New Coach In Town

Late Sunday night, it was Mike D'Antoni, not Phil Jackson who was named the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Monday Morning it was made clear that Phil Jackson was prepared to return to the team but shockingly, management decided to go with D'Antoni instead. D'Antoni is well known for his stints with the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks. During his time with the Suns they were consistently one of the better teams in the league but they were never able to win a title. His time with the Knicks was less successful as he eventually resigned in March from a talented but under-performing team featuring Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire.

I will be the first to admit this decision surprises and upsets me. I mean why would a team ever pick a coach with no championships over the coach who has won the most championships in the history of the league? Also, the fans definitely wanted Phil Jackson as evidenced by the "We want Phil" chants at the last few Lakers games. However, the move does make some sense because Steve Nash, the current Lakers point guard had his best seasons under D'Antoni. Also, Phil Jackson's offense of choice is the Triangle which does not get the best out of Nash's talents. Ultimately, we will have to wait and see how this move works out. However, if the season ends with anything other than a title my first question will be what would have happened if we had brought Phil Jackson back instead?