The Lakers Next Coach

[Black Adam]

You're making a totally baseless assumption that Scott and Rambis are "wiser". What could you possibly base that on? By virtue of time? That means nothing. They could just as easily have learned nothing. And what makes them better for the current team? Hell, Rambis is on the roster, supposedly to help the defense if you believe stuff from the start of the year, and that clearly hasn't worked out. This is what I'm talking about. To me, the biggest reason you feel they're better fits is simply because they have history with the Lakers. That isn't enough. And it doesn't mean jack if you can't coach. Scott has issues and his track record indicates he's getting worse. Rambis is even more unimpressive. Hell, D'Antoni is actually more accomplished and qualified than he is.

BTW, if you're looking to coach a young team, once again SVG is a good candidate. His system is organized, disciplined, and team oriented. That is EXACTLY what young players need. From reading your posts, I'm beginning to think you only dislike him because he can be a whiny jerk in interviews. If that's the case, so what. Jerks win all the time. Pops and Rick Carlisle treat the media like shit but they still field good teams

truth be told, that's MY personal beef with JVG. he does act like a whiny little bitch at times(plus his LeClown nut riding got on my nerves when he announces), but when all's said and done he can do the job. i personally love the idea of giving Byron Scott a chance not only because of Lakers tradition, but my own high school as well(we both attended Morningside high in Inglewood), but i want the best guy qualified to do the job. we'll see how that shakes out...

 

[LALakersboy24.7]

You're making a totally baseless assumption that Scott and Rambis are "wiser". What could you possibly base that on? By virtue of time? That means nothing.

No it's not an assumption the guys are much better fit for this team, They have coached for sometime & recognize what mistakes they have made when they were coaching, it's like any other job you learn more & more with time. To you you thing being an ex lakers is nothing, that is the most incomprehensible words that can come out of a Lakers fans. Wake up dude.

They could just as easily have learned nothing. And what makes them better for the current team? Hell, Rambis is on the roster, supposedly to help the defense if you believe stuff from the start of the year, and that clearly hasn't worked out. This is what I'm talking about.[/B]

I Have clearly explained this many times before, we don't know how much of Rambis defensive philosophy is getting in, because of Dumbtoni being the head coach. It's no secret Dumbtoni is a power trip, so we can't really evaluate & blame it all on Rambis for the defensive woes.

To me, the biggest reason you feel they're better fits is simply because they have history with the Lakers. That isn't enough. And it doesn't mean jack if you can't coach. Scott has issues and his track record indicates he's getting worse. Rambis is even more unimpressive. Hell, D'Antoni is actually more accomplished and qualified than he is.

I clearly mentioned you need to also please the fan base & if not at least hire a coach, decent enough even if he doesn't have a Lakers background. Didn't you read my previous post ?? And Scott has coached for 2 small Market teams, his last one was with the Cavs & who the hell is going to succeed there anyways with Gilbert as an owner ? that place is a disaster for any coach. 3rd & the stint that Rambis had with the Wolves wasn't even his fault the way things went down. The only thing Dumbtoni has ever accomplished was having most of his Suns teams dead last in defense from 2004-2008 despite having a high offense. Him & SVG in the end have no rings as a player or coach,period.

BTW, if you're looking to coach a young team, once again SVG is a good candidate. His system is organized, disciplined, and team oriented. That is EXACTLY what young players need. From reading your posts, I'm beginning to think you only dislike him because he can be a whiny jerk in interviews. If that's the case, so what. Jerks win all the time. Pops and Rick Carlisle treat the media like shit but they still field good teams

The guy is a plane idiot keep him away from LA, I much rather have George Carl who doesn't make a fool of himself & I can see Kobe respecting him. You're the only one that thinks SVG will bring back the glory days back to Los Angeles. Yes Bring short SVG I can Imagine it now, holding the Larry O Brien trophy with Kobe next to him at STaples Center defeating the Heat in 7 games & a big party in Downtown LA.


Ladies & Gentleman are you ready for your new LA Lakers head coach Stan Van Gundy ? MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!

 

[Retroram52]

The hiring of SVG does lack a certain Lakers pinnach, LALakersboy.

 

[trojanfan12]

End of the day, it's not going to matter who the Lakers coach is if they don't make the right moves and get some talent on this roster.


