Were The LA Lakers Right To Hire Mike D'Antoni Over Phil Jackson?

News
By Mack Rawden
published

After the Los Angeles Lakers fired head coach Mike Brown, it was widely assumed the new vacancy would be filled by Phil Jackson if the legendary coach wanted the gig. With thirteen NBA Championships (11 as a coach, 2 as a player), a great relationship with Kobe Bryant and a reputation for masterfully handling players with egos, he was far and away the most obvious candidate for the position, but the front office shocked everyone late last night by going in a different direction and hiring former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.

Rumor has it poor Phil was blindsided by the organization’s decision, and an overwhelming majority of fans felt the same way. Just a few days ago, they were chanting Phil’s name, and now, they’re being forced to accept a completely different, less comfortable direction. D’Antoni doesn’t have a single championship to his name, and his recent run with the Knicks didn’t exactly end well last year.

That being said, there are some advantages to choosing D’Antoni over Jackson. He’s six years younger and far more interested in coaching long-term. The Zen Master has already retired before and would almost certainly walk away again in two years. In addition, D’Antoni has coached Steve Nash before and runs a very simple, easy to pick up system that should suit Dwight Howard.

So, after having an entire day to process this news, what is your opinion of the front office’s decision? Were they right to hire D’Antoni, or should they have gone with Jackson? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

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Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.