Byron Scott is no longer the Lakers’ coach. While a vocal portion of fans rejoice loudly, right with them there is also a chorus of questions about next steps and whether those in charge are going to make a coaching decision which propels the team forward. The doubts this will happen are real and they exist for the exact reason there is even a choice to make now.
Lakers determined to cast very wide net and take their time w/ coaching search. This could take weeks still. And really, what's the rush?
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) June 2, 2014
Look at the date stamp on the tweet above. Now look at the one on the tweet below.
Lakers expected to compile a "long list" of coaching candidates to replace Scott. “It’ll be a lot,” said a person familiar with the process.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) April 25, 2016
These came nearly two years apart, but message is pretty much exactly the same. We know what happened two years ago. We also know what happened after Phil Jackson walked away in the summer before the 2011 lockout. Then, again, in November of 2012. What will happen this year?
I wrote back in March of 2014 that it was “now Jim Buss’ time”. Since then the Lakers’ front office, headed by Jim, has parted ways with Mike D’Antoni, completed an interview process limited to candidates with previous head coaching experience, hired Byron Scott (after multiple interviews), and, on Sunday, parted ways with Byron Scott.
I am not here to put the guillotine over Buss and the rest of the front office’s necks. But those things happened and it’s at least part of what they should be judged on.
So, in moving forward, it’s fair to ask if things will be the same. If you look at the second of those two tweets up there and combine it with the various reports of potential candidates, you get the sense that things are shaping up to be different. If you’re skeptical about that, I don’t blame you though. I don’t think anyone could.
Favorites are already being identified both among fans and media alike. Luke Walton will be a popular name and he should be. Ettore Messina intrigues at least one writer (okay, he intrigues me). The college ranks are en vogue again (or were they ever not?) and have more than one possible candidate. And there will be several other former NBA coaches who also throw their hat into the ring.
I’m not ready to say I have a favorite as of yet. I’m still wrapping my head around the idea that Scott has been fired and that the Lakers are again looking for a head coach. I am also trying to find the right balance between the optimism which comes from change and the cynicism which comes from going through this process again with the same men leading the search.
This much is clear, though, there is nowhere for the decision makers to hide now. Whatever role Dr. Buss had in the hiring of Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni, his passing leaves only Jim and Mitch to decide. There is no longer the allure of the ex Showtime guard and Kobe confidante as there was with Scott. And with Kobe retired, there is no longer the specter of appeasing and/or placating to him for this coach.
No, this hire is only on Jim and Mitch. And it comes about a year before Jim’s deadline to produce a massive improved team. Yes, they also needed to get the previous hires right, but they really need to get this one right. Let’s see how it goes.
Craig W. says
IMO, #1 Ettore Messina, #2 Luke Walton, #3 Kevin Ollie
I suspect Luke may be out if luck, if only because GS may be playing in June.
I am definitely not in favor of Jeff VanGundy, if only because he is not a young player’s coach and his offensive chops are not evident.
Anonymous says
#1 Luke. #2 Ettore. #3 Either Van Gundy. …. #7 Ollie….. #9999999 Fisher.
Kbj says
I’ve said before that now that Kobe and Byron are gone, there are no more scapegoats and no more excuses. The spotlight is on the front office now and they can’t hide behind those guys anymore.
“And it comes about a year before Jim’s deadline to produce a massive improved team”
This is something I’m a little confused about. Jim told Jeanie that he was going to make a team that can go deep into the playoffs this upcoming 2016-2017 season. Does anybody see that happening? I don’t. The prudent decision would be to fire Jim and Mitch before they hire a new coach.
Not only do I not believe they will make the right coaching choice as we have seen 3 times before (Mike Brown, MDA, Byron Scott), but I don’t believe they can put together a team that can take advantage of the coaching talents of a Luke Walton or Messina. I’m deeply cynical that the Lakers will make any noticeable progress until Jim, Mitch and perhaps Jeanie are gone.
LT Mitchell says
— If Luke and Fish played role reversal this past season, with Luke being the head coach of the Knicks and DFish being the head assistant at Golden State….. Laker fans right now would be begging for Fish to coach the Lakers over Luke. Think about it.
— Now that Thibs is gone (thanks Lakers front office for firing Scott 2 weeks too late), my number one choice would be JVG (as both coach and head of basketball ops) with Messina as an assistant.
—
Craig W. says
VanGundy wants a deal like his brother – and he is too old. The Lakers are looking for a younger coach and that takes out Messina. I think, in a wide-open game, it would be a mistake to hire a defense-over-all coach. The defense must come out of a wide-open offense, not the Memphis approach.
If Walton doesn’t agree right away, I see Kevin Ollie being hired within two-three weeks – before the lottery.
Anonymous says
I think the fan base would be disappointed if the choice is anyone other than Walton.
There’s a youthfulness and freshness about him that fits with the fact that Lakers are essentially starting over.
macster says
We need to start anew with the emphasis on player development. This just about necessitates a college coach. No retreads please I’m for Kevin Ollie.