When Phil returned after the Rudy Tomjanovich debacle, he led the Lakers to back to back 7th seeds and 1st round exits (ironically to D'Antoni's Suns) with an in his prime Kobe. It took Bynum coming into his own and the trade for Gasol to get the Lakers back in to contention.

 

[mrwallace2ku]

Control of Laker personnel seems to always be at the top when it comes to their coaches. Riley wants it, so does Phil. Laker management never likes to give in to those demands. Rightly so in my OP.

Laker lore of the past is a good starting point when getting their new coach. I think their fan base would demand at least that.

 

[Silas]

In Kobe's first full season under D'Antoni, he had no training camp and played in 6 games. Exactly when was he supposed to buy in?

This is what I'm saying. People are acting like D'Antoni was handed a healthy talented team, instead of a pile of spare parts, most of whom will never start another NBA game in their lives and a few of whom will never play another minute in the NBA after this season.

Fire him if the Lakers feel they must, but let's not kid ourselves into believing that D'Antoni is the reason this team sucks or that any other coach (including Phil) would have done much, if any, better with this roster.

D'Antoni was handed rancid Bologna and we're expecting him to serve Prime Rib?

I'm not sure Kobe needed to play many games to decide D'Antoni's system was not for him. I think he decided what he was watching did not click with his basketball world.

Whomever the Lakers have as coach needs to spend some time coaching defense. D'Antoni places little if any importance on defense. I'm not sure who that guy is, but it's certainly not D'Antoni.

 

[HizzleRocker]

Byron Scott #1,
Brian Shaw #2.

Though its close between them and would be happy with either. Kerr is an interesting wildcard.

 

[Retroram52]

Kerr might end up the next Knicks coach or at least Phil has intimated in that direction since he is officially running the show in New York.

 

[trojanfan12]

I'm not sure Kobe needed to play many games to decide D'Antoni's system was not for him. I think he decided what he was watching did not click with his basketball world.

Whomever the Lakers have as coach needs to spend some time coaching defense. D'Antoni places little if any importance on defense. I'm not sure who that guy is, but it's certainly not D'Antoni.

I think you're dumping too much of this on D'Antoni and not looking at the totality of the situation that he was handed.

I seriously doubt that Kobe has made any final decisions re: how he feels about D'Antoni's system. I think that he's frustrated by the lack of talent and injuries (including his own) and has "popped off" a couple of times as he tends to do when he doesn't like the direction things are headed. Remember his trade demand a few years back before Bynum learned how to play and they got Gasol? That was with Phil as the coach too.

As for defense, that's why Rambis was brought in. Unfortunately, with all of the injuries and constant lineup changes, they haven't been able to develop any communication or trust on the defensive end of the floor. No one was ever going to mistake them for the Bulls defensively, but without the injuries, I think they would probably be closer to middle of the pack defensively.

 

[Kold]

The thing with Dantoni for me is this...and I'll use 2 examples. Bill Belicheck has been the coach of the Patriots for over 10 years. In those 10 years, they have had success in many ways. They had success with a young Tom Brady playing game manager with a great defense, an all-time great offense in 2007(I think), with 2 tight end sets on offense with Gronk and Hernandez, or this past year with a power running game. The other example is Gregg Popovich. They've won with Duncan and Robinson in the post and great defense, as opposed to now they just give Tony Parker the ball and run pick and roll the entire game.
MY POINT is Dantoni can only win if he has the perfect circumstances. He cannot adjust his system to fit whatever the team does best. It HAS to fit his system exactly or it will not work. Also, his the "post is the least effective play" thinking just drives me nuts. Also, his game subs are always for offensive purposes. I've seen games when he subs in Wesley Johnson at the stretch four spot and he gets destroyed in the post...but Dantoni's thinking is to get him in the game so that he can space the floor. It's just time for a change. We should of hired Brian Shaw over Mike Brown, but since that didn't happen, I guess I'd like to see Bryon Scott get a chance. As TF12 said, we just need a plan in place

 

[trojanfan12]

