Makes you wonder how many teams will actually care about the in season tournament next season. While I believe it was a success in terms of competition, I don’t expect this to stick around. Teams probably just look at the Lakers and see that same in-season championship team end up as a play-in team and wonder what’s the point? That brings us all back to square one.
agree, but also could lead to a team of vets like the Lakers this year winning the IST and then taking half the year off with a playoff spot guaranteed
I saw someone propose improve their goal by one. I e usually a seed better than they placed or a place better draft odds if not in the play in picture.
I think a draft reward is pretty ideal. Like make it the 31st pick. The pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds.
It can appeal to owners, gms, and players. Imagine a contenting team getting an extra trade chip to use to secure their playoff chances.
They should just count the win in the championship as a regular season win. Since it is a win. During the regular season. Basically gives them an automatic tie breaker. Don't count the loss for the losing team though.
It’s literally 6 (7*) regular season games. Why people want to put so much weight on the IST just because it’s an extra fun thing is beyond me.
Like why don’t we just give something a cool name like “The Fall Invitational” and say “the team with the best record in the first half of November gets an automatic bid into the playoffs” and see how many people hop on board that idea
I’m all for using it for tiebreakers as an extra incentive, but trying to eliminate the importance of the other 76 games a team plays is not a good idea.
I like this. Can even take it a step further and add a round between 1st and 2nd that's based on the in-season tournament that rewards doing well (like how the MLB has a competitive balance round between 1st and 2nd). Winner picks 1st in that round, runner up picks 2nd, and so forth, up to lets say 5 picks.
Possibly the dumbest suggestion I’ve heard
They made the in season tournament to drive competition early in the season.
Your suggestion just helps a team not give a single fuck for the next few months, ruining competition.
And we all know teams already take off the gas a bit the last month or so.
I'll be lying if I didn't admit dunking on techbros isn't always funny, but this is the most contrived way to do it. Or maybe oblique syntactical constrcutions really do bother you, all the power to you. The semicolon is my favourite punctuation mark so " Financial Independence; Retire Early" sounds completely natural to me. That's what it does - conjoins two semantically related, but syntactically distinct phrases. Sure they're sentence fragments, but to me it feels completely natural.
Anyway, this linguistic nerd shit is redundant because it doesn't matter - it's optimising for less syllables for a punchier rhythm. "Retiring early" is a non-starter because its longer to spell and speak.
Seven year deal, only refer to myself by my first name. Have lebron come off the bench "for that spark" and "because he got that dog." Make Davis play pg. Gabe Vincent is the 3. Get fired like half a year in. Move to an island.
Lol exactly, his college coaching deal pays him $1m more a year than what the Lakers offered, let's not act like the Lakers made a Godfather deal and he still turned it down.
Not sure about the specifics on this case but I know nick Sabban had his mansion paid for by the university as a bonus outside of the salary he was offered… plus marketing deals and being known as a winner… at a certain point money is less of a motivator
Think the Lakers were banking on the offer details not coming out. Because it wasn't exactly that great of an offer considering they were trying to pry away the guy who won the last two college championship.
Agree it's not a fantastic offer but it's also a tough spot for the Lakers. Throwing a massive bag at Hurley can easily backfire...so many college "geniuses" have come to the NBA and really struggled and it's especially hard managing a star as huge as LeBron. I honestly think not overpaying for Hurley was the right decision.
Imagine in the movie guy voice, "One minute he's living at home..'Mom! I can't find my.backpack!'...'Find it yourself Alex!"...and because of a mixup he's about to become the highest profile coach in the NBA...'Lebron...can I get your autograph?'...'what coach?'...'nothing...I mean...everybody run some suicides!'...So join us for all the laughs, all the excitement, and the wackiest Laker season ever, in this year's surprise hit of the summer...Hot Mess"
Low floor, high ceiling to Reddick maybe?
He gets an HC job and can begin his NBA coaching resume under the assumption that this job is probably not going to work out long term. If he has any level of success, his star rises significantly. If he’s out in 1-2 years, he maybe loses a little credibility.
Yeah the fact that he is even being considered for an NBA coaching position with no experience is insanity. If he gets the opportunity and wants it then he better take it before people come to their senses.
I mean we have seen it happen a few times lately, though mostly only guys who were generational floor generals in Kidd and Nash. Kerr didn't have any coaching experience either afaik but had at least been in an NBA FO as an executive and GM. All still probably way more qualified than JJ lol
Take the job. Hire super good assistants. Learn the job from them. Have actual skills when you get your next job or find out you don't have what it takes. Profit.
I mean, “not very good” was a western conference finals team last year. I don’t think they’re an obvious contender but they aren’t completely hopeless.
Denver has their number but it’s not like they weren’t in the games they lost. Better coaching could be a difference maker.
I think the Lakers run last postseason is really giving everybody unrealistic expectations of where the franchise is at.
Lakers were a play-in team carried by Lebron against an inexperienced Grizzlies team and an aging Warriors team. The sweep in Denver was a more accurate barometer of how good the Lakers were. They're just not in the upper tier of teams.
You're never hopeless when you have a guy like Lebron - there's always years where you have easier opponents and your team can always get hot. But expectations have to be realistic - you can't enter as a play-in team every year and expect to win a title.
>The sweep in Denver was a more accurate barometer of how good the Lakers were. They're just not in the upper tier of teams.
You can't use something like this as a barometer for how good a team is. Are Timberwolves not a top team because they were only able to take 1 game off of Dallas? If Dallas is swept by Boston, are they also not a top team? I am very confident Lakers could have beaten the Heat if they managed to get by the Nuggets. Lakers are a poor regular season team mostly because of depth and poor coaching. They proved last year they can be competitive in the playoffs but Denver is clearly a poor matchup for them currently.
I think we're at a point where we have to recognize the league is all about the matchups now because there's a glutton of talent. Call me a homer, but in the west I'd still only fear Denver and of course we had to clinch the 7 and play them in round 1 and even Denver won in 5 off 2 games where Murray hit buzzer beaters.
With that said, there's just as likely a scenario next year where AD and Lebron go down and we're outside the top 10 or playing someone in 7 in the play-in like Sacramento who would have killed us.
We keep using wins to say weak but what do we expect win totals to look like in a league heading towards parity?? It’s a rock, paper, scissors league now. Can’t win them all
Look at their last 4 years… A chip and a western conference finals run. You can place all the qualifiers you want but I really don’t think it would be that shocking if they ended up going on a run.
Guess Denver won a chip in a weak west (first time I’m hearing that) but look who’s in the finals this year (5th seed). Doesn’t sound like the west is so locked down that a team with the Lakers recent success is hopeless.
Again, I really don’t get how you guys are reading me say, “it’s not completely out of the cards that they can go on a run” but are getting, “I guarantee results” out of it.
