Unfortunately for Mike D’Antoni and the Los Angeles Lakers, the two sides never quite fit, and D’Antoni decided to resign from his position on Wednesday. The news was met with widespread joy from the Lakers faithful around the world, and rumors are already swirling as to who the next coach will be.
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One Lakers legend who had been critical of D’Antoni was Time Warner Cable SportsNet analyst James Worthy. Worthy appeared last night on Access SportsNet: Lakers and spoke about what he believed went wrong this past season for the former Lakers coach:
We knew the injuries were a problem, but we also expected a certain style of play. I think he lost the bearings of the players and it took too much time to conjure up what shouldn’t have had to take place, as far as buying into the system
Worthy makes very good points about this year. Injuries obviously played a huge role in the Lakers struggles, but D’Antoni’s style didn’t fit with the personnel on the roster, and he never really adjusted.
Add that to some of the embarrassing results the Lakers suffered this year, with 30- and 40-point losses where the team looked like they weren’t trying, and it becomes easy to question whether D’Antoni should be in control.
But now that D’Antoni is gone, the question becomes who will take over the job. While not committing to anyone in particular, Worthy did mention a certain former teammate and fellow TWC analyst:
There are some good coaches out there, Byron’s one of them.
It is too early in the search for anyone to be a favorite to land this job, but Scott’s name has been linked to this job even before it became available.
At the end of the day, a new regime will begin in Los Angeles soon, and Big Game James will have no problem voicing his opinion as he always has.
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Mike D’Antoni Resigns As Lakers Head Coach – Magic Johnson Says He Couldn’t Be Happier