M~
david h says
darius: Martha and the Vandellas said it first..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17yfqxoSTFM
but we know exactly what you mean.
Go lakers
rubenowski says
1. Luke, 2. Messina, 3. Randy Pfund.
Anonymous says
Peter Edmiston ?@peteredmiston 2h2 hours ago
Marc Gasol: “My advice to Pau, at his age with the things he cares about, not that (we’ve talked); my advice would be to go to San Antonio.”
minorthreatt says
I have to chuckle, thinking back to those days when Laker fan sites were filled with posts demanding that the team get rid of “Puke” and his (then) onerous six-year, $30m contract. When we finally unloaded him in the Sessions trade, people were ecstatic (even with the first-rounder attached). Full disclosure: I felt the same way.
If anyone had said that four years later, we’d be begging for the return of Luke Walton — and I, again, am one of those people — who would’ve believed it?
Steve says
I think Luke is going to make a great coach someday. There’s a reason he was so well loved and respected on the court during his time with the Lakers. His stats never reflected his true value on the floor. But it’s not the right time for him and the Lakers. He needs a little more experience and to deal with some adversity first.
Jeff Van Gundy is too much a defense first guy. His teams always played tough and ugly. (Why I wasn’t that heartbroken at not getting Thibs) I don’t think he reflects today’s NBA much better than Scott did. I could easily see him being a ‘man up’ guy too. No thanks.
Calipari could be great but not sure if his ego is too big. He does know how to get the most out of young guys.
Kevin Ollie would be my first choice. Great coach and most important, he has the respect of both Durant and Westbrook. If you’re trying to land one (or both) of them, there’s no better pick than him.
Let’s not be too quick to throw out Kupchak. Not all of the trades and moves he’s made panned out recently, but his track record overall is pretty darn good. Can’t blame him for the Paul veto. Getting Howard and Nash had everyone drooling until everyone realized how immature Dwight was (and not recovered yet) and then Nash self-destructed, along with Kobe. When that happened the gamble to get Kobe one more championship left the cupboard bare of picks and trade-able assets. And no one who was really a game changer who you’d want available in free agency (other than LeBron, and he was never coming here).
The one legitimate question, is how much input he had into the coaching decisions. He’s such a company man that he’ll never throw Jim under the bus. He’ll stick to the company line no matter how he looks. Before you throw him out you better have someone who can replace him, and there aren’t many with a better history than him.
If they hire Luke, I understand and won’t be disappointed, but cautiously optimistic. Love to see them get Ollie though.
JeffT says
Luke Walton was always a smart basketball player with solid fundamentals. He just never had the god-given athletic ability that other players are born with. However, his high level of basketball IQ always looked like it would translate well into the coaching discipline. At least it did to me.
Anonymous says
Luke is the guy, for several non-basketball related reasons: 1. Magic will hold his criticism because he personally likes Luke, Luke was a popular player and because he does not want to get into a war of words with Luke’s eloquent father; 2. Phil likes Luke and if Jim gives up and hands the reigns to Jeannie (and Phil), Luke is already a vetted/approved coach; 3. he still owes his mansion in the South Bay; 4. Nor Cal is nice, but So Cal is best; 5. no one in the media would say it was a bad hire; 6. Jim Buss and him seem to have always had a very good friendship.
So….. that’s my take.
Clay Bertrand says
My Half Nickel: 1.) Luke 2.) Ollie 3.) Fizdale 4.) Blatt 5.) Messina (as the Italian Frank Drebin errrrr Del Harris).
Mitch to give initial interview on TWCSN at 3:30………
Robert says
Darius: “I wrote back in March of 2014 that it was “now Jim Buss’ time”. Agreed however – Jerry died in February, 2013 and was fairly reduced in capacity for a year prior to that. So this three year debacle (if not 4) is all on Jim Buss Time. And to be fair – yes Jim did contribute to success prior to that – but not as the top decision maker. In any case – you are correct – nowhere to hide now.
kbj: “The prudent decision would be to fire Jim and Mitch before they hire a new coach.” Yes – been saying that for months. No point in waiting a year – clean house now.
Deadline: The deadline is murky and changes all the time. First it was WCF, now it is second round. And specifically – what is that? Winning the first round? Winning the second round? What?
Question For Everyone: It comes down to whether you take Jim’s self imposed deadline and Jeanie’s resolve to hold him to it seriously. If you don’t then I guess we can’t listen to the Buss siblings or take them seriously (that basically says we do not know what we are doing). If you do then why would we wait a year? Does anyone project this type of improvement for this team? So what are we saying that the pledge was not serious or Jeanie will not hold him to it? Or are we just saying that it is OK to hire a coach (4th in 6 years) under a lame duck FO?
Luke: He is the obvious favorite. He is inexperienced and a total gamble, but as Anon has stated above – Magic and Phil have already approved the move. Even if Mitch and Jim voted against, then Jeanie would break the tie : )
Anonymous says
Regarding Pau — agreed SA is where he should go. However, I think Whiteside or Horford goes there. I don’t like the Spurs but they do win.
