Why Mike D'Antoni is better off than the Lakers
Mike D'Antoni may have failed as head coach of the storied Lakers, but he was never really given the chance to succeed, and other suitors are surely aware of that.
While Magic Johnson and countless other Lakers fans lamented the hiring of D'Antoni (over Phil Jackson) immediately, the former NBA Coach of the Year (2005) was tasked with taking the reins of a flawed, star-studded team that was already off to a disappointing 1-4 start in 2012-13.
Steve Nash had already been lost to a significant injury by the time D'Antoni replaced Mike Brown, Dwight Howard never looked completely healthy in his lone Lakers season, Pau Gasol struggled through arguably the worst year of his career and of course, Kobe Bryant was lost for the final week of the regular season and postseason. None of that can be pinned on D'Antoni, and the Lakers actually went 44-33 under Mike's watch last season, including a 28-12 run to close the season that saw them snatch the Western Conference's seventh playoff spot.
They were no match for the eventual Conference champion Spurs without Bryant once in the playoffs, and considering the talent General Manager Mitch Kupchak had accrued before the season, were seen as one of the most disappointing teams in NBA history. But looking back on that season now, taking everything into consideration, just getting them back into the postseason race, let alone into the actual postseason, should be applauded, not scoffed at.
With Howard taking his talents to Texas in free agency and the Lakers plugging their holes with only mediocre acquisitions at best, sound observers knew that the 2013-14 Lakers would be hard pressed to make the playoffs if healthy, let alone if Bryant and Nash combined to play just 21 games and Gasol struggled through his own nagging injuries throughout the year. That they limped along to 55 losses and the worst Lakers season since the franchise moved to L.A. has a heck of a lot more to do with those speed bumps and a lackluster roster than it does with D'Antoni's coaching ability.
D'Antoni has his flaws, especially on the defensive end, and he has clearly lost his shine since Nash helped carry him and the 'Seven Seconds Or Less' Suns years ago. But he's also still a capable NBA head coach with the right personnel, and there are surely still some owners and executives out there willing to pay for the excitement his preferred style of play can inject into a franchise and fanbase.
Heck, even Kupchak and the Lakers were willing to keep him around for the final year of his deal (though their unwillingness to give him an extra year of security is reportedly what led to him resigning) and still speak glowingly about him. At worst, there would certainly be at least a couple of college programs around that would be willing to keep D'Antoni a very rich man.
The Lakers' future, on the other hand, is much less certain.
Sure, there is the possibility that with some 2014 Lottery luck and some subsequent success on the free agent market, the Lakers prop themselves right back into the mix within the next year or two and for years to follow. Even anti-Lakers NBA fans have to admit that The Purple and Gold are the masters of the quick turnaround. But with only a 6.3 percent chance to win the lottery, a 21.5 percent chance to land a top-three pick and a 34.6 percent chance to fall out of the top-six, the more likely scenario remains that the Lakers land a solid, but not franchise changing talent in the 2014 Draft and then stay relatively quiet on the free agent front, setting themselves up for another questionable season in 2014-15.
And in case you needed a reminder, the Lakers will convey their first round pick to Phoenix (stemming from the Nash deal) after next season if it doesn't land in the top-five, with a future first rounder still to be sent to Orlando (stemming from the Howard deal) as well. In addition, amidst all that, they'll be paying Kobe Bryant - who will turn 36 in August, has logged over 54,000 minutes between the regular season and playoffs and is coming off of two devastating injuries to his Achilles and knee - an absurd $48.5 million over the next two seasons.
Does that sound like the type of situation that will attract top notch talent looking for championships in the near future?
Barring that aforementioned Lottery luck in a few weeks time, these just aren't the same old Lakers anymore, and they're not even the hottest basketball ticket in town. Their future is murky at best, and no coaching hire alone is going to change that.
Mike D'Antoni is who he is as a basketball coach, but flawed as he may be, at least he's still a wanted commodity somewhere right now. Are the Lakers?