With the Lakers having the worst season in franchise history, fans are expecting drastic changes to happen in the coming months. One main anticipation is the dismissal of head coach Mike D’Antoni.
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Despite a myriad of injuries and a roster that didn’t fit his system, D’Antoni has taken most of the blame for the Lakers struggles over the past two years. According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, the Lakers are seemingly set on moving on from D’Antoni, but are looking for a peaceful departure:
One league source said there is sentiment within the Lakers’ executive offices for a “peaceful, mutual parting” with D’Antoni, who has one season left on his contract at $4 million. There’s another season beyond that, but it is at the team’s option.
“They don’t want to fire Mike,” the source said.
Coming in over the legendary Phil Jackson was always going to put high expectations on D’Antoni’s tenure with the Lakers. Along with the loss of Dwight Howard, this catastrophe of a season hasn’t lessened any pressure on the former coach of the year.
After firing Mike Brown five games into last season, the Lakers apparently do not want to fire a second coach in just 17 months. However, they will have to evaluate all their options this upcoming off-season and decide if they want D’Antoni to continue as the head coach next season.
With three games left in the season, all the attention is now on evaluating the current players on the roster. While many players have expressed their desire to return next season, the team has ample cap room and a lottery pick in this year’s highly anticipated draft.
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