The L.A. Lakers are planning to fire coach Mike D'Antoni at the end of the season after one of the franchise's worst seasons in recent memory.
According to LakersNation.com, GM Mitch Kupchak met with the embattled coach last week following the team's worst loss in team history against the rival Clippers and more or less revealed to him the team's long-term thinking.
"I had a source tell last night that Mike D'Antoni is gone at the end of the season," the website quoted ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith as claiming. "He won't be there, I'm just telling you, that's the word coming out of L.A."
According to LakersNation, the Lakers no longer consider D'Antoni's uptempo style to be a fit for their roster and have also been discouraged by what's considered the team's lack of effort as the season had wind down.
What's more the Lakers are also planning to pursue Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony in summer free- agency and he and D'Antoni have a bad history together that includes Anthony reportedly working behind the scenes to have D'Antoni chased out of The Garden.
"It's not coming from the Lakers themselves, but people close to the organization say that D'Antoni is gone," the website reported. "There's no way Anthony would elect to go there if D'Antoni is there. If D'Antoni is gone, with the cap room they have coming up and Kobe's imminent return, L.A. is a viable option.
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