Wow I was willing to bet money that it would be the return of Phil Jackson to Los Angeles. Â New big man, who better than Phil to take them to the championship? Â However, the Lakers have decided to go with former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. Â While his name was in the running, I do not think anybody could have predicted this.
D’Antoni was given a three year/ $12 million offer with a club option for a fourth year. Â Of course everyone wants to know just how Kobe feels about this move. Â He had this to say to ESPN, “I love PJ but I’m very excited about D’Antoni.” Â We shall see if Bryant still feels that way throughout the season, but we all know the media will make something up regardless.
I do not think that this will be a smooth transition for D’Antoni, who is recovering from knee surgery, very quickly. Â He is a former point guard who works best when he has a great point guard to work with. Â A great point guard… maybe like Steve Nash? Â I will not judge D’Antoni’s ability until Nash is able to return to the court. Â Nash has a non-displaced fracture in his leg and his return time is looking to be around one to two weeks. Â An official announcement will be made by the team in the next couple of days.