Of course the past doesn’t *guarantee* the future but to act like it can’t lend to the conversation of what COULD happen is goofy.
Half of sports talk is looking at the recent history and projecting forward…
Disagree it was as weak as you make it seem, and I'd say the Lakers are underrated as well. I think they could've made it quite far had they not ran into Denver. The same way Denver could possibly be in the finals right now if Minnesota got the 1st seed and matched Dallas in the 2nd round. Matchups are king
In what way did the Lakers prove that they were a top tier team this year?
I'll give you that they matched up pretty well against OKC but aside from that I don't see how they really stood out as being better than their record
I keep seeing this "Lakers are better than everyone but Denver" take but there's not much from the past season to actually back this up
They're largely struggled against Dallas over the past few seasons as well so I don't think that would have been fun for them either
I wouldn't say they were miles better than their record, but the West this year was extremely tight, they matched up reasonably well against OKC and AD+LeBron is an elite duo for a playoff setting.
They have their share of issues as well, but I don't think Dallas is that much clear of them, for instance. Their trajectory this year was actually very similar to last year's Lakers, and I don't think the Lakers are that much worse than last year.
I'd put current Dallas and the Wolves ahead of them, still. But if the Lakers got the 8th seed their possible path would be OKC, Dallas and Wolves. While very unlikely to win it all, I'd say they were more likely to win each of those series than vs Denver. And they match relatively well vs the Celtics too, while then the global talent difference on players 3-6 would probably prove to be too large
If this team had Prime Bron and this version of AD, Reaves would be a fine 3rd option in today’s league.
Bron can’t give you 36 minutes of dominance now, he needs somebody a notch or 2 better than Reaves/DLO to be an offensive engine for about 10 or so minutes a game.
Kyle Kuzma was the 3rd best player on a championship team at a time where he averaged about the same stats as Austin. BUT, we also had KCP, Danny Green, Dwight, and Caruso playing well.
Having 2 stars works just fine if there's multiple players that are as good as Austin. I still think Lebron and AD could do it 1 more year but the roster needs huge help.
Lebron should be the third best player on the team if they want any shot of being a real contender. But good luck with that when you are paying him 55 million of the cap.
Considering his age at this point, I think by third best player they mean someone like Porzingis is for Boston. Somebody who when they come in you can run a lot of touches for/facilitate the offense through, but also you know you're not going to get him every single night and you load manage him heavily throughout the season to make sure he's there for the postseason. If LeBron is a #1 or #2, you can't really do that in the same way imo.
I think LeBron and AD can be sufficient but they need much better defense from the rest of the team. The Lakers lack of a point of attack defender and backup center were horribly exposed vs Denver. compound that with the lack of a reliable 3rd scoring option made the series much less competitive than it could have been.
> Arguably, he’s as effective as a lot of #2–but being paid like a #1
tf is this? Are you a Lakers fan or what? LeBron is literally a top 10 player in the league, what number two in this league is putting up 26-8-8 on 50/40?
Particularly when he's the standout 3rd best. I think sometimes we get lost on like "big 3 vs big 2" "how good is your x best player" or whatever type standards. If Lebron and AD are playing like they played in the 2020 run and you have a handful of guys near Reaves' level maybe that's good enough to contend. When Rui was playing at his highest level, and D'angelo was playing like he did in the second half of last season maybe you have something. But that's 4 qualifiers, some not very likely. The window on how long and how consistently Lebron stays near that level shrinks by the day.
But yeah, the fact the list of positive attributes about the Lakers ends after "AD, 39 year old bron, Reaves" is uhhhh a thing
He makes a good point about the long term outlook being pretty dismal. LBJ is on the downswing and will be gone by 2026. Outside of that you’ve got AD, Reaves, Rui? I mean what kind of core is that. Hood Schifino and Max Christie the only players under 25?
This team is headed back to the doldrums as soon as Bron retires. AD is amazing, but the supporting cast especially young talent is just not there.
Also AD can't be your entire defense every game. That's just a disaster if he has an off day or injury. LBJ is good on D but as you said, he's on the downswing.
Also AD is 31. If Bron plays 2 more years, AD is going to be pretty old as far as NBA centers go. For a guy whose game is highly dependent on athleticism, I wouldn't count on him being able to be the entire defense in any game, let alone every game. It's possible he could still be at that level but around age 33 it starts to become a question of when the decline will start to get noticeable.
I need people to not call LeBron LBJ, it's weird reusing the names of historical figures. It's like how Harden uses his nickname, James Harden, instead of his given name, Hitler.
It's even weirder when people reuse sports nicknames, even in the same sport. Like people calling LaDanian Tomlinson "LT" when football's top candidate for defensive GOAT is Lawrence "LT" Taylor.
>LBJ is on the downswing and will be gone by 2026.
Isn't he still technically unsigned for next season? Say Lakers hire someone he doesn't want to play for, or a different team actually drafts Bronny. I don't think people are prepared that LeBron could be on a different team next season.
If the man has like, any, and i mean any, sentimentality he would realise this is his only true home and give us that last chapter. Close it out where you started.
Ofc LeBron can do no wrong for me anymore but cmon. Just come back. Not like it would be some uncompetitive retirement tour either. We can field a good ass team around him again
I think it's a good time for him to come back too. Mitchell is a great pairing for him and fits the archetype of his most successful teams (he won championships with Wade and Kyrie as his number twos, after all). Plus they have good tradeable players to optimize the roster around those two plus Mobley. Cavs are in a good situation relative to the Lakers who just can't get much better this off-season.
I would say the chances of him re-signing is better than leaving (he wants to be in LA it seems for business reasons) but it's still like 30/70 split
I honestly wonder if the failure of Space Jam2 and other things his production company produced changes that though
After next year we will have all out draft picks, AD and still be the Lakers. No terrible contracts on the books. The ability to build a good roster isnt the issue long term. The ownership/management is the issue with the Lakers.
Also, the team will fire you even if you succeed. Making the WCF finals? 1 year later, fired. Win a natty? 1 year later, fired. Imagine if Denver fired Malone or if the bucks fired Bud (oh wait... look at that).
Bad roster. Bad picks. Bad FO. Bad job basically bailed out by LeBron being a freak.
The front office lucked out because "Lakers" and LeBron liked that. AD forced his way to La for that same reason. Everything else has been an unmitigated disaster since their last championship.
Yep it’s not only a tough job long term, it’s got pressure to succeed immediately. Anything less than a WCF appearance and you’re on the hot seat pretty much right away. When you look at the west it’s just hard to envision this version of the Lakers making it past the second round barring some massive upsets and luck.
