Wow I was willing to bet money that it would be the return of Phil Jackson to Los Angeles. New big man, who better than Phil to take them to the championship? However, the Lakers have decided to go with former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni. 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. Of course everyone wants to know just how Kobe feels about this move. He had this to say to ESPN, “I love PJ but I’m very excited about D’Antoni.” 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. He is a former point guard who works best when he has a great point guard to work with. A great point guard… maybe like Steve Nash? I will not judge D’Antoni’s ability until Nash is able to return to the court. Nash has a non-displaced fracture in his leg and his return time is looking to be around one to two weeks. An official announcement will be made by the team in the next couple of days.