I do think Pau will be in demand. Hell, he was an all star this year. Note, I don’t think the Lakers are an option.
Mikey says
This is a pretty well informed crowd. Offense oriented coach with good player relationships. That pretty well defines the goal, as the teams only core players are young offensive shot creators, I’m counting Randle in this category, for a 4 anyhow, and Byron crushed a little soul.
Not sure that the Byron hire wasn’t a reasonable move given that Kobe was going to kibosh the tenure of whomever was there for his last two throwaway years. But now that he’s gone, the hire should definitely take advantage of the high pick and roll abilities of both guards.
Should be a fun offense. And Mitch and Jim have to have this in mind from where they drafted Russell. They just had to shed Kobe first. Now that’s been done.
Guest says
@minorthreatt: I didn’t cheer Walton’s trade to the Cavaliers. The Lakers gave up too much for Sessions, who left after only half a season, and they’d repeat the mistake with Nash later that year. They’ve been paying for both mistakes over these last three years.
If anything, I thought the Lakers played Walton too little in his final years with the team. I believe the last time he made a significant impact was during the first round series against the Nuggets in 2008, which the Lakers swept and Walton averaged double digit scoring during the series.
They should have played him more in the 2011 series against the Mavericks, which started the downfall of the franchise. He could have done something on the defensive end against Stojakovic, who helped kill the Lakers with timely shots from long range.
Fern says
Messina, to think he was with us a couple of years ago. JVG no way, he is going to want the power his brother and Thibs have and that is just not going to happen in LA. Thibbs? same type of coach as JVG and he ran an MVP caliber player like Derrick Rose into the ground and has never recovered sounds familiar?. Let him ran Wiggins and Towns into the ground in Minnesota. Fish is interested, hell no, i know is unfair but he has the PJ “protege” stench on him. Not a single PJ guy has ever been able to be sucesful in the NBA so that includes Shaw too. Kevin Ollie i find him intriguin too. My choice would be between Luke, Messina and Kevin Ollie. But Luke should be the guy. If the Lakers dont hire a coach in the next too weeks i imagine they are going to offer Luke “an offer he can’t refuse” in my opinion, he is the guy, the fit…
Chris J says
LT Mitchell ‘s point about Luke and Fish was well made. I expressed concerns about people’s enthusiasm for Fisher’s ability to run a big-market NBA team two years ago, and he proved my point by flaming out in New York. Maybe someday he’ll be a good candidate to lead the Lakers, but not then — nor now.
I feel the same about the rush to anoint Luke today. Not to discredit the work he has done in Golden State, but being a partial-season caretaker for the defending world champions is not the same as leading a team like the Lakers will put on the floor in 2016-17. I’m all for youth in the role, but I’d prefer it be someone with a bit more experience, whether as the head man in the college ranks or with a bit more tenure than Luke’s had as an assistant in the NBA. Just two years ago he was still coaching in the D-League. Let’s not lose sight of that.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
Lakers fans, are you ready for what “hitting a home run” on the next coaching hire will bring?
How about 25-57? Followed by 40-42?
That’s what Brad Steven did for the Celtics, and I think he’s probably what most people consider as the model for picking a bright young coach to rebuild a winning culture.
I hope Luke Walton (or whomever the Lakers hire) succeeds, but I think we need to be realistic about what “success” is likely to mean.
I also think some of the claims about how putrid the previous coaching hires have been are bit misplaced. Yes, B-Scott stunk, but I think the evidence suggests his role was to placate Kobe for the last 2 years of Kobe’s retirement tour. Otherwise…
Mike Brown: Here’s a list of prominent candidates from the summer Brown was hired…
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2011-04-24-nba-coaches_N.htm
Are you really sure any of them would have done better than Brown’s 41-25 record (prorates to 52 wins in an 82-game season) with this roster?
http://www.lakersuniverse.com/seasons/2011_2012_roster.htm
It seems to me he did OK given the circumstances. Please remember those included Lamar Odom mentally checking out (and getting traded for nothing) and Pau Gasol also playing half-heartedly after nearly leaving in the CP3 trade.
Mike D’Antoni — There’s no arguing the optics of the hire were butchered badly (esp. being so public about courting and rejecting Phil Jackson). But the Nash/Howard/Gasol/Kobe Lakers were a mess, no matter who coached them. Howard wouldn’t work P&R with Nash. Kobe wouldn’t give up the ball despite having top-notch point guard. Gasol resented being pushed out of the low block. Kobe hated (arguably justifiably) Howard’s lackadaisical effort and diva tendencies. Nash got injured. Gasol got injured. Howard was never really not injured. It was a mess. Maybe Phil Jackson could have done better, maybe not.
