I don't understand. They want to win championships so they hire a guy with no track record of being able to do so.

This. Phil thinks he has transcended the game, and at that point...you say "no thank you" and go elsewhere. I'm not sure D'Antoni was the answer...but at least he will commit 100% to the team.

The Lakers are going to have to pay a $30M luxury tax bill. They are not going to pay Phil Jackson $10M-$15M per year to coach 70 games and the playoffs.

As far as the defense goes, its true that D'Antoni does not coach defense. Luckily, Pau and Kobe have pride and already play defense, Howard is a multiple winner of defensive player of the year, and World Peace still likes to lock people down. The only issue is Nash, and he wasn't playing defense with or without Phil Jackson.

The biggest thing to look for here is D'Antoni changing the Lakers from Kobe running the show to Nash running the show. Will Kobe be able to deal with it?

Kobe has lost a step defensively and really is only slightly above average now and Pau still struggles against 4's that can shoot. The bench is awful defensively and speedy guards will continue to dominate LA. I don't think they'll be a top 10 defensive team.

I still think you give Phil whatever he wants if he is interested. He is WORLDS better than D'Antoni. We will see how much love and respect Kobe has for him once the playoffs start.

I disagree that Phil would've put LA as favorites. The talent on the roster is severely overrated because of their collective career accomplishments, similar to when they had four future HOFers in 2004.

I was going to say...this team very much reminds me of the '04 "Superteam" that got trounced by the Pistons. Was Phil coaching them or was that Rudy T?

I was going to say...this team very much reminds me of the '04 "Superteam" that got trounced by the Pistons. Was Phil coaching them or was that Rudy T?

Jim Buss is a complete idiot. I can't believe his father continues to allow him to make these moves. Phil Jackson WAS going to accept the Lakers offer and essentially wanted the same arrangement he had during his last season. That isn't asking for the moon. Especially considering Phil Jackson is arguably the best coach in the history of professional sports. Money isn't an issue for the Lakers either. Phil would leave in a couple years anyway.

If your goal is the win championships in Kobe's last couple of years you don't hire a guy that has NEVER won a championship. To hire D'Antoni is a slap in the fans face and Kobe's. Jim Buss has routinely acted like a spoiled child and it's going to hurt the franchise.

D'Antoni's offense won't work either. What do you do with Gasol? Where are the shooters? That's on top of the fact that Kobe and Nash are 90 years old and can't runaround the way they used to. Besides scoring wasn't the main issue.

Nothing D'Antoni has showed you in his career tells you he can handle superstar personalities. Look no further than NY for that answer. Nothing D'Antoni has done in his career tells you he knows anything about defense. Phil Jackson would have solved all of these problems and made the Lakers the favorite to win it all.

I disagree that Phil would've put LA as favorites. The talent on the roster is severely overrated because of their collective career accomplishments, similar to when they had four future HOFers in 2004.

So you are saying they will go to the finals?

None of the Lakers "Big 4" have taken a step back like Malone and Payton had. Kobe is still a top 5 to 10 player and Nash and still one of the best pure PG's. Howard is in his prime and Gasol is at the tail end of his.

Nash has definitely taken a step back. It's not debatable really. So has Kobe. He might still be a top 10-12 player.

Jackson apparently also wanted an ownership stake. No way Buss was gonna allow that.

If I'm not mistaken, Kobe finished 2nd in scoring last year. I'm pretty sure he's still easily included in any Top 10 list.

He came pretty close with some of those Suns teams and he's never had a team as remotely talented as this.

If Phil was asking for too much then I can see why they went this route. Nash and Kobe like him. Problem is that in their first five games this season, they were 6th in points per possession and 23rd in PPP allowed, so it's not like offensive struggles were causing their problems. They'll be a hell of a lot funner to watch now though. Need to get more shooters, preferably a stretch 4, to properly run the SSOL offense though. We'll see.

Kobe's defensive decline has been so obvious that he made the All NBA Defensive Team 1st Unit two years ago and 2nd unit last season. In addition to being the 2nd leading scorer in the NBA.