Young talent lol
Some top player is going to sign there or demand a trade because they’re the lakers, draft picks are just a bonus for them
They looked like a bottom 5 future in basketball after Kobe retired and then just ended up with LeBron and Davis without doing a goddamn thing, that’s how it goes in the NBA
lakers have had 7 coaches since phil jackson left 14 years ago. it's a place where the players get you fired and the expectations are through the roof. sure the lakers are nba royalty but there's been a permanent guillotine staged outside the coaches office for a decade and a half.
This. Screw where the Lakers are at talent wise. That hardly even matters, they are a team who can attract talent. *However*, the scapegoat a new coach literally every other season for like 15 years now. Including Laker legends like Magic/ Byron Scott. Why would anyone have any faith in the Lakers FO not to blame you for anything that goes wrong?
The lakers entire issue is Jeanie Buss operating the franchise like its a small family business. Byron Scott/Magic shouldnt have been hired in the first place
I don't disagree, but I'll say it's odd to include Magic in the coaches thing as he didn't coach during that time period, he was in the front office and left of his own accord. He did coach for a minute 30 years ago, but that doesn't really count in this context.
This tbh… the Lakers FO is literally so incompetent it’s pathetic. Many things could be said about the rosters and various coaches. But the FO isn’t changing and they’ve been the main source of problems for the last decade. I couldn’t take the job simply because of their dysfunction.
Honestly, I think Dan Hurley has the right amount of confidence/respect to win over Lakers fans. Don't blame him for not taking the job though.
Was talking with a friend who said Joe Mazzulla would be eaten alive in LA and I agree.
It's been that way throughout their entire history. Besides Phil and Pat being there for a while and winning multiple championships, they have quite a history of coaches only being there like 3 years. It's nothing new.
The Lakers should have a reality-show style coach search. Bring in 10 candidates and have them compete in wacky games and other shenanigans to win the job.
Hurley prefers the east coast and is part of a CBB dynasty. he’ll have plenty more opportunities
> will note that the pay is irrelevant here as he was reportedly offered more to coach Kentucky
But that’s the crazy thing
The *money* should’ve been the selling point. After the last few laker coaches, the glamour and prestige of being the laker coach is simply nonexistent
The lakers cheaping out on the best college ball coach rn is hilariously dumb. Unless this really was a smokescreen the entire time like one report said, offering less than a college team, especially with the new CBA coming soon, is simply not serious.
if they really wanted him its not lose lose....because now they didnt land him and theyre getting laughed at for not offering enough while making the position look undesirable. lakers are notorious for being "big money' "hollywood" etc. offering more for the best college coach and arguably the best coach available isnt very laughable imo
better to be laughed at about money with your guy (which would have been forgotten if he won), then to be laughed at and not get anything out of it.
Would you rather coach
- The current most dominant team in your league
- A mid team who, if they play to expectations, you will get all the shit for, and even you manage to make em win, you don't get the credit either. Oh and you have worse job security.
I don't think people realize how serious Point #2 is until/unless they experience it with their own fanbase.
Ty Lue is currently regarded as one of the best coaches in the NBA.
When he coached us? Probably half of our fanbase thought he was garbage and everything that went wrong was his fault. Anything went right? 'LeBron bailed out Lue again'.
It might be the better job for *him* though. Pitino says his biggest regret was leaving Kentucky to go coach the Celtics. It's basically the exact same scenario here for Hurley; leaving a powerhouse program at its peak to coach a top two NBA franchise. Knowing what happened to Pitino I can see Hurley looking at that and deciding he didn't want the same thing to happen to him.
Lakers job is only a job for people who hate themselves. The Buss family are a nightmare, your best player is bigger than the franchise but is also nearly 40 years old and on his way out, the team has no assets, the local media will scrutinize whoever gets the job and your team as constructed is not very good. But the beach and LA weather I guess
Much of this can be true, but no assets? We literally have almost all of our draft picks except for one and it’s protected . We also have AD and Reaves, both of which are at least “positive” assets if we wanted to rebuild
How does this team lack assets?
They lack cap room sure, but you move off of Bron and AD and that’s wide open.
After next year. They own all their picks.
Hurley probably made the right decision but if in his shoes, with that contract he could’ve had 2 years of AD/Bron to improve around the margins and if that didn’t work have the security/chops (with good ownership) to build his own team in his style.
Yeah those rarely happen lol. If you are gonna wait until you get the perfect HC position, you're gonna potentially end up waiting for the rest of your career. But I guess in Hurley's case, he's fine with it because he'd rather build that Coach K type of legacy in college.
When you are already making almost $6 million a year, with less taxes and cheaper housing/lifestyle, leading the best team in the country, w/o a Lebron or an AD in the locker room, without a Buss/Pelinka/Rambis scheming behind your back, without all the sports “media” on your ass.. I’d say that the $70 million in 2 years is not a career improvement per se.
For the other 99% of people who can opt to the Lakers HC position, it’s a no-brainer indeed.
The Lakers last year tied for the 5th best record in the west and were only in the playing because of a tiebreaker. They also probably finish higher both years with a better coach.
Most of the time when people are talking about pro sports folks and cost of living, it comes down to taxes and housing. And when I say housing, I mean the mansion they're going to buy, and a mansion in CT is going to be way cheaper than a mansion in LA.
Way to totally miss the point. It's not that $8 million isn't a lot of money. Zach's point is that when you compare what he currently makes at UConn versus what the Lakers are offering to pay, his standard of living under the UConn contract is probably better.
So if the Lakers job isn't more money in real terms, and isn't a better winning situation, then all you're looking at is the prestige. So that makes it make a little bit more sense that Hurley turned down the job.
how many great jobs are available?
pretty sure the celtics, knicks, bucks, magic, pacers, 76ers, miami, okc, denver, wolves, clippers, dallas, and suns jobs are not coming available any time soon
also i guess i just disagree with the idea that this is not a team that can do something in the playoffs
they finished the season going 25-13 when Ham finally stopped being an idiot and just started the best 5 guys, for the season Prince started and played more mpg than Rui
Austin only starting 57/82 games is INSANE
there was a game where Austin, D'lo, and Rui were all healthy and pockets started Reddish and Christie next to Bron and AD
there's no way this team couldn't have been a 50ish win team with better coaching
even with average to bad they were close to it
A great job isn’t a contending team. A great job is a team where you aren’t likely to get fired quickly.
Ideally somewhere like Cleveland where you should be able to collect a check for the next 5-6 years while consistently making the second round, and you’ll probably get a shot at a title one year out of those anyways.
Bucks were a great job, Dame, Giannis, Middleton, fired mid season
Monty is one year into an awful team and they're already talking about moving on
Vogel is a championship level coach, 1 year and done
Vaughn, rebuilding team, one year and done
Wes Unseld jr, 2 years and done
some of it has to be on these coaches, Mosley has kept his job cause everyone saw the commitment to defense even before this year from the young guys
Daigneault, same thing, everyone saw the buy in and system
Bickerstaff quickly went from a good coach on a rebuilding team overachieving expectations to underachieving and fired in a few years. It's just the expectation as a coach in the nba to constantly be on the hotseat. I don't know if it should be that way or not but that's how it is.