The thing with Dantoni for me is this...and I'll use 2 examples. Bill Belicheck has been the coach of the Patriots for over 10 years. In those 10 years, they have had success in many ways. They had success with a young Tom Brady playing game manager with a great defense, an all-time great offense in 2007(I think), with 2 tight end sets on offense with Gronk and Hernandez, or this past year with a power running game. The other example is Gregg Popovich. They've won with Duncan and Robinson in the post and great defense, as opposed to now they just give Tony Parker the ball and run pick and roll the entire game.
MY POINT is Dantoni can only win if he has the perfect circumstances. He cannot adjust his system to fit whatever the team does best. It HAS to fit his system exactly or it will not work. Also, his the "post is the least effective play" thinking just drives me nuts. Also, his game subs are always for offensive purposes. I've seen games when he subs in Wesley Johnson at the stretch four spot and he gets destroyed in the post...but Dantoni's thinking is to get him in the game so that he can space the floor. It's just time for a change. We should of hired Brian Shaw over Mike Brown, but since that didn't happen, I guess I'd like to see Bryon Scott get a chance. As TF12 said, we just need a plan in place

I disagree that D'Antoni has to have perfect circumstances. We don't know how this team would have performed if he had the roster he was supposed to have when the season started and there weren't so many injuries.

If all it takes to keep winning is to "tweak your system" or "adjust it", then what's Phil's excuse for the back to back 7th seeds and first round exits? He had his system, Kobe in his prime and more talent than this current roster. Yet, that's the best he could do?

As I've said before, I'm not convinced that he's the right coach and I'm not convinced he isn't. I am convinced that he has not had anything close to a fair chance to show what he can do and it's looking like he may never get it.

 

[Kold]

I disagree that D'Antoni has to have perfect circumstances. We don't know how this team would have performed if he had the roster he was supposed to have when the season started and there weren't so many injuries.

If all it takes to keep winning is to "tweak your system" or "adjust it", then what's Phil's excuse for the back to back 7th seeds and first round exits? He had his system, Kobe in his prime and more talent than this current roster. Yet, that's the best he could do?

As I've said before, I'm not convinced that he's the right coach and I'm not convinced he isn't. I am convinced that he has not had anything close to a fair chance to show what he can do and it's looking like he may never get it.

As for Dantoni, it's just that he's so stubborn about doing it his way. He has to have a stretch four, he doesn't like people posting up, he subs for offense, he doesn't want the ball to stick, which when you have a superstar that's not a PG, they don't just shoot it or move it everytime. A superstar just needs time to have the ball and make things happen sometimes. Also all of the problems with Pau, I maintain that he had it out for Pau since day 1.
As for the latter, that's not all it takes to win....but it's pretty hard to win consistently when you need the perfect team to fit a system in which you will only budge on begrudgingly. Phil's tweak to the triangle was that he'd break it often and let Kobe and Pau run pick and roll. As for those years when they lost in the first round, it does take talent to win. They went up against the top seeded Suns(which fit perfectly for Dantoni's system), and gave them all they could handle that one year when it was Kobe and scrubs. It also wasn't Phil's fault that Kobe got ticked at the media and took a dive in game 7 that year.

 

[trojanfan12]

As for Dantoni, it's just that he's so stubborn about doing it his way. He has to have a stretch four, he doesn't like people posting up, he subs for offense, he doesn't want the ball to stick, which when you have a superstar that's not a PG, they don't just shoot it or move it everytime. A superstar just needs time to have the ball and make things happen sometimes. Also all of the problems with Pau, I maintain that he had it out for Pau since day 1.
As for the latter, that's not all it takes to win....but it's pretty hard to win consistently when you need the perfect team to fit a system in which you will only budge on begrudgingly. Phil's tweak to the triangle was that he'd break it often and let Kobe and Pau run pick and roll. As for those years when they lost in the first round, it does take talent to win. They went up against the top seeded Suns(which fit perfectly for Dantoni's system), and gave them all they could handle that one year when it was Kobe and scrubs. It also wasn't Phil's fault that Kobe got ticked at the media and took a dive in game 7 that year.

What coach isn't stubborn about his system? Has Phil ever run anything but the triangle? Also, D'Antoni has tweaked his system. He tweaked it this year for Pau. That's why Pau has been playing better and back to his 20-10 self.

As I've explained before, the issue with Pau wasn't about D'Antoni "having it in for him", it was about Pau never having played in a system like D'Antoni's and D'Antoni never having had a big with Pau's skill set. Once Pau got healthy and wasn't constantly in and out of the lineup, adjustments were made by both player and coach and Pau has played much better.

