Lost in an article about Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Kaman's 180-degree U-turn about his relationship with coach Mike D'Antoni came this small but powerful bombshell from Bleacher Report:
"D'Antoni has one more guaranteed season left on his Lakers contract, and the club is leaning toward retaining him despite some privately disgruntled players and massive public disdain. It's not clear which way the organization will go with him."
It had been all but conceded that D'Antoni would not be back with the team next season. He reportedly had been contemplating going back to his alma mater, Marshall, as head coach for next season. Star guard Kobe Bryant reportedly has said he has no interest in playing for D'Antoni next season.
But it is not beyond new Lakers director of player personnel Jim Buss to make a decision contrary to what Kobe, his teammates and the city of Los Angeles want.
After all, he chose D'Antoni over Phil Jackson when his Mike Brown-as-coach experiment failed with a team that had Dwight Howard on it. Rather than listen to Howard, who also wanted Jackson and might've made a different decision last offseason with Jackson at the Lakers helm, Buss brought D'Antoni, whose system was almost a complete mismatch with the Lakers roster.
According to tracking.si.com, the Lakers bringing back D'Antoni would be a wise move, purely from a financial standpoint. The Lakers would have to pay the final year of D'Antoni's three-year, $12 million contract and still try to hire another coach - which was the same situation they had when they fired Brown and brought in D'Antoni.
The Lakers aren't expected to land any big-name free agents in 2014, so the roster might not be significantly improved, or at least improved enough to put L.A. back in contention for the playoffs in the Western Conference.
The question is, would Buss risk the wrath of Bryant in retaining D'Antoni? In this new era of Laker basketball, anything is possible.
And that's not necessarily a good thing.
Do you think the Lakers should keep Mike D'Antoni as coach next season? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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