Are the Los Angeles Lakers really leaning toward bringing back Mike D’Antoni as head coach next season? It’s hard to believe, but it sounds like that is a possibility.
Mark Medina of the LA Daily News tweeted on Tuesday that the Lakers will decide D’Antoni’s future at the end of the season. He also says he’s been told the Lakers are leaning towards keeping the coach.
This would be a surprise on many levels. Just Monday the rumors were stoked again when Rex Chapman said it was a done deal that John Calipari would be leaving Kentucky to take the Lakers job. There was also a report that Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for D’Antoni.
On the other hand, the Lakers entered the season knowing it would be a rebuilding year, and the expectations were lowered after Kobe and Steve Nash got hurt. Firing D’Antoni for all that would seem unfair. Plus, would Jim Buss really want to fire the coach he brought in — and hired over Phil Jackson — before giving him a full shot? I don’t know, because he doesn’t like to admit his mistakes.