And think about this: what was the future of the NBA at that juncture? Was it Jackson’s takes-two-seasons-to-learn depends-upon-hitting-midrange-jumpers Triangle? Or was it pick-and-roll ball-movement 3-point-heavy offenses like those advocated by…..Mike D’Antoni? How’s that goink?
The second year of MDA’s tenure was simply an injury-fest. Kobe played 6 games. Pau only played 60 (and was clearly just waiting to leave town). Who else on this roster….
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2014.html
…was going to lead the Lakers to much better than 27-55?
And, of course, Bernie Bickerstaff was a perfect 5-0 during his brief tenure!
So I don’t think the front office has done all that badly in their coaching hires. Age, injuries, personality conflicts, and talent depletion due to the Nash/Howard/CP3 deals and natural migration all played a role in their outcomes.
The success of the next Lakers coach will likely also be more of a function of whether the Lakers keep their 2016 draft pick, whom they sign in free agency, and whether the roster stays reasonably healthy, and less on who that next coach actually is.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
Some Luke Walton retrospective, courtesy of The Onion…
http://www.theonion.com/article/kobe-bryant-proves-he-can-win-championship-with-lu-2751
matt says
Lakers likely will hire someone none of us are talking about
Question, , is there an official list of candidates from mitch/jim?
bluehill says
Here’s a link I saw on another site that provides some background on Messina.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/4gfor0/ettore_messina_coaching_profile/
I like his thinking, particularly this –
“For starters, we don’t think that our offensive system is all that original. What makes it different are not the plays, but how the players apply the various ideas that are behind each play. Our coaching staff spends a lot of time trying to figure out how we can utilize the best characteristics of our players on offense. This is a long process and sometimes we can’t find an exact role for each of our players right away. We strongly believe that, beyond the offensive choices, we have to take care of the players’ improvement, putting them into the best conditions to be dangerous on offense: we want to be effective using the players’ skills.”
I wonder what role Messina played in integrating LMA into the Spurs’ system. Given the way LMA is playing and if Messina was involved with it, I think that would be attractive to potential FAs.
DieTryin' says
First count me amongst the “vocal portion of fans” who “will rejoice loudly”. And who is still doing so 🙂 but realize that this is only a first step. I was ok with the Byron hiring even though he was not my first choice. I was hoping for Adelman. But before I get to who I hope the Laker’s hire I just have to say how it pains me to see how well Isiah Thomas is playing…a player I very much wanted us to pick up. And that was before he showed he’s even better than I thought. At $6.5/mil per year a steal. And then there’s Jeremy Lin, Bazemore, Ed Davis, etc. The point bring is that to get a meaningful contributors you’ve got to pay more than the vet minimum.
Ok back to the coaching search. It’s ok to extend feelers to a larger group but for me it really comes down to either Luke or Ollie. They each have strengths & weaknesses. Luke has Laker pedigree, can relate to younger players and perhaps most importantly has a keen basketball mind. His dad probably can be a resource too for that matter. But he’s light on experience. Kevin Ollie has won a national championship, has great teaching/leadership skills and probably would be more effective than Luke in attracting free agents during the obligatory presentations. Oh and let’s not forget that his purported close ties with Durant & Westbrook is not nothing. But no NBA coaching experience. Bottom line I would be very happy with either but slightly prefer Ollie for the free agent recruiting advantage I believe he brings to the table. But failing either of these I could def sign up for Messina. And it appears that the Laker’s have already received permission from the Spurs to speak with him.
Lastly, a resounding NO to JVG or Mark Jackson. And the notion of Fish as our head coach must be someone’s idea of a joke. It simply does not deserve discussion or consideration.
Craig W. says
May I suggest people re-read the long comment by TempleOfJamesWorthy, above.
We have been in a ‘snit-fest’ about coaching for so long we no longer have any real objectivity when reviewing the situation. The next coach is going to start with a pretty bad team to start next year – most likely. IMO, posters here will be jumping off bridges by Xmas.
Mid-Wilshire says
Today Mitch Kupchak was interviewed by Time Warner Cable SportNet’s Chris McGee about his time line for finding a new coach. Here’s the link:
http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/160425_kupchakcoach
DieTryin' says
Craig W excerpt from the conclusion in the v. good TOJW post above:
The success of the next Lakers coach will likely also be more of a function of whether the Lakers keep their 2016 draft pick, whom they sign in free agency, and whether the roster stays reasonably healthy, and less on who that next coach actually is.
———
Very fair points but we have no control on whether we keep our pick. Mathematically it’s roughly a coin flip. And although trainers and training techniques can ameliorate but not eliminate health issues. Another chance event. Which leaves us with ability to sign free agents and I would argue that the coaching choice has a direct impact in this critical area. We are in the midst of a rebuild one that in the best of circumstances takes years but can definitely be hastened by success in the summer with free agents
Keith says
TOJW: MB and MDA were bad fits for those teams. Not strictly talking w/l records but managing personalities and basketball philosophy. Jim’s MDA decision cost us Howard and Pau — losing them without compensation sealed our fate. BS was not only a bad fit but the FO was quick to push the tank button both of his years here.
Agree that next year will be a 25 win season even with a good coach and keeping the pick. (I don’t think we’re attractive to free agents yet). However, I believe least we’ll be trying to win games. I’m not sure, after December, whether this year’s team was pushing for many W’s.
Face it, we’ve been dealing with an FO issue as well as a coaching issue. Since the veto, Jim Buss has not done much right.
matt says
Temple of james worthy
Interesting recollection of lakers past.
Mike brown team looks solid on paper
Blake,sessions…kobe…barnes, mwp…..pau, jordan hill…..bynum
D’antoni team gots holes
Nash, blake, k.marshall….kobe, meeks, bazemore….nic young, wes johnson…..jordan hill….pau, kaman
Guard heavy with no front court
plus I’m not sure if all those players were on the team at once or if a trade seperates them,
I do see a kinda wishy washy core there that could have developed, but around kobe it seems like a difficult task
Assembling a team seems to be a task, you have to be sure who your moving forward with, role players gotta except their roles, and starters gotta be starter worthy, the front office has a task of determining which players to fill the roster with, for instance if you view clarkson as the sg you want to develop you have to be patient in his development and only bring in another sg who would be comfortable playing behind him like they did with lou williams.
This is a key to free agency if they believe in russell, clarkson, and randle they gotta be careful who they bring in, and if they draft a guy like ingram, who else will play at that spot thats effective but eventually we step aside and let the prospect develop.
karen says
Spurs give permission to speak to messina. Lakers want to hire in the next 2 wks.
matt says
Keith
I agree that next year will most likely be another losing season, but we don’t know that for sure, russell could take a leap forward, who knows, they could sign dual centers that mesh well, they could draft ingram and sign a temporary fill to mentor him at sforward and that could work, the new coach could learn how clarkson and russell work well together on offense and defense, remember russell looked good in College because the system he ran.
Anything can happen, but also we all hoped hibbert was going to be good on the lakers, and that didn’t work out. In basketball Assembling a team is hit or miss.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
@DieTrying — While the Lakers are so talent-bereft I’m in favor of them getting ANYONE with some talent, I think we need to keep in mind the recent successes of Isaiah Thomas, Kent Bazemore, Ed Davis, etc. are largely situational.
Thomas is zero-defense high-useage-rate low-shooting-percentage volume scorer. Sound like any recently-retired Laker we know? On the Celtics surrounded by strong defensive players, he can be the focal point of the offense. On the Lakers, he would have been Lou Williams (arguably slightly better, but not enough to really make a difference). Bazemore, Lin, and Davis did pretty much their career averages this year (adjusted for minutes/usage). Their contributions seem more meaningful because they play for better teams.
No doubt they’d help the Lakers, but on this past year’s Lakers Bazemore wouldn’t have gotten minutes from Kobe, Lin wouldn’t have gotten the ball from Kobe, and Davis nets you about 2 points and 1 rebound more than Roy Hibbert (they both played about the same number of minutes).
The Lakers have $23 million in payroll (maybe $21 million if they stretch-provision Nick Young). The NBA team payroll floor will be about $80 million next season. The Lakers are going to have to sign ***somebody*** (actually several somebodies). Hopefully, some of those somebodies will be decent.
Robert says
Keith: All correct
Craig W: You could be right. It will be our 4th coach in 6 years. That fact alone should give some pause.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
@Keith — Yes, the evidence of history is the Lakers players tuned out Mike Brown and MDA. They also tuned out Phil Jackson by the end of the 2010-2011 season.
Can you provide any evidence there’s a coach the players wouldn’t have tuned out?
Yes, some players lobbied for Brian Shaw? Did Shaw’s record in Denver support the notion he’s anything special? Some players lobbied for Phil Jackson after Brown was fired. How do we know we would have gotten 08-09 Phil (laughing at how easy his job is) instead of 10-11 Phil (punching Pau Gasol in the chest because Pau as gone Space Cadet)?
At some point, when players quit on multiple coaches, maybe the problem isn’t the coaches.
Chris J says
Would a team allow an assistant coach to be hired while said team is still in the playoffs? It seems far fetched — who is he actually working for at the time?
So if the answer to that question is no, that puts doubt toward anyone saying the Lakers timeline to hire Messina will be within the next two weeks.
Unless the Lakers know something no one else knows, in which case we should all be heading to a sports book to lay money on OKC to win the second round series.
Keith says
I was very much in favor of Rick Adelman over MB.
Agreed, the players did tune out the coaches. The last three years proves that too many players on one year and expiring deals is probably not a recipe for success — that is directly on the FO.
Anonymous says
Chris J. It happens often in college football. An assistant, from a bowl bound team is hired to be another team’s head coach the assistant Is usually allowed to stay through th bowl game before moving on. But that’s just one game.
Darius Soriano says
Chris J,
It happened last year with Alvin Gentry. He was hired by the Pelicans & finished the Warriors season.
