The Los Angeles Lakers fans and everyone else along the way were absolutely shocked very early on Monday morning, when Mike Bresnahan of Los Angeles Times reported that Mike D’Antoni – not Phil Jackson – would become the next head coach of Kobe Bryant and company. So what exactly happened? It was reported over the weekend that the Zen master and the Lakers met to discuss the coach’s possible return to the team after the firing of Mike Brown. The fact that
Phil Jackson released a statement Monday that said he was awakened at midnight Sunday by a phone call from Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and told that Mike D’Antoni had been hired as coach. Jackson said he met with Kupchak and Lakers executive Jim Buss for 90 minutes on Saturday, during which no contract issues were discussed. His statement implies that his next contact with the team was Kupchak’s call. From Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: “Saturday morning,
Remember when we told you this might be more about Jim Buss than Phil Jackson? Turns out that may be a big reason why Mike D’Antoni signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers late last night, and why Phil Jackson will remain unemployed/semi-retired. The stunning news broke while most of California and the rest of America was asleep. [Read more…]
The Phil Jackson saga is dominating the headlines in the NBA world this weekend, and thus it is, of course, dominating today’s blog. For a primer on the Lakers/Jackson situation, check out yesterday’s blog. But if you happen to be a fan of one of the other 29 NBA teams, don’t worry, we’ve still got you covered, in today’s blog as well as elsewhere on SH. We’ve got a rundown of all of last night’s games and top performers, and a
By now, you have to have heard: Everyone involved with the Lakers seems to want Phil Jackson and the Triangle offense back. Here at Sheridan Hoops, we’ve got wall-to-wall coverage of this saga: the original piece on Brown’s firing, and the reaction from NBA players, plus one one podcast asking if this is more about Jackson or Jim Buss, and another podcast with some strong statements from Jackson’s friend, Roland Lazenby, that he fully expects the quest for ring No. 12 to
During a roundtable NBA discussion on TheOpinioNationNetwork , Jabari Davis, Jamieson Welsh, Twan Staley, and Jory Dreher were joined by NBA historian/author Roland Lazenby following the news of Los Angeles Lakers’ Head Coach Mike Brown being fired on Friday morning. Lazenby has been a fixture around NBA locker rooms for the past four decades, and is a close personal friend of Tex Winter and Phil Jackson. Lazenby has credited Winter (Father of the Triangle Offense) to have practically taught him the
In watching all of this Laker drama play out, I had a tough time not invoking memories of a former Bush administration official who shares a name with the recently deposed coach of the Lakers. Michael Brown was the FEMA director when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2006. Brown was famous for being the recipient of President Bush’s famous compliment, “You’re doing a heckuva job Brownie.” Not long after this, Brown was forced to resign as the director of FEMA for an incompetent response
There is a lot of speculation and conjecture out there today regarding Phil Jackson’s possible return to the Los Angeles Lakers, but one piece of information has a lot more meat on the bone than others. It comes from Ric Bucher, formerly of ESPN and now writing hoops for CSNBayArea.com, and it says one of Jackson’s desires is to have final say on personnel decisions — which would render both Jim Bus and Mitch Kupchak relatively powerless. An excerpt from Bucher’s report: