Lebron to Cleveland
- Thread starter WTSooner
- Start date
SoonerBounce13
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2008
- Messages
- 13,128
- Reaction score
- 1,600
yuck
You know Riley is turning on the charm full speed ahead. How about Gasol & Deng to go along with Bosh & Wade? They got lots of options.
SoonerBounce13
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2008
- Messages
- 13,128
- Reaction score
- 1,600
Smash Williams
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
I agree. Kobe's personality--part of what made him so great in the first place--is now a liability for the Laker organization.
Say what you will about Dwight Howard--he's immature, flaky, and not a leader. But he's really damn good, enough that you work around that by getting the right leadership in place. He and Kobe were a bad mix, but that's where the Lakers needed Phil: a leader who connects with players and excels at managing strong personalities. That's always been one of D'Antoni's biggest flaws.
If Phil were still around, I think Dwight is still in LA, Kobe takes slightly less so that they still have room for another max player, and they improve their chances of landing another star, due to LAL being a more attractive situation from a competitive standpoint.
Smash Williams
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
Carter aside (a solid--but not elite--defender, now in Memphis), where are you seeing the defense?
The only plus defender is Chandler, but you thought he was trash two years ago, and he's regressed significantly since that time.
Smash Williams
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
Winning championships is only one part of the equation for these guys. Money and family are very important, too. Happy wife, happy life.
Both of those guys stayed in places they and their families know well. That stability clearly mattered to them.
jmizzy4ou
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2008
- Messages
- 3,550
- Reaction score
- 308
Phil is not and never was interested in coaching again. He's just looking to cash a big check. Dr Buss knew this. The Lakers never caved to his extortion attempts. The Knicks? That's how they roll.
Dwight was never staying in LA. No way he was going to expose himself to Shaq's constant criticism.
playmakr
New member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,967
- Reaction score
- 0
He wanted to come back to the Lakers to coach and make one more run with Kobe, Dwight, Gasol, and your spotter at the gym. They chose little Mikey D, who has now run his 2nd organization into the ground.
You've got the wrong Buss. Which is the problem. If Dr Buss (RIP) was still in charge during all of this, this fiasco wouldn't be happening in LA. It's almost as big a fiasco as Morey had this off season lol.
Last edited:
Dr. buss was still in charge. He made the call to select D'Antoni over Jackson. He made this decision because 1) he thought D'Antoni fit the personnel (Nash/Howard pick n roll) better and 2) he didn't think Jackson was really committed to it. This has all been reported and confirmed by everybody in the organization.
playmakr
New member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2008
- Messages
- 3,967
- Reaction score
- 0
Wrong. Every word of it wrong.
Wrong.
Aside from Jim's (or anyone else's) effort to throw Jerry under the bus, it was Jim's decision, he was running the team and he was the one who also hired Brown. Nobody but a select few believe Jerry over rid Jim. Nobody but a select few believe Jerry would make that horrific of a decision. Magic Johnson certainly doesn't believe it. Jeanie Buss doesn't believe it. I mean c'mon man, Dr. Buss first tells Jim/Mitch to hire Mike Brown and then decides a couple weeks into the season, to bring back Showtime with D'antoni? After they rushed in hiring Brown to try to win another championship to tie Boston while Jerry was still alive? You're smarter than that. Doesn't jive.
The real truth is what cost them Phil (who after coaching could have stepped into operations) is Jim's insecurity. His dad didn't over rule him because he had been letting (by then he was close to being on his death bed) Jim run the team, and didn't want him second guessing. The worst decision the late Dr. Buss made was allowing Jim to run the team. Hard to fault him for that, blood is blood. This can all be confirmed with anyone who knows they are talking about, which doesn't include the lying Jim Buss.
Jim Buss is an insecure dweeb, running of the greatest sports franchises in the world into the ground. His ego made him make the worst hiring decision in modern sports history. And then to throw his dead father under the bus a year later, is despicable.
Plashke wrote about it a few months ago:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/la-sp-phil-jackson-plaschke-20140312-column.html
Jeanie Buss in memoir blaming Jim: (also questioning the Jerry decided meme)
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/22/sports/la-sp-lakers-jeanie-buss-20130922/2
Last edited:
jmizzy4ou
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2008
- Messages
- 3,550
- Reaction score
- 308
Play is right Boca. It was well documented that Dr. Buss was sick, and Jim was making all critical decisions, even though Dr. Buss' name was still attached. In fact, most within the Laker organization wanted Jeannie Buss to take over the day to day operations because she had more experience than Jim, and had worked the closest with Dr. Buss out of all of his kids. Jim used 1st son status to get into the position he is currently in, and as Play said, he's quickly dismantling the Lakers......
It was also reported Jim didn't want to bring Phil Jackson back because he thought Phil would get all of the credit if LA won another title, and Jim is reported to be a very egotistical person, who worries excessively about the public's opinion of him.
Last edited:
Smash Williams
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
It's easy to dogpile on D'Antoni, but he's had a major influence on today's NBA offenses. He's probably smarter than he gets credit for.
But relationships matter, and that was never Mike's thing. It was pretty clear from the outset that he wasn't the guy to manage those superstar egos in LA. In New York, Melo deserved plenty of blame for D'Antoni not working out, but it's a knock on D'Antoni that he wasn't able to earn Melo's trust and respect. He never had a chance of being able to manage Dwight or Kobe, let alone the clashing egos of both. On top of that, he alienated Pau, who's always seemed pretty agreeable for a player of his stature.
Melo received most of the blame for not buying into D'Antoni and his system, but Kobe, Dwight, and Pau all became disgruntled with him and it (Kobe and Pau understandably so; Dwight, a great pick-and-roll big, took what he considered to be his underutilized post game to Houston, where they run more spread pick-and-roll than anyone else). D'Antoni's personality and system fit a then-38-year-old PG and no one else. Dwight was a great fit for the system, but D'Antoni deserves fault for not being able to help him understand that.
But relationships matter, and that was never Mike's thing. It was pretty clear from the outset that he wasn't the guy to manage those superstar egos in LA. In New York, Melo deserved plenty of blame for D'Antoni not working out, but it's a knock on D'Antoni that he wasn't able to earn Melo's trust and respect. He never had a chance of being able to manage Dwight or Kobe, let alone the clashing egos of both. On top of that, he alienated Pau, who's always seemed pretty agreeable for a player of his stature.
Melo received most of the blame for not buying into D'Antoni and his system, but Kobe, Dwight, and Pau all became disgruntled with him and it (Kobe and Pau understandably so; Dwight, a great pick-and-roll big, took what he considered to be his underutilized post game to Houston, where they run more spread pick-and-roll than anyone else). D'Antoni's personality and system fit a then-38-year-old PG and no one else. Dwight was a great fit for the system, but D'Antoni deserves fault for not being able to help him understand that.
Smash Williams
New member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2009
- Messages
- 1,753
- Reaction score
- 0
He was never going to escape exposure to Shaq's constant criticism.
Even in Houston, Dwight sees Shaq on TV every week making asinine statements about him.
"Dwight needs to post up more. It's his fault and no one else's for not getting the ball in the post more, even though I would constantly whine to the media in my playing days about my teammates not getting me the ball. I need to see Dwight get...uh...43 points, 25 rebounds, and 5 blocks tonight."
Dwight, like every other person on the planet, would be much better off if he completely ignored Shaq.
Sooner04
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 15, 2009
- Messages
- 2,435
- Reaction score
- 325
Unabashed supporter of D'Antoni here. Love what he's done in moving the NBA out of the hand check stone ages. And I have no problem saying he was a bad fit with the egos of Los Angeles.
But you can't say he was the reason the Knicks were run into the ground. That's Carmelo. And that's ONLY Carmelo. Take a peak back at how they were playing before the signed that ball stopper.
But you can't say he was the reason the Knicks were run into the ground. That's Carmelo. And that's ONLY Carmelo. Take a peak back at how they were playing before the signed that ball stopper.
If we're talking bad hires here, how about TNT festooning Shaq upon the "Inside the NBA" talent. Who are the ad wizards.......