VI Guy says
Oh, man. Give me Luke or Give me Ollie! We must go young.
Interesting to include D. Fish in the dialog. Will Russell get to record Fisher’s next dating adventure?
rr says
Anonymous April 25, 2016 at 11:17 am
Would love to hear what rr thinks on this one
____________________
Who they want to hire: Almost certainly Walton. He checks every box—Warriors cool, Lakers pedigree, young, popular, upbeat, and he’s a guy whom Phil would be good with if Jim is forced out and Phil comes back.
Who they should hire: Presuming that the four guys mentioned by Wojnarowski are on the upper part of the list, I would probably go with Walton. Messina would make sense if the team were better; I expect that if Popovich retires, then Messina might get the Spurs’ job. Ollie would be a good choice if the Lakers were coming off a 40-42 season and were trying to get into immediate contention with a FA splash. JVG would be a big gamble, but he might make sense if the Lakers had a talented team that needed a firm hand.
Prior to the Scott hire, I said that I would have preferred a guy with no NBA HC time to grow with the team. That is still the case; Walton can be that guy, and presumably he has become Kerr’s top lieutenant in part because he shares Kerr’s positive attitude. Walton has also been in a system that has helped guys develop offensively.
General observations about coaching: IMO we are at a moment in league history such that people think coaching is a huge, huge deal. That is not to say that people didn’t think Phil or Riley or Popovich were great coaches, but I think there was always a foregrounding of the stars they had. I think it is a little different right now, and that has been caused by three things:
1. The unusual success arcs of the Warriors and the Spurs. GSW under Kerr went from a fun team to an historically great one, and SA has kept winning as Duncan and Ginobili push 40. So, I think many fans now believe on some level that if you have the right culture and understand sabermetric tactics, then you can have huge player development gains like we have seen with Leonard, Curry and Green. This is one reason among many why Scott, an old-school call-out guy who was not sabermetrics-friendly, was an internet punching bag from his first day on the job to his last.
2. Sabermetric-driven mainstream media coverage, which includes more granular data and more video data.
3. Kevin Durant and LeBron James not having won 6-8 titles between them.
I think that in general, people should try to think of coaches more like players. That is harder since there are only 30 of them working at one time, but I think it is better to think of them as having strengths and weaknesses than as just being good or bad, and thinking that there are only a very few really great ones. I think Kerr probably is one of those, but that does of course not mean that Walton will be.
So I am still a roster guy more than a coaching guy. I never wanted Scott here to begin with, but I will ultimately be more interested in what the FO does with the roster than in whom they hire to coach.
rr says
Chris Paul has fractured his hand.
R says
Warriors/Blazers would be an interesting series.
Chris J says
Damian Lillard should be sweating bullets right now. It’s been a bad couple of days for Western Conference point guards who’ve done State Farm commercials.
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
@Keith
I agree Rich Adelman ***probably*** would have been a little better than Mike Brown. Adelman’s Corner Offense is triangle-like and might have been a good fit. Would he have been enough better to overcome the OKC Thunder in the 2nd round of the 2012 playoffs? Probably not.
Would the Nash/Howard/Gasol/Kobe Lakers worked better under Adelman, whose Corner Offense requires a smart passing big man (e.g. Chris Webber, Vlade Divac)? Dwight Howard passing out of the high post? Or hanging out on the weak side while Nash/Kobe/Gasol run the offense? I think Adelman would have run into the same too many ball-hungry superstars problem as D’Antoni did.
I also agree the one-year contract churns didn’t help, but I think those were somewhat forced upon the Lakers by the combination of giving Kobe 1.5X NBA max for D-leaguer production extension and the super-punitive luxury tax in the most recent CBA. I think the only truly indefensible (from a basketball standpoint) front office decision since Phil left was the Kobe extension. Everything else either was justifiable at the time (even if it didn’t work) or was an unavoidable consequence of earlier decisions.
substance over style says
the 2 year old post referred to was pretty noncommittal on the failures of jim buss (i.e. “pesky perception” – really? like these critics are flies or gnats?). And the “emperor has no clothes” argument about mitch and jim buss in this post is just belaboring the obvious. jim buss’ public statements are frequently glossed over here when they provide a clear window into his severe limitations. the serious friction within the organization doesn’t get a lot attention either. about two weeks ago jim buss told jim ireland that he thought that this team could turn it around in a year and even be back on top – which he qualified by saying a lot of things had to break the lakers way, which is not at all realistic. that deeply flawed thinking is classic jim buss. maybe it’s easier now to blame kupchak, but he works for jim. Given his record prior to jim buss, i can’t see kupchak asking for ronnie lester to be essentially fired. i can’t see kupchak making impulsive decisions to hire mike brown/dantoni. i can see kupchak trying to find a way to make jim buss’s poorly thought out “vision” work. How much blame does kupchak deserve when jim buss pisses off his own sister, who happens to be his boss? This kind of dysfunction is not found in well run organizations. There are always egos to be stroked (plenty of those in laker history) and internal rivalries bent on settling scores, but those issues co-exist in winning organizations because there is a good plan and lots of good people at all levels to execute it. The lakers are far from that.