 

[trojanfan12]

As for Dantoni, it's just that he's so stubborn about doing it his way. He has to have a stretch four, he doesn't like people posting up, he subs for offense, he doesn't want the ball to stick, which when you have a superstar that's not a PG, they don't just shoot it or move it everytime. A superstar just needs time to have the ball and make things happen sometimes. Also all of the problems with Pau, I maintain that he had it out for Pau since day 1.
As for the latter, that's not all it takes to win....but it's pretty hard to win consistently when you need the perfect team to fit a system in which you will only budge on begrudgingly. Phil's tweak to the triangle was that he'd break it often and let Kobe and Pau run pick and roll. As for those years when they lost in the first round, it does take talent to win. They went up against the top seeded Suns(which fit perfectly for Dantoni's system), and gave them all they could handle that one year when it was Kobe and scrubs. It also wasn't Phil's fault that Kobe got ticked at the media and took a dive in game 7 that year.

Also, in your Belichik and Popovich examples. They didn't change their system, they just changed the point of emphasis. With the Spurs, when Timmy was younger, the offense went through him. For the past few seasons as he's gotten too old to carry that load, the offense started running through Parker. It's the same system, it's just being run through a different player. It looks a little different because the pace is faster with Parker running it.

Same with the Patriots. It's the same system, Brady just has a lot more responsibility for it's success because he has it mastered.

Also, the Suns were a 2 seed both of those seasons and the Lakers performed worse overall in Phil's 2nd season with that team. They went from 45-37 and taking Phoenix to 7 games to going 42-40 and being eliminated in 5 games. That's not Phil's fault either?

 

[wildturkey]

No it's not an assumption the guys are much better fit for this team, They have coached for sometime & recognize what mistakes they have made when they were coaching, it's like any other job you learn more & more with time. To you you thing being an ex lakers is nothing, that is the most incomprehensible words that can come out of a Lakers fans. Wake up dude.



I Have clearly explained this many times before, we don't know how much of Rambis defensive philosophy is getting in, because of Dumbtoni being the head coach. It's no secret Dumbtoni is a power trip, so we can't really evaluate & blame it all on Rambis for the defensive woes.

It is a totally baseless assumption because it can't be proved. That's the point of saying its baseless. You claimed they're wiser. Off what? There's no way to tell if they've learned anything from their most recent experiences because they haven't had a chance to show it. If anything, Scott's history has from NJ to NO and from NO to Cle shows he hasn't learned anything because his teams all quit on him, showing he has yet to figure out how to fight that bugaboo. It's similar to Doug Collins. By all accounts, he's a smart fellow but its been proven that he can't make it past a handful of seasons before his tactics where thin.

As for Rambis, he failed in Minny, arguably an all out disaster. A good deal of that is David Kahn's roster construction. But with almost the same roster, Rick Adelman won 10 more games and has made small, steady improvement each year after. So that speaks to coaching. With regards to defense, both Rambis' teams were near dead last in defensive ratings. Combined that with what his role on this current staff and the results, it's a reasonable assumption that his methods aren't that effective. D'Antoni is certainly not without blame but its common practice for the assistants to run the defense entirely the way Tom Thibideou, Steve Clifford, Mark Malone, and other "defense assistants" have for their teams. It's a reasonable conclusion to draw that Rambis has a hand in the fault.

See the difference in assumptions? You can look at data to draw a conclusion of Rambis. Saying someone gained wisdom without a method of showing it is just a blind guess.

I clearly mentioned you need to also please the fan base & if not at least hire a coach, decent enough even if he doesn't have a Lakers background. Didn't you read my previous post ?? And Scott has coached for 2 small Market teams, his last one was with the Cavs & who the hell is going to succeed there anyways with Gilbert as an owner ? that place is a disaster for any coach. 3rd & the stint that Rambis had with the Wolves wasn't even his fault the way things went down. The only thing Dumbtoni has ever accomplished was having most of his Suns teams dead last in defense from 2004-2008 despite having a high offense. Him & SVG in the end have no rings as a player or coach,period.

Coaching small market teams is not an excuse for short comings. You're fishing for reasons to overlook Byron Scott's faults. He has some troubling red flags as a coach. Overlooking those faults because he has Lakers history is misguided. That goes for any coach and the my main point which I'll keep stressing, Lakers history should not trump coaching ability and accomplishment. Whether fans want to believe it or not, the Xs and Os don't get 10x harder because you're wearing purple and gold jerseys. No one will argue that the outside stuff is different ie more media in LA, higher expectations from the management. But that shouldn't affect any professional coach that's worth a darn and can easily be detected if a coach is up for it by a competent management team in the interview process.

