARE THEIRS.

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Also: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1643974-phil-jackson-reveals-true-story-of-lakers-snub
JESSE DORSEYMAY 18, 2013


After a miserable 2012-13 NBA season for the Los Angeles Lakersfollowing a huge offseason, many fans are now left wondering what could have been had Phil Jackson taken over the team. Well, at the very least, he's finally telling us all why he didn't end up back in L.A.

On a tour to promote his new book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, Jackson showed up on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to talk about the Michael Jordan versus Kobe Bryant debate and give his side of the story on why he didn't end up coaching the Lakers.

Much as the story was told when it happened, Jackson recalls talking to Lakers vice president Jim Buss for an extended period of time, telling Buss he was positive he could coach the roster they had put together.

Jackson requested the weekend to think about it.

But late on that Sunday night, Jackson got a call from Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who informed Jackson that the team had decided to hire Mike D'Antoni.

The decision caused a rift between Buss and his sister (and now Jackson's fiancée) Jeanie, who didn't speak to each other for an extended period of time.

You know the story from there. Los Angeles was barely able to squeak into the playoffs with a 45-37 record and was swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. D'Antoni's future with the team is shaky at best.

Jackson is now looking for a job elsewhere in the NBA, either in a front office role or once again as a head coach.

He's currently aiding the Detroit Pistons with their search for a new head coach, but his role in the NBA beyond that point is still up in the air.

I think we can rule out anything with the Lakers.

 

Yes indeed 432J - correct. I just posted two articles from the time attesting to that very fact. It was disgraceful. And with awful consequences. So glad to be rid of that dunce Jimbo.

 

Yep. I agree 100%. Even Phil thought it was ridiculous:
https://www.espn.com/los-angeles/nb...s-angeles-lakers-gm-mike-dantoni-hire-laughed

LOS ANGELES -- When Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak called Phil Jackson to tell him the Lakers were hiring Mike D'Antoni instead of him as coach, he responded the only way he knew how.

"I laughed," Jackson told ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show Wednesday. "It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys."

Jackson had been prepared to tell Kupchak whether he was interested in returning to the Lakers' bench the next day, but the GM called Jackson late that Sunday night, Nov. 11, to tell him the Lakers had decided to go in another direction.




Jackson said he thinks the Lakers made the decision largely based on catering to Steve Nash, their 39-year-old point guard who was limited to 50 games this season as he battled a variety of injuries.

"I think it didn't happen because there was some concern, How are we going to move in the right direction for this ballclub?" Jackson said. "When Mitch gave me the call close to midnight on Sunday night right before I was going to give them an answer Monday morning and said, 'We've made a choice. We're going to hire Mike D'Antoni. We think he's the best coach for this group of guys,' My answer was, 'For Steve Nash, yes, I agree, but for Dwight Howard, I'm not so sure.'

"In the process of thinking about how they could best use the team I think they thought first and foremost about Steve Nash and how Steve Nash was going to fit inside of an offensive system that I coach. ... I think that was a concern for them."

D'Antoni's up-tempo style had worked well in Phoenix with Nash as the point guard, and there was a feeling that reuniting the two would create another version of "Showtime" in Los Angeles. But Jackson felt that the Lakers could win by focusing on their talented big men rather than forcing them to run and shoot from the outside.

"They wanted to move to a quicker, 3-point-oriented game, which is kind of the rage right now in the NBA," Jackson said. "I felt like with Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard we could emulate a lot of what we did with Andrew Bynum and Pau and pound the ball inside and have an interior game that was strong. But it was their choice, and that's all right with me.

"It was OK with me if that's what they wanted to do. In fact, there was a little part of me that felt relief in not having to strap it up and make the decision and get on the road. I think it was only five games into the year, so we still had 77 games left to go in that season."


Although Jackson was interested in returning to the Lakers last season, he said he wouldn't be interested in the job now even though Lakers governor Jeanie Buss, whom he is engaged to, still thinks Jackson can coach.

"I don't see myself coaching again, I really don't," Jackson said. "When I discussed this with Jeanie Buss, she said, 'Make sure you tell them that Jeanie still thinks you can coach even though you might say you're not going to coach again.' Jeanie still thinks I can coach, but I'm not going to go there."

At the moment, Buss is not involved in the basketball operations of the team. But even if that were to change and she tried to persuade Jackson to come back and coach the Lakers, Jackson said he would try to persuade her to look at one of his former assistants for the job.

"We got people who can do this job quite well, and [I'd try to] convince her of that. I think that's the real truth," Jackson said. "The Lakers need to do a few things. They need to sign Howard, they need to get their monetary system, their contracts under order so they can move forward. That's their biggest challenge right now, management basically."

In his book, "Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success," Jackson revealed that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago when the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by the Dallas Mavericks. Jackson said Wednesday that his health is a big reason he would not want to return to the rigors of being an NBA coach.

"The health issue is part of it," Jackson said. "It's an issue of getting back on the road and getting in at three in the morning and back-to-backs and playing four games in five nights at some point in the middle of the wintertime and not being there physically with the energy that you have to have to drive a team."

Jackson said he would be open to taking a front-office position in the NBA but is not actively pursuing that, either, as he considers offers that come his way. Jackson is currently working as an adviser to Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores as he tries to find a new coach for his team.

"I don't feel the ultimate urge to go back and be in management, either. Mentoring is something that I feel is good. I'm doing pro bono work for the Detroit owner and the Pistons organization, which is almost a conflict of interest when you think of the Bulls and Pistons in the '90s and the rivalry that we had. But they have a young owner that wants to do something different."