J C says
1. Ollie
Proven winner that can work with young players.
Played in the NBA and he probably knows a lot of folks.
Has rapport with KD & RW just in case those are realistic gets.
2. Messina
Great track record in Europe and has learned the excellent SA culture.
Concern – is he too mature for our youth movement?
3. Luke
I think Luke’s demeanor, Walton pedigree, Laker connection all make him a great possibility. And he’d have a long leash. I was one of the few Laker fans that loved him as a player – mainly because his passing savvy was first rate. He created opportunities for his teammates that didn’t exist until the pass created it. Similar to Curry, being the son of an NBA player gives them a real depth of understanding of the game that many players never attain. Concern – is he ready to help mold a franchise? His wildly successful placeholder status with the Warriors earlier this year could be misleading.
Warren Wee Lim says
Unfortunate that these playoffs would be without 2 of the best point guards… this opens up the door for OKC or SA to come out this year. Curry though, I believe, will be fully healthy once he comes back. Just when you think the Clippers caught a break, they did get a break but not the good kind. It will be interesting if the Clips can still get the Blazers on a best-of-3 series with CP3 out and Blake Griffin ailing. Fully expect the series to go to 7, but with Blazers coming out of it. The Warriors, need to finish off the Rockets as soon as possible. Zero doubt it can be done tomorrow.
The names I mentioned in the last thread were in this order: Walton, Jackson, JVG and then mentions of Calipari and Ollie. One name I kinda missed was David Blatt. I don’t know about you but he was hired in CLE to coach the youngsters Wiggins, Bennett and company… only to be bulldozed by Lebron. I would prefer Blatt over Messina, just out of age and philosophy and geographical location.
I still find the Walton hire as the sexiest choice, but Blatt really intrigues me. He’s a teacher, he’s not very old, he’s experienced and he can wait. He will be a big step towards the positive.
Nik Kannan says
Steve –
“Calipari could be great but not sure if his ego is too big. He does know how to get the most out of young guys.”
You are the first one to mention coach Cal. I pointed out something about coach K yesterday, and was notified – rightfully so that he is 70. That is too old and he probably won’t be interested based on his age.
At 57 – Coach Cal is who I have now as number 1.
1. Coach Cal 2. Kevin Ollie 3. Luke Walton 4. Shaka Smart
But I am going to keep thinking about potential candidates.
Nik Kannan says
All – Some Other Coaches to Consider not being discussed
I like Tony Bennett and Shaka Smart a lot.
From the NCAA –
Shaka Smart – Texas
Sean Miller – Arizona
Tony Bennett – Virginia
Jay Wright – Villanova
Mark Few – Gonzaga
Larry Brown – SMU
NBA Current Head Coaches –
Jeff Hornacek – PHX
Quin Snyder – Utah
Nate McMillan – Former Portaland Coach
Assistant Coaches
Ime Udoka, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach
Adrian Griffin Orlando Magic Assistant
Vasheed says
@RR,
I was watching ESPN the other day and they were saying how fortunate the Clippers could be to get the chance to face the Warriors without Curry. Seems the Clippers can forget about their luck.
Anonymous says
Clipper curse.
Lou says
Why does Mitch think they will hire a coach in 2 weeks. Do they already have one waiting to sign? It doesn’t make sense unless they are very sure of at least one candidate. They say they are going to cast a wide net. How can you do that and be done in 2 weeks?
KevTheBold says
I just hope the front office doesn’t over-think this, trying to pull off a surprise gamble they hope will pay off later, or go the opposite direction and get too conservative.
Walton, Ollie, or Messina all strike the right balance imo, and I would also consider Fish, as he’s got an interesting mix of experiences, and something to prove, and like Walton, was also a Laker, but a more successful, and talented one.
Craig W. says
I am not sure I understand any desire to hire Calipari. Kentucky is a 1-and-done school. The emphasis is on recruiting and fit to talent – both important, but not for a young Laker team that needs to develop players according to their strengths. Remember Randle was simply not used to his full capacity at Kentucky because of the talent around him. Calipari had to develop the team over one year and – IMO – player development and expanding their skills had to take a back seat to immediate wins.
Calipari does have the ‘communication with young players’ and ‘adaptive system’ skills, but we know nothing about his player development over time. He also is used to having the ability to be more hard line than would be possible in the NBA.
I am not saying he is not a great coach, but I also agree with TOJW and rr that context and talent really matter as much as the coach.
DieTryin' says
TOJW- really balanced and thoughtful comments. They underscore the fundamental need for context. Easy to fall into the trap of assigning more value to events based on recency.
Keith says
TOJW: Adelman’s offense aside (although Pau certainly could play the passing big man role you mentioned) Rick was known as a players coach and I think he would have manged personalities better than MB or MDA.