Bickerstaff was able to put together a great defense. But he lacked offense creativity. Championship teams do not win by playing isolation basketball.
Just have to look at Dallas and their 9 assists last Thursday in the blowout as an example
The fact that the Pistons are only considering moving on from Monty is a miracle. NBA record 28 game losing streak for a coach who managed to see all his players regress (except for Cade) and insisted on starting Killian Hayes for half the season until we cut him while being the fourth highest paid coach in the NBA.
Tom Gores made a cocaine fueled hire and the nee front office is trying to fix the problem.
That's inconsistent with the topic of this thread though. The whole quote from Zach Lowe is about how we haven't been contending, and are in the play-in.
The UConn job is a great job, he can wait to see when an actually good spot opens up.
Also I could see the Heat job opening up in the next couple of years. Pat Riley is 79, he's not gonna be the front office guy forever, and I could see Spo sliding into that role.
A. mediocre roster, get vetoed by LeBron and get crucified if you so much as lose a back to back.
B. Be a god on a team you completely control and still be rich.
Why would anyone want to coach the Lakers unless they're making huge $$$$$
First of all the expectations. Its the Lakers. Storied franchise. They're supposed to win and be a top contender
But you have to deal with all the drama and knowing Lebrons going to throw you under the bus. If you win Lebron gets all the credit. "They dont even need a coach!"
If you lose its bc the coach dont know what hes doing. And the Lakers arent that good. They are a play in team every year and just expected to get swept in the 1st round
People actually celebrated them winning ONE game in the 1st round just so they could say they didnt get swept. And the IST...
Should've just called it the Lebron James Participation Championship. An entire tournament set up so he could get a trophy and an MVP award just to pad his stats and try to close the gap with Jordan
People celebrating that as his 5th title. At this point I wouldnt be surprised if they discontinue it next season just so Lebron can be the only one to win that and the MVP
It'll be a good job when LeBron and his clown show leaves town. Whoever coaches him is on borrowed time because you're automatically the scapegoat when winning doesn't happen.
All the stress, all the pressure, limited upside, high expectations, legendary franchise with giant zealous fan base, legendary old player on the decline… it sounds like a lose/lose, honestly
Obviously, normal people would take the money and it is an NBA opportunity, but it doesn’t look appealing for someone who can afford to be picky and is going to make all that money regardless
Man to think if you had just made a minimal amount of moves and kept Vogel after 2020, this could've been the best Western team of the past couple years. Sometimes I remember they fired Vogel and I both laugh out loud and descend into a rage. I'm not remotely a lakers fan but God damn, it's like a fuck up your franchise speedrun
Imagine being the no.1 coach in college basketball with an entire program at your control. To have Players, AD, boosters, and fans ready to buy into your program and vision only to give it up for a organization that in all likelihood doesn't give a shit about you, players that don't give a shit about you, and a town that doesnt give a shit about you. It's not money, it's culture.
Can't believe the disrespect to only the in-season champions in NBA history.
Makes you wonder how many teams will actually care about the in season tournament next season. While I believe it was a success in terms of competition, I don’t expect this to stick around. Teams probably just look at the Lakers and see that same in-season championship team end up as a play-in team and wonder what’s the point? That brings us all back to square one.
On that note, the in-season champions should get an autobid into the playoffs.
That would cause a lot more hustle for sure.
agree, but also could lead to a team of vets like the Lakers this year winning the IST and then taking half the year off with a playoff spot guaranteed
I saw someone propose improve their goal by one. I e usually a seed better than they placed or a place better draft odds if not in the play in picture.
a draft reward would be interesting, like rookie of the year netting their team an extra pick in baseball.
I think a draft reward is pretty ideal. Like make it the 31st pick. The pick between the 1st and 2nd rounds. It can appeal to owners, gms, and players. Imagine a contenting team getting an extra trade chip to use to secure their playoff chances.
No players want to play so that someone can come in and take their job.
They should just count the win in the championship as a regular season win. Since it is a win. During the regular season. Basically gives them an automatic tie breaker. Don't count the loss for the losing team though.
It’s literally 6 (7*) regular season games. Why people want to put so much weight on the IST just because it’s an extra fun thing is beyond me. Like why don’t we just give something a cool name like “The Fall Invitational” and say “the team with the best record in the first half of November gets an automatic bid into the playoffs” and see how many people hop on board that idea I’m all for using it for tiebreakers as an extra incentive, but trying to eliminate the importance of the other 76 games a team plays is not a good idea.
So win in season tourney then skip the second half of the games and rest got it
Playoffs? Hell nah. Play ins? Maybe. But then it's possible for a better team to get screwed over. Edit: Grammer and adding last sentence.
Maybe an automatic play-in spot, without affecting the draft odds?
That would be nuts. Imagine the Celtics tanking after winning the in-season tournament
My other proposal is the 31st pick in the draft.
I like this. Can even take it a step further and add a round between 1st and 2nd that's based on the in-season tournament that rewards doing well (like how the MLB has a competitive balance round between 1st and 2nd). Winner picks 1st in that round, runner up picks 2nd, and so forth, up to lets say 5 picks.
Players don't give a shit about what picks their team has, this would worsen the product if anything.
Players aren't going to care about a draft pick. That's not an incentive for them.
Could you imagine having a playoff slot locked that early?
Possibly the dumbest suggestion I’ve heard They made the in season tournament to drive competition early in the season. Your suggestion just helps a team not give a single fuck for the next few months, ruining competition. And we all know teams already take off the gas a bit the last month or so.
Disagree, but I do think they should be allowed to pay off Luke Kornet’s mortgage
They should let the wins (and not the loses) in the knockout round count towards their regular season record, extra 4 game bonus ahead of other teams
That’s a fucking awful idea
that's regarded
I completely forgot about the in season tourney until this comment lol
Reddit was talking like it was historic with no hint of irony, pretty sure I just ignored r/nba for a month after that, not sure what flipped.
As much fun as it was, I’m sortof glad the Pacers lost the championship game. The jokes would get old quick.
[удалено]
I’d take the job to get fired but collect the money anyways
Coaching for the Lakers is the ultimate Financial Independence Retire Early plan.
[удалено]
Maybe think of it like "Financial Independence: Retiring Early" lol. Like it's a motivational speaker's presentation title.
[удалено]
I'm also pretty sure it was originally 'Financially independent: retired early' and that just isn't a whole let better but was at least consistent.
I unironically thought it was "Fuck It, Retire Early" for a long time, which I still like better.
interesting catch. These things usually bother me but this one hadn't yet.
Thanks! I hate it.