The guy is a plane idiot keep him away from LA, I much rather have George Carl who doesn't make a fool of himself & I can see Kobe respecting him. You're the only one that thinks SVG will bring back the glory days back to Los Angeles. Yes Bring short SVG I can Imagine it now, holding the Larry O Brien trophy with Kobe next to him at STaples Center defeating the Heat in 7 games & a big party in Downtown LA.

As I suspected, you just don't like him personally. What makes him such an idiot and fool?

 

[Rambunctious]

I like Shaw because he has that Phil Jackson MO but baby B would be fine with me if Pat Reilly comes back and takes over as GM...

 

[wildturkey]

Is Shaw even a possibility though? The practice of poaching another team's HC is widely frowned upon so much that it rarely happens. I'd imagine there would have to be some sort of Doc Rivers type dealings going on

 

[LALakersboy24.7]

It is a totally baseless assumption because it can't be proved. That's the point of saying its baseless. You claimed they're wiser. Off what? There's no way to tell if they've learned anything from their most recent experiences because they haven't had a chance to show it. If anything, Scott's history has from NJ to NO and from NO to Cle shows he hasn't learned anything because his teams all quit on him, showing he has yet to figure out how to fight that bugaboo. It's similar to Doug Collins. By all accounts, he's a smart fellow but its been proven that he can't make it past a handful of seasons before his tactics where thin.

What you mean wiser of what ?? I'm talking about the game itself, I clearly mentioned that Rambis & Scott would be a good coaches on these young teams, to assume your opinion that they are not much wiser then a 3-5 years ago is irrelevant. If you clearly listen to James Worthy & Scott during post-game you see them clearly marking the the problems with the team & Dumbtoni. Even Worthy would make a better coach than SVG despite the fact that his never coached. Byron Scott also got New Jersey to the finals in consecutive years & was coach of the year in NO, did you forget that? & Cleveland, well nobody succeeds there. Ass a matter a fact seems to me Byron is a better candidate.

As for Rambis, he failed in Minny, arguably an all out disaster. A good deal of that is David Kahn's roster construction. But with almost the same roster, Rick Adelman won 10 more games and has made small, steady improvement each year after. So that speaks to coaching. With regards to defense, both Rambis' teams were near dead last in defensive ratings. Combined that with what his role on this current staff and the results, it's a reasonable assumption that his methods aren't that effective. D'Antoni is certainly not without blame but its common practice for the assistants to run the defense entirely the way Tom Thibideou, Steve Clifford, Mark Malone, and other "defense assistants" have for their teams. It's a reasonable conclusion to draw that Rambis has a hand in the fault.

It's Minnesota for crying out loud he never even really got a chance, are you forgetting that he was actually suppose take over the Lakers when Phil was going to leave ? but Phil decided to stay & coach in 2010 & Rambis got a Job in Minnesota.

See the difference in assumptions? You can look at data to draw a conclusion of Rambis. Saying someone gained wisdom without a method of showing it is just a blind guess.

Blind guess really how so ? I would understand if they haven't been around the game anymore, but when you're still around & looking at the game from the outside after coaching. You actually see mistakes & learn more, its a common instinct that we have as humans unless you're a dumb ass & just never learned. Most of us Lakers fans agree to have Scott as head coach & Rambis, Madsen & bring in Bernie as assistants. This would be a great coaching staff all around for this young squad & I'm pretty sure they have winning,desire,hard work & commitment in their agenda for these players. A trademark you so much desire.

Coaching small market teams is not an excuse for short comings. You're fishing for reasons to overlook Byron Scott's faults. He has some troubling red flags as a coach. Overlooking those faults because he has Lakers history is misguided. That goes for any coach and the my main point which I'll keep stressing, Lakers history should not trump coaching ability and accomplishment. Whether fans want to believe it or not, the Xs and Os don't get 10x harder because you're wearing purple and gold jerseys. No one will argue that the outside stuff is different ie more media in LA, higher expectations from the management. But that shouldn't affect any professional coach that's worth a darn and can easily be detected if a coach is up for it by a competent management team in the interview process.

In no way am I overlooking any faults for Scott, every coach has his defects, but clearly coaching in Cleveland is a joke for any coach. Do you deny that ?? And like I said before 90% of Lakers fans would approve of this, I keep repeating it to you over & over it's all about the fans & at least please them, I even clearly said I rather have you bring in George Carl instead of SVG. You gotta remember you also need a coach that will be okay for Kobe or things will be a disaster again.

