The Los Angeles Lakers may have suffered the worst loss in franchise history on Thursday, but that embarrassing game likely will not be enough to result in the firing of head coach Mike D’Antoni.
ESPN LA’s Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne say the Lakers do not believe an in-season head coaching change will help them over the remaining 19 games of the season. They also say that even though GM Mitch Kupchak met separately with D’Antoni and VP Jim Buss following the game, D’Antoni does not have much to worry about in terms of his job security. They characterized the meeting as pretty typical.
The Lakers are 21-42 on the season and have been competitive in most games despite having a poor roster. Two games before the blowout loss to the Clippers, they beat the Trail Blazers on the road.
The Lakers have remained supportive of D’Antoni since hiring him as head coach a year and a half ago. They probably entered the season with reasonably low expectations and have lowered them even more given all the injuries.
With the status of the franchise — they have aging, injured players and lack stars — it’s hard for the team to expect more wins. They know that, which is probably why D’Antoni’s job is safe for now.