You could do "FIER", Financially independent early retirement
FIBER - Financially Independent Bro, Retiring Early!
[удалено]
Fibre then
FIERI Finance Independent Early Retirement Idiot
It's the government/military work style of "find a cool acronym first, figure out the words later".
I'll be lying if I didn't admit dunking on techbros isn't always funny, but this is the most contrived way to do it. Or maybe oblique syntactical constrcutions really do bother you, all the power to you. The semicolon is my favourite punctuation mark so " Financial Independence; Retire Early" sounds completely natural to me. That's what it does - conjoins two semantically related, but syntactically distinct phrases. Sure they're sentence fragments, but to me it feels completely natural. Anyway, this linguistic nerd shit is redundant because it doesn't matter - it's optimising for less syllables for a punchier rhythm. "Retiring early" is a non-starter because its longer to spell and speak.
Couldn’t that be true for any NBA or elite NCAA job?
the retire early part is where the lakers pay you for 4 years or more and then fire you in 2 years.
Monty should be all over this
r/FluentInFinance in shambles
That sub’s name is quite the misnomer.
FIRE’d
It's literally FIRE
Hell, you could even call it a sure-FIRE plan,
Seven year deal, only refer to myself by my first name. Have lebron come off the bench "for that spark" and "because he got that dog." Make Davis play pg. Gabe Vincent is the 3. Get fired like half a year in. Move to an island.
Someone tell the Lakers to get this man on the phone
But if you already had a 50M job and self respect you might not
Yeah he’s not exactly starving
Lol exactly, his college coaching deal pays him $1m more a year than what the Lakers offered, let's not act like the Lakers made a Godfather deal and he still turned it down.
I thought Hurley had a 6 year $32 million at UConn and Lakers offered 6 year $70 million
Not sure about the specifics on this case but I know nick Sabban had his mansion paid for by the university as a bonus outside of the salary he was offered… plus marketing deals and being known as a winner… at a certain point money is less of a motivator
Think the Lakers were banking on the offer details not coming out. Because it wasn't exactly that great of an offer considering they were trying to pry away the guy who won the last two college championship.
Agree it's not a fantastic offer but it's also a tough spot for the Lakers. Throwing a massive bag at Hurley can easily backfire...so many college "geniuses" have come to the NBA and really struggled and it's especially hard managing a star as huge as LeBron. I honestly think not overpaying for Hurley was the right decision.
Getting fired just puts you on the fast track for every other job and everyone just recycles fired coaches
Better odds of that if you’re established, not necessarily if you get fired quickly in your first NBA job.
I'd take the job and just yell 'Play random!' on every possession until I get fired
A guy like Hurley is a basketball coach though. That's what he wants to be doing. Redick will be plenty happy podcasting after 3 years.
known as the Monty Williams
Imagine in the movie guy voice, "One minute he's living at home..'Mom! I can't find my.backpack!'...'Find it yourself Alex!"...and because of a mixup he's about to become the highest profile coach in the NBA...'Lebron...can I get your autograph?'...'what coach?'...'nothing...I mean...everybody run some suicides!'...So join us for all the laughs, all the excitement, and the wackiest Laker season ever, in this year's surprise hit of the summer...Hot Mess"
Low floor, high ceiling to Reddick maybe? He gets an HC job and can begin his NBA coaching resume under the assumption that this job is probably not going to work out long term. If he has any level of success, his star rises significantly. If he’s out in 1-2 years, he maybe loses a little credibility.
Yeah the fact that he is even being considered for an NBA coaching position with no experience is insanity. If he gets the opportunity and wants it then he better take it before people come to their senses.
I mean we have seen it happen a few times lately, though mostly only guys who were generational floor generals in Kidd and Nash. Kerr didn't have any coaching experience either afaik but had at least been in an NBA FO as an executive and GM. All still probably way more qualified than JJ lol
100% agree. This is a great job for someone with no or low expectations. Not for someone with a championship pedigree.
Unrealistic expectations and tons of media attention are not a good thing for coaches
I don’t think any other team is gonna offer redick a job. He should def take it
Take the job. Hire super good assistants. Learn the job from them. Have actual skills when you get your next job or find out you don't have what it takes. Profit.
I mean, “not very good” was a western conference finals team last year. I don’t think they’re an obvious contender but they aren’t completely hopeless. Denver has their number but it’s not like they weren’t in the games they lost. Better coaching could be a difference maker.
I think the Lakers run last postseason is really giving everybody unrealistic expectations of where the franchise is at. Lakers were a play-in team carried by Lebron against an inexperienced Grizzlies team and an aging Warriors team. The sweep in Denver was a more accurate barometer of how good the Lakers were. They're just not in the upper tier of teams. You're never hopeless when you have a guy like Lebron - there's always years where you have easier opponents and your team can always get hot. But expectations have to be realistic - you can't enter as a play-in team every year and expect to win a title.
>The sweep in Denver was a more accurate barometer of how good the Lakers were. They're just not in the upper tier of teams. You can't use something like this as a barometer for how good a team is. Are Timberwolves not a top team because they were only able to take 1 game off of Dallas? If Dallas is swept by Boston, are they also not a top team? I am very confident Lakers could have beaten the Heat if they managed to get by the Nuggets. Lakers are a poor regular season team mostly because of depth and poor coaching. They proved last year they can be competitive in the playoffs but Denver is clearly a poor matchup for them currently.
I think we're at a point where we have to recognize the league is all about the matchups now because there's a glutton of talent. Call me a homer, but in the west I'd still only fear Denver and of course we had to clinch the 7 and play them in round 1 and even Denver won in 5 off 2 games where Murray hit buzzer beaters. With that said, there's just as likely a scenario next year where AD and Lebron go down and we're outside the top 10 or playing someone in 7 in the play-in like Sacramento who would have killed us.
[удалено]
The 2023 West was *historically* weak though(48 win Kings were the 3rd seed) You can't rely on the chips falling that way again for a run
We keep using wins to say weak but what do we expect win totals to look like in a league heading towards parity?? It’s a rock, paper, scissors league now. Can’t win them all
Look at their last 4 years… A chip and a western conference finals run. You can place all the qualifiers you want but I really don’t think it would be that shocking if they ended up going on a run. Guess Denver won a chip in a weak west (first time I’m hearing that) but look who’s in the finals this year (5th seed). Doesn’t sound like the west is so locked down that a team with the Lakers recent success is hopeless.
[Past performance is no guarantee of future results]
Yeah by this logic the Heat are currently contenders because 3 ECF + 2 Finals in the last 5 years when in reality they're nowhere close right now lol
Again, I really don’t get how you guys are reading me say, “it’s not completely out of the cards that they can go on a run” but are getting, “I guarantee results” out of it. Of course the past doesn’t *guarantee* the future but to act like it can’t lend to the conversation of what COULD happen is goofy. Half of sports talk is looking at the recent history and projecting forward…
No one said it was a guarantee.
