The Los Angeles Lakers made headlines with the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as their head coach, instead of the legendary Phil Jackson. Jackson was considered the front runner to land the job, but in a sudden turn of events, D’Antoni was the one who got the call from the Lakers’ front office.
D’Antoni already has plenty of experience with Steve Nash as the two worked together in Phoenix and he is familiar with Kobe Bryant due to the Olympics team. The Lakers players seem to be on board with D’Antoni, and his brilliant offensive schemes will make playing basketball very fun for them
Kobe Bryant discussed the addition of D’Antoni on Facebook and expressed his desire to play for his new coach. Bryant also addressed D’Antoni’s defensive style, something that has been heavily criticized.
Kobe Bryant won five championships under Phil Jackson and the Triangle offense and there is no doubt he would have fit perfectly if Jackson had returned. However, at the end of the day the Lakers did not have the right personnel to run the Triangle. With an elite point guard in Steve Nash, the Triangle may not have gotten the most out of him.
Under D’Antoni, the Lakers will allow Nash to run the show and that would in turn give all the other stars much better looks at the basket. The biggest concern remains on the defense end, but according to Bryant, that should not be an issue.
