Lakers Fire Mike Brown
- Thread starter Bargnani_
- Start date
These guys don't need a coach, just play schoolyard ball, they have enough talent to run any team out of the gym except for the Heat and Thunder.
they obviously need something because they are the worst team in the west and are on a 1-14 "run' i hope they bring in stan van gundy
Curious to see who they get. Phil Jackson would be awesome. This is the type of team he could come back to the league for. I heard D'Antoni's name was mentioned..... he'd be good too as they could run that run n gun offense that the Suns made famous. I've heard other people say Sloan, Adelman but I don't know what their contract status are..... whether it was just pipe dreams or what.
I think D'Antoni is a real possibility.
I think D'Antoni is a real possibility.
Bring back the Zen Master, the great Phil Jackson! Sources say the only 2 coaches they're actively pursuing are Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni, the Lakers are back baby!! I can't wait for an exciting season now that Mike Brown and his failed Princeton offense has gone the way of the dodo bird.
Obviously Kobe and Pau would prefer Jackson but I read in Espn that Kobe was cool with D'antoni as well. Regardless, either Phil or Mike would be a better fit than Mike Brown. Can't wait to see what happens.
I really think that they have to win now due to the age and miles on Kobe and Nash.
I really think that they have to win now due to the age and miles on Kobe and Nash.
Totally agree. The NBA needs the Zen master, I'd love to see if he can get to Dwight Howard the way he got to Shaq and made him fulfill his potential.
What the hell took them so long ... they are five games into the season for christ sake.
First of all, Mike Brown should never have been made head coach of the Lakers. He rode Lebron's coattails to one NBA Finals and otherwise did nothing. Good defensive mind, terrible at offensive strategy, mediocre at in-game strategy (timeouts, substitution patterns and communication) and (from what I've heard) below average player/ego management skills.
At 7'1", and averaging over 38 minutes per game, he never led the league in rebounds or blocks. Never scored 30ppg. (He did lead the league in scoring twice.) Never had more than 4 assists per game. Never had 14 rebounds/game. The Lakers "only" won three titles at a time where, if Shaq and Kobe had kept their egos in check, they could have won five or six.
Young Shaq was the most incredible athlete I've ever seen in person - a seven foot, 300+ pound man who moved and could handle the ball like a wing player. Mid-career and beyond Shaq was dominant in spurts (when he tried) but was lazy and Earth-bound, relying on his mass rather than athleticism and skills. One of the greatest "what if?" / unfulfilled potential guys in NBA history.
LOL! Because that worked out so well in Orlando? What has SVG won? He pisses off players in a players' league.
Only if D'Antoni is willing to bring in someone to be his "defensive coordinator" a la Tom Thibodeau. Defense wins championships; flashy offense does not. LOVE D'Antoni's offense; HATE his lack of commitment to defense.
The Triangle offense would be difficult for Dwight Howard. It doesn't play to Nash's strengths either.
Shaq played close to his full potential exactly ONE season (1999-2000) - in fact, one could argue that he NEVER played to his full potential, given his size, athleticism, etc. After age 27, he didn't ever showed up to training camp in shape, which led to injuries and created ineffectiveness and on (and off-) court team chemistry issues early in seasons (and beyond.)
At 7'1", and averaging over 38 minutes per game, he never led the league in rebounds or blocks. Never scored 30ppg. (He did lead the league in scoring twice.) Never had more than 4 assists per game. Never had 14 rebounds/game. The Lakers "only" won three titles at a time where, if Shaq and Kobe had kept their egos in check, they could have won five or six.
Young Shaq was the most incredible athlete I've ever seen in person - a seven foot, 300+ pound man who moved and could handle the ball like a wing player. Mid-career and beyond Shaq was dominant in spurts (when he tried) but was lazy and Earth-bound, relying on his mass rather than athleticism and skills. One of the greatest "what if?" / unfulfilled potential guys in NBA history.
Good points on Shaq but I would argue Phil Jackson made him reach his potential for 3 seasons, not 1, for every season they won the title. There is no accidentally winning a title, no matter how talented the team. It takes full effort and commitment from every guy on the team, especially, Shaq, the most important player.
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. We were discussing full potential. Shaq at his full potential should have been the most dominant player ever - perhaps outside of Wilt Chamberlain. Sure they won titles, but not nearly as many as he should have. And the path to the titles could have been even easier if Shaq took conditioning and team chemistry (he was as culpable as Kobe in the b.s. behind the scenes) as seriously as he should have.
Keep in mind that the league was a lot weaker in the late 90s and early 2000s. Two superstars and role players could win a title those days. The Lakers were as close to a dynasty as there was in that time frame and they collapsed after 3 titles. Miami won because of Dwyane Wade, not Shaq. If anything, Phil Jackson helped Kobe reach his full potential more than he did with Shaq. And without Kobe (or someone nearly as good) and the role players who bought into and made Jackson's and Tex Winters' systems work, the Lakers would not have won in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
My point is this: imagine Shaq with Bill Russell's, Larry Bird's, Magic Johnson's or Michael Jordan's (or any number of guys who didn't have his size, athleticism and potential to dominate) work ethic and desire to win. How many titles should Shaq have won? How many scoring, rebounding, blocked shot titles and records?
Jackson got him to focus enough to win three times, but Shaq still took too many plays off, too many games off and just seemed to not care enough to truly be the best. Phil got the most out of Shaq of anyone - enough to win three times - but not the most that Shaq had to give, if that makes sense.
Shaq was great. Still one of the top-15 of all time. But he could have been THE best of all time (Wilt just never seemed to get "it" when it came to winning, so even though he was dominant statistically, he isn't in the conversation for GOAT), eclipsing even Jordan, if he was even nearly as committed as MJ and others to being the best he could be as both a player and teammate. THAT is what I mean by reaching his full potential - bringing it all (or at least most of) the time.
To add to that, which you have done a good job on your own is the 3 centers Shaq faced in NBAFinals were
Todd MacCulloch, a past his prime Dikembe Mutombo