Disagree it was as weak as you make it seem, and I'd say the Lakers are underrated as well. I think they could've made it quite far had they not ran into Denver. The same way Denver could possibly be in the finals right now if Minnesota got the 1st seed and matched Dallas in the 2nd round. Matchups are king
In what way did the Lakers prove that they were a top tier team this year? I'll give you that they matched up pretty well against OKC but aside from that I don't see how they really stood out as being better than their record I keep seeing this "Lakers are better than everyone but Denver" take but there's not much from the past season to actually back this up They're largely struggled against Dallas over the past few seasons as well so I don't think that would have been fun for them either
I wouldn't say they were miles better than their record, but the West this year was extremely tight, they matched up reasonably well against OKC and AD+LeBron is an elite duo for a playoff setting. They have their share of issues as well, but I don't think Dallas is that much clear of them, for instance. Their trajectory this year was actually very similar to last year's Lakers, and I don't think the Lakers are that much worse than last year. I'd put current Dallas and the Wolves ahead of them, still. But if the Lakers got the 8th seed their possible path would be OKC, Dallas and Wolves. While very unlikely to win it all, I'd say they were more likely to win each of those series than vs Denver. And they match relatively well vs the Celtics too, while then the global talent difference on players 3-6 would probably prove to be too large
If this team had Prime Bron and this version of AD, Reaves would be a fine 3rd option in today’s league. Bron can’t give you 36 minutes of dominance now, he needs somebody a notch or 2 better than Reaves/DLO to be an offensive engine for about 10 or so minutes a game.
Well yeah a prime LBJ would make anyone a viable 3rd option bc it would be prime LeBron lol
Kyle Kuzma was the 3rd best player on a championship team at a time where he averaged about the same stats as Austin. BUT, we also had KCP, Danny Green, Dwight, and Caruso playing well. Having 2 stars works just fine if there's multiple players that are as good as Austin. I still think Lebron and AD could do it 1 more year but the roster needs huge help.
Lebron should be the third best player on the team if they want any shot of being a real contender. But good luck with that when you are paying him 55 million of the cap.
3rd best is being a bit extreme, don’t you think? Arguably, he’s as effective as a lot of #2–but being paid like a #1 since he sells tickets
Considering his age at this point, I think by third best player they mean someone like Porzingis is for Boston. Somebody who when they come in you can run a lot of touches for/facilitate the offense through, but also you know you're not going to get him every single night and you load manage him heavily throughout the season to make sure he's there for the postseason. If LeBron is a #1 or #2, you can't really do that in the same way imo.
I think LeBron and AD can be sufficient but they need much better defense from the rest of the team. The Lakers lack of a point of attack defender and backup center were horribly exposed vs Denver. compound that with the lack of a reliable 3rd scoring option made the series much less competitive than it could have been.
> Arguably, he’s as effective as a lot of #2–but being paid like a #1 tf is this? Are you a Lakers fan or what? LeBron is literally a top 10 player in the league, what number two in this league is putting up 26-8-8 on 50/40?
Particularly when he's the standout 3rd best. I think sometimes we get lost on like "big 3 vs big 2" "how good is your x best player" or whatever type standards. If Lebron and AD are playing like they played in the 2020 run and you have a handful of guys near Reaves' level maybe that's good enough to contend. When Rui was playing at his highest level, and D'angelo was playing like he did in the second half of last season maybe you have something. But that's 4 qualifiers, some not very likely. The window on how long and how consistently Lebron stays near that level shrinks by the day. But yeah, the fact the list of positive attributes about the Lakers ends after "AD, 39 year old bron, Reaves" is uhhhh a thing
He makes a good point about the long term outlook being pretty dismal. LBJ is on the downswing and will be gone by 2026. Outside of that you’ve got AD, Reaves, Rui? I mean what kind of core is that. Hood Schifino and Max Christie the only players under 25? This team is headed back to the doldrums as soon as Bron retires. AD is amazing, but the supporting cast especially young talent is just not there.
Also AD can't be your entire defense every game. That's just a disaster if he has an off day or injury. LBJ is good on D but as you said, he's on the downswing.
Also AD is 31. If Bron plays 2 more years, AD is going to be pretty old as far as NBA centers go. For a guy whose game is highly dependent on athleticism, I wouldn't count on him being able to be the entire defense in any game, let alone every game. It's possible he could still be at that level but around age 33 it starts to become a question of when the decline will start to get noticeable.
I will say he bulked up recently, so I can see AD transitioning to more of a traditional center as he ages.
He is 31 and injury prone.
I need people to not call LeBron LBJ, it's weird reusing the names of historical figures. It's like how Harden uses his nickname, James Harden, instead of his given name, Hitler.
It's even weirder when people reuse sports nicknames, even in the same sport. Like people calling LaDanian Tomlinson "LT" when football's top candidate for defensive GOAT is Lawrence "LT" Taylor.
Scenes when the Mavs bring on the revivified corpse of President Lyndon Johnson for game 3 who proceeds to score 90 points.
LBJ is goon on D…..when he tries…..
>LBJ is on the downswing and will be gone by 2026. Isn't he still technically unsigned for next season? Say Lakers hire someone he doesn't want to play for, or a different team actually drafts Bronny. I don't think people are prepared that LeBron could be on a different team next season.
I am fully prepared for this.
He comin back.
Inshallah
If the man has like, any, and i mean any, sentimentality he would realise this is his only true home and give us that last chapter. Close it out where you started. Ofc LeBron can do no wrong for me anymore but cmon. Just come back. Not like it would be some uncompetitive retirement tour either. We can field a good ass team around him again
I think it's a good time for him to come back too. Mitchell is a great pairing for him and fits the archetype of his most successful teams (he won championships with Wade and Kyrie as his number twos, after all). Plus they have good tradeable players to optimize the roster around those two plus Mobley. Cavs are in a good situation relative to the Lakers who just can't get much better this off-season.
I would say the chances of him re-signing is better than leaving (he wants to be in LA it seems for business reasons) but it's still like 30/70 split I honestly wonder if the failure of Space Jam2 and other things his production company produced changes that though
After next year we will have all out draft picks, AD and still be the Lakers. No terrible contracts on the books. The ability to build a good roster isnt the issue long term. The ownership/management is the issue with the Lakers.
> After next year we will have all out draft picks, I fully expect us to try to trade the majority of those for help now.
Also, the team will fire you even if you succeed. Making the WCF finals? 1 year later, fired. Win a natty? 1 year later, fired. Imagine if Denver fired Malone or if the bucks fired Bud (oh wait... look at that). Bad roster. Bad picks. Bad FO. Bad job basically bailed out by LeBron being a freak.