In my mind the key point with Adelman is that DHoward likely resigns in LA. Now, I don’t think for a second that Howard co-exists long term with a healthy Kobe. But the fact that Howard would be under contract means he could have been traded when the inevitable break up came. We’re talking the DHoward of two years ago who was putting up nice numbers. He would have returned a fair amount of young players/picks which may have smoothed out these back to back disasters.
People forget that normally when a team is bottoming they are trading assets that don’t fit for future picks or young pieces. The Lakers have made only 1 trade like that in the last three years (Lin and a pick for cap space). Instead, they have chosen to let assets go without compensation, maximizing cap flexibility for a sign multiple free agent solution that has never materialized.
Mid-Wilshire says
Lou,
I believe that Mitch said that the Lakers will NOT hire someone in one or 2 weeks. Then he hedged a bit and said, “maybe two” but probably longer.
I sense that the search will take 3-4 weeks, possibly longer. Mitch is very analytical and, as a result, very cautious when it comes to arriving at a decision. I think that his top prospects (Luke, Messina, and Kevin Ollie) will not be committing themselves within the next 3-4 weeks, especially if they are talking seriously with the Lakers.
I expect a decision in mid- to late-May.
Anonymous says
Calipari fails the ethical test (UMas and Memphis had to vacate Final Four wins due to infractions). He recruits well as he is the consummate salesman. But, there is some question about his teaching ability and his coaching chops. He wins in college because he recruits the best players and can get his ‘talent’ to play together for one season. I don’t see that as a winning formula in the NBA.
dogtown says
TOJW, rr: +1 for your big posts above, good stuff.
=======
re: Calipari – This comment lacks some context–my bad–but 20 years ago, I remember when Calipari was a young (37) and a “hot NBA prospect” coach, he got a 2+ year run in the Assn.
He went 72-112 (.391), and got fired after a 3-17 start to his third year.
So….now he’s 57 and after all that time in college, he’s learned what about successful coaching in the NBA? I don’t have that answer obviously, so I’m not feelin’ it with him at the moment.
stats says
Warren – Agree with Blatt. He should be in the discussion. He’s won everywhere, has as impressive a CV as anyone, is relatively young(ish) @56, and brought his first NBA team to the Finals. I haven’t read much on the backstory about his ouster from the Cavs, so don’t know whether that raises red flags about him, his personality or his demeanor. But I’d like to see him in the mix with Ollie, Luke (who has too little coaching experience for my taste, though I love the guy!) and Messina.
Nik Kannan says
Craig W / Anonymous
Coach Cal represents experience – he is close with a lot of stars in the league – namely Anthony Davis.
Doesn’t the one and done thing – prove he can transform a roster yearly and build winning teams with different pieces. Also – Kentucky is very successful in March – showing that he builds teams towards winning championships not just to have good regular seasons.
He is at a program that demands success and would be at least exposed to what we in Lakerland demands as championships or bust. Lets not forget we still need the roster, but I think coach Cal is the right guy to take us forward.
Gary says
In January there were Calipari to the Nets rumors. Cal’s asking price was 10 years 120 million including full control. I think that’s a non-starter for the Lakers. Thibs wanted less dollars, had a better NBA record, was younger and the Lakers passed primarily because of the full control issue.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/john-calipari-s-unprecedented-asking-price-for-return-as-nets–savior-073022113.html
R says
Replacing the coach a necessary but not sufficient step in the right direction. Don’t know if management as constructed has what it takes to compete with the organizations SA and the Warriors have in place. Like many here, I have my doubts. But we shall see ….
Anonymous says
Nik – Coach Cal represents controversy, vacated wins and a willingness not the follow the rules. Not the type of coach that does well in the NBA.
P. Ami says
I feel I need to premise this comment w/the following, from the moment I heard Byron was on the “long” short-list of possible hires, I was not happy. I reacted very strongly when he was hired and while my situation in life has effected my ability to watch many Lakers games since the hire, the way the team played under Scott provided very little draw to me. I think Byron is a bad, bad coach. So, when I see Walton, Messina, Ollie, SVG and Blatt on the current short-list and Thibs, Brook already taken, I am ecstatic.
1. Messina
1A. Walton
2. Blatt
3. Ollie
4. SVG
I like that Messina has developed BBall cultures around the world, is a winner, has a year w/us and a year w/Pop. Walton seemed like a good option two years ago. Watching him on TV, he communicates his understanding of the game well and doesn’t BS, like I felt BS did on the broadcast. I think Blatt is an excellent coach who was hired to coach a young team and suddenly got handed LeBron and Love instead. Let’s just say, LeBron is his own coach. Ollie, not much data but his success in college & connections to KD are interesting. JVG, dude is a great coach and if u’ve listened to him on Simmons’ podcasts, dude communicates very well.
As has been said already, just putting a coach who communicates and has a system, this alone will improve the play significantly. Wins and losses are not the real issue here. Progress is what we need and moving on from Scott is progress.