As I suspected, you just don't like him personally. What makes him such an idiot and fool?

I don't like him or hate, but he is not the best choice for a Lakers coach IMO. It's also no secret that a lot of players really never liked this guy in Orlando or Miami. Nobody really ever respected him & at the sametime California is not for him. Like Retroman said he does not have that Lakers pinnach. In the end I just don't see it us winning big with him as the head coach. KEEP HIM AWAY FROM LA!!

 

[Retroram52]

I think I already mentioned once that B. Shaw is tied up in Denver for awhile.

 

[wildturkey]

What you mean wiser of what ?? I'm talking about the game itself, I clearly mentioned that Rambis & Scott would be a good coaches on these young teams, to assume your opinion that they are not much wiser then a 3-5 years ago is irrelevant. If you clearly listen to James Worthy & Scott during post-game you see them clearly marking the the problems with the team & Dumbtoni. Even Worthy would make a better coach than SVG despite the fact that his never coached. Byron Scott also got New Jersey to the finals in consecutive years & was coach of the year in NO, did you forget that? & Cleveland, well nobody succeeds there. Ass a matter a fact seems to me Byron is a better candidate.

It's Minnesota for crying out loud he never even really got a chance, are you forgetting that he was actually suppose take over the Lakers when Phil was going to leave ? but Phil decided to stay & coach in 2010 & Rambis got a Job in Minnesota.

Blind guess really how so ? I would understand if they haven't been around the game anymore, but when you're still around & looking at the game from the outside after coaching. You actually see mistakes & learn more, its a common instinct that we have as humans unless you're a dumb ass & just never learned. Most of us Lakers fans agree to have Scott as head coach & Rambis, Madsen & bring in Bernie as assistants. This would be a great coaching staff all around for this young squad & I'm pretty sure they have winning,desire,hard work & commitment in their agenda for these players. A trademark you so much desire.


In no way am I overlooking any faults for Scott, every coach has his defects, but clearly coaching in Cleveland is a joke for any coach. Do you deny that ?? And like I said before 90% of Lakers fans would approve of this, I keep repeating it to you over & over it's all about the fans & at least please them, I even clearly said I rather have you bring in George Carl instead of SVG. You gotta remember you also need a coach that will be okay for Kobe or things will be a disaster again.

You don't get it. At all. Here is what you said " Byron & Rambis are much more wise then they were 3-5 years ago.". You have no proof of that. There is no way to prove it. Experiencing something doesn't guarantee you gain something from it. You could learn from it. But you could just as easily keep making the same mistakes over and over. That's why its a blind guess.

I'm well aware of their resumes. Yeah, Scott made the Finals over 10 years ago. But he's trending downward ever since and all his teams have quit on him. That's a big deal. He has too many negatives. And you can discount the failures of Rambis and Scott all you want in Cleveland and Minny, but it doesn't bode well for either one that they weren't at least competitive. A truly great coach can field a winning team regardless of the location. They did neither. If they can't win there, or even maximize the talent they have, what makes you think they can succeed in LA, where everyone is so eager to claim it's so much harder to win because so much is expected from its coach?


Also what does pleasing the fans have to do with it? That's the #1 mistake an organization can make, catering to the fans opinions over making the best hire. So if Buss hires a non-Laker, what's going to happen? Is everyone gonna riot? They going to stop showing up? Guess they aren't real fans. Heck no, none of that will happen. That's why you don't do what the general population wants all the time. If that happened, Andrew Bynum would have been traded and LA wouldn't have won 2 titles with him. If a coach is the right fit for what you want to do, you hire him no matter what. That's what strong organizations do. If he also happens to be a guy the fans like, great. It's just a bonus.

I don't like him or hate, but he is not the best choice for a Lakers coach IMO. It's also no secret that a lot of players really never liked this guy in Orlando or Miami. Nobody really ever respected him & at the sametime California is not for him. Like Retroman said he does not have that Lakers pinnach. In the end I just don't see it us winning big with him as the head coach. KEEP HIM AWAY FROM LA!!

Based on what? What prevents him from being able to coach in LA? How is CA not for him? Do you know him personally? Expand beyond vague "he doesn't understand the lakers way"

Here's a question for you. My #1 candidate is Tom Thibodeau if he's available (There's a slim chance he is because he and Chicago managment have been at odds). Would you like him as your coach? Thibs over any of the former Lakers?