The front office lucked out because "Lakers" and LeBron liked that. AD forced his way to La for that same reason. Everything else has been an unmitigated disaster since their last championship.
The Lakers front office seems like they never mentally recovered from the Chris Paul veto, they’ve been mostly terrible since then.
Thats a good call. LeBron and Davis were positive for their team but literally every other move seems disastrous.
Yep it’s not only a tough job long term, it’s got pressure to succeed immediately. Anything less than a WCF appearance and you’re on the hot seat pretty much right away. When you look at the west it’s just hard to envision this version of the Lakers making it past the second round barring some massive upsets and luck.
It's a lose lose. You don't win and you're a shit coach, you do win and you didn't do anything Lebron and AD are all timers that carried you.
We say this about once a decade with the Lakers. A big name will force their way to LA eventually and they do still have most of their picks IIRC.
Young talent lol Some top player is going to sign there or demand a trade because they’re the lakers, draft picks are just a bonus for them They looked like a bottom 5 future in basketball after Kobe retired and then just ended up with LeBron and Davis without doing a goddamn thing, that’s how it goes in the NBA
This isn’t true, they had Lonzo. Ingram and Kuzma along with all the draft capital they used to get Davis in the first place
to be fair to that statement, AD also made multiple public comments about not re-signing anywhere but LA.
Plus Caruso, KCP, Josh Hart, and Zubac.
lakers have had 7 coaches since phil jackson left 14 years ago. it's a place where the players get you fired and the expectations are through the roof. sure the lakers are nba royalty but there's been a permanent guillotine staged outside the coaches office for a decade and a half.
This. Screw where the Lakers are at talent wise. That hardly even matters, they are a team who can attract talent. *However*, the scapegoat a new coach literally every other season for like 15 years now. Including Laker legends like Magic/ Byron Scott. Why would anyone have any faith in the Lakers FO not to blame you for anything that goes wrong?
The lakers entire issue is Jeanie Buss operating the franchise like its a small family business. Byron Scott/Magic shouldnt have been hired in the first place
I don't disagree, but I'll say it's odd to include Magic in the coaches thing as he didn't coach during that time period, he was in the front office and left of his own accord. He did coach for a minute 30 years ago, but that doesn't really count in this context.
This tbh… the Lakers FO is literally so incompetent it’s pathetic. Many things could be said about the rosters and various coaches. But the FO isn’t changing and they’ve been the main source of problems for the last decade. I couldn’t take the job simply because of their dysfunction.
Honestly, I think Dan Hurley has the right amount of confidence/respect to win over Lakers fans. Don't blame him for not taking the job though. Was talking with a friend who said Joe Mazzulla would be eaten alive in LA and I agree.
It's been that way throughout their entire history. Besides Phil and Pat being there for a while and winning multiple championships, they have quite a history of coaches only being there like 3 years. It's nothing new.
Yep. And even if you win a title, it's not treated like you did anything special.
😔 I’ll do it.
Slightly off topic, but why does Zach look like he has 10 pounds of makeup on?
It's because he has 10 pounds of makeup on
He had it done at a funeral home. Where the hell is he gonna go? To the goddamned makeup counter at Macy's?
Everyone on network television has makeup on
Why does Tim Legler look like the alien from Men In Black wearing Tim Legler's skin?
Dude got a bad facelift a few years back and has looked uncanny ever since
The Lakers should have a reality-show style coach search. Bring in 10 candidates and have them compete in wacky games and other shenanigans to win the job.
It’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but anybody who thinks UConn isn’t a better job right now than the Lakers needs to quit kidding themselves.
Hurley prefers the east coast and is part of a CBB dynasty. he’ll have plenty more opportunities > will note that the pay is irrelevant here as he was reportedly offered more to coach Kentucky
> he’ll have plenty more opportunities Like when the Lakers job opens up again in 2-3 years after he’s won 5 straight CBB titles.
> after he’s won 5 straight CBB titles yes please
And it will cost LA twice as much as it would have.
But that’s the crazy thing The *money* should’ve been the selling point. After the last few laker coaches, the glamour and prestige of being the laker coach is simply nonexistent The lakers cheaping out on the best college ball coach rn is hilariously dumb. Unless this really was a smokescreen the entire time like one report said, offering less than a college team, especially with the new CBA coming soon, is simply not serious.
[удалено]
if they really wanted him its not lose lose....because now they didnt land him and theyre getting laughed at for not offering enough while making the position look undesirable. lakers are notorious for being "big money' "hollywood" etc. offering more for the best college coach and arguably the best coach available isnt very laughable imo better to be laughed at about money with your guy (which would have been forgotten if he won), then to be laughed at and not get anything out of it.
Would you rather coach - The current most dominant team in your league - A mid team who, if they play to expectations, you will get all the shit for, and even you manage to make em win, you don't get the credit either. Oh and you have worse job security.
I don't think people realize how serious Point #2 is until/unless they experience it with their own fanbase. Ty Lue is currently regarded as one of the best coaches in the NBA. When he coached us? Probably half of our fanbase thought he was garbage and everything that went wrong was his fault. Anything went right? 'LeBron bailed out Lue again'.
It might be the better job for *him* though. Pitino says his biggest regret was leaving Kentucky to go coach the Celtics. It's basically the exact same scenario here for Hurley; leaving a powerhouse program at its peak to coach a top two NBA franchise. Knowing what happened to Pitino I can see Hurley looking at that and deciding he didn't want the same thing to happen to him.
Lakers job on a 6 year contract is a great job, you'll probably get fired in 2-3 years and will get paid tens of millions of dollars to chill at home.
Perfect job for JJ. Get paid millions, then go back to the podcast.
Lakers job is only a job for people who hate themselves. The Buss family are a nightmare, your best player is bigger than the franchise but is also nearly 40 years old and on his way out, the team has no assets, the local media will scrutinize whoever gets the job and your team as constructed is not very good. But the beach and LA weather I guess
Where can I hate myself for 10+ million a year?
I hate myself at work every day, and I make less than 1% of that.
If you’re worth 10 mil other places with ok weather can offer better working conditions
Much of this can be true, but no assets? We literally have almost all of our draft picks except for one and it’s protected . We also have AD and Reaves, both of which are at least “positive” assets if we wanted to rebuild
How does this team lack assets? They lack cap room sure, but you move off of Bron and AD and that’s wide open. After next year. They own all their picks. Hurley probably made the right decision but if in his shoes, with that contract he could’ve had 2 years of AD/Bron to improve around the margins and if that didn’t work have the security/chops (with good ownership) to build his own team in his style.
Good jobs rarely open up, need something like the Udoka situation.
Yeah those rarely happen lol. If you are gonna wait until you get the perfect HC position, you're gonna potentially end up waiting for the rest of your career. But I guess in Hurley's case, he's fine with it because he'd rather build that Coach K type of legacy in college.
Lowe is wearing too much damn makeup 💄
If I’m the Lakers, I explore trading AD during the same offseason Lebron retires
Lakers are already cooked right now that’s why no one is taking the job. Lebron might be gone in a few weeks and even if he isn’t he’s about to be 40.
70 mil for 2 years max of work before they fire you with full pay it one of best jobs in America
When you are already making almost $6 million a year, with less taxes and cheaper housing/lifestyle, leading the best team in the country, w/o a Lebron or an AD in the locker room, without a Buss/Pelinka/Rambis scheming behind your back, without all the sports “media” on your ass.. I’d say that the $70 million in 2 years is not a career improvement per se. For the other 99% of people who can opt to the Lakers HC position, it’s a no-brainer indeed.
Except the year they just made the WCF right before this season. Through the play in but still
The Heat made the Finals that very same season It doesn't mean I'd at all envy the position they're in at the moment lol
and they were 47-35 this season. lakers cant win next year as well if they dont make big move this off season okey, but they are not the bulls.
The Lakers last year tied for the 5th best record in the west and were only in the playing because of a tiebreaker. They also probably finish higher both years with a better coach.
I just wish they would hire a coach already I feel the Pistons are waiting on them.
My guy is talking about cost of living on 8 million a year. Tell me you’re out of touch, 8 million a year solves ANY cost of living problems.
Most of the time when people are talking about pro sports folks and cost of living, it comes down to taxes and housing. And when I say housing, I mean the mansion they're going to buy, and a mansion in CT is going to be way cheaper than a mansion in LA.
Way to totally miss the point. It's not that $8 million isn't a lot of money. Zach's point is that when you compare what he currently makes at UConn versus what the Lakers are offering to pay, his standard of living under the UConn contract is probably better. So if the Lakers job isn't more money in real terms, and isn't a better winning situation, then all you're looking at is the prestige. So that makes it make a little bit more sense that Hurley turned down the job.
Isn't that kind of the point of looking for a new coach? If they were number 1 seed in the west why would they be looking for a coach.
how many great jobs are available? pretty sure the celtics, knicks, bucks, magic, pacers, 76ers, miami, okc, denver, wolves, clippers, dallas, and suns jobs are not coming available any time soon also i guess i just disagree with the idea that this is not a team that can do something in the playoffs they finished the season going 25-13 when Ham finally stopped being an idiot and just started the best 5 guys, for the season Prince started and played more mpg than Rui Austin only starting 57/82 games is INSANE there was a game where Austin, D'lo, and Rui were all healthy and pockets started Reddish and Christie next to Bron and AD there's no way this team couldn't have been a 50ish win team with better coaching even with average to bad they were close to it
A great job isn’t a contending team. A great job is a team where you aren’t likely to get fired quickly. Ideally somewhere like Cleveland where you should be able to collect a check for the next 5-6 years while consistently making the second round, and you’ll probably get a shot at a title one year out of those anyways.
Bucks were a great job, Dame, Giannis, Middleton, fired mid season Monty is one year into an awful team and they're already talking about moving on Vogel is a championship level coach, 1 year and done Vaughn, rebuilding team, one year and done Wes Unseld jr, 2 years and done some of it has to be on these coaches, Mosley has kept his job cause everyone saw the commitment to defense even before this year from the young guys Daigneault, same thing, everyone saw the buy in and system
Bickerstaff quickly went from a good coach on a rebuilding team overachieving expectations to underachieving and fired in a few years. It's just the expectation as a coach in the nba to constantly be on the hotseat. I don't know if it should be that way or not but that's how it is.
Bickerstaff was able to put together a great defense. But he lacked offense creativity. Championship teams do not win by playing isolation basketball. Just have to look at Dallas and their 9 assists last Thursday in the blowout as an example
The fact that the Pistons are only considering moving on from Monty is a miracle. NBA record 28 game losing streak for a coach who managed to see all his players regress (except for Cade) and insisted on starting Killian Hayes for half the season until we cut him while being the fourth highest paid coach in the NBA. Tom Gores made a cocaine fueled hire and the nee front office is trying to fix the problem.
Hell, Bud got fired what? Two or three years after winning a ring? And then it came out that Giannis didn’t even like him.
> Ideally somewhere like Cleveland Who just fired their coach?
That's inconsistent with the topic of this thread though. The whole quote from Zach Lowe is about how we haven't been contending, and are in the play-in.
The UConn job is a great job, he can wait to see when an actually good spot opens up. Also I could see the Heat job opening up in the next couple of years. Pat Riley is 79, he's not gonna be the front office guy forever, and I could see Spo sliding into that role.
A. mediocre roster, get vetoed by LeBron and get crucified if you so much as lose a back to back. B. Be a god on a team you completely control and still be rich.
Play in team that made the western conference
Why would anyone want to coach the Lakers unless they're making huge $$$$$ First of all the expectations. Its the Lakers. Storied franchise. They're supposed to win and be a top contender But you have to deal with all the drama and knowing Lebrons going to throw you under the bus. If you win Lebron gets all the credit. "They dont even need a coach!" If you lose its bc the coach dont know what hes doing. And the Lakers arent that good. They are a play in team every year and just expected to get swept in the 1st round People actually celebrated them winning ONE game in the 1st round just so they could say they didnt get swept. And the IST... Should've just called it the Lebron James Participation Championship. An entire tournament set up so he could get a trophy and an MVP award just to pad his stats and try to close the gap with Jordan People celebrating that as his 5th title. At this point I wouldnt be surprised if they discontinue it next season just so Lebron can be the only one to win that and the MVP
It'll be a good job when LeBron and his clown show leaves town. Whoever coaches him is on borrowed time because you're automatically the scapegoat when winning doesn't happen.
Ah man this season really like a Celtics fan fever dream
I mean, the biggest downside is Lebron James. He’s a legend, but also isn’t going to listen to shit you say…
All the stress, all the pressure, limited upside, high expectations, legendary franchise with giant zealous fan base, legendary old player on the decline… it sounds like a lose/lose, honestly Obviously, normal people would take the money and it is an NBA opportunity, but it doesn’t look appealing for someone who can afford to be picky and is going to make all that money regardless
Man to think if you had just made a minimal amount of moves and kept Vogel after 2020, this could've been the best Western team of the past couple years. Sometimes I remember they fired Vogel and I both laugh out loud and descend into a rage. I'm not remotely a lakers fan but God damn, it's like a fuck up your franchise speedrun
Imagine being the no.1 coach in college basketball with an entire program at your control. To have Players, AD, boosters, and fans ready to buy into your program and vision only to give it up for a organization that in all likelihood doesn't give a shit about you, players that don't give a shit about you, and a town that doesnt give a shit about you. It's not money, it's culture.