Archive for May, 2011

Leave it to T.J. Simers to get Jim Buss to admit what everyone has been saying for the past week. In a recent sit down with the notorious hardliner from the Times Buss told Simers that he should have contact Kobe Bryant prior to announcing the hiring of Mike Brown. “Looking back on it, we should have contacted Kobe” Ummm…yuh think? Not exactly the kind of quote that builds much confidence in Young Buss’ ability to replace his iconic father. Of course calling him Young is a misconception as well being that the dude is 51. You’ll just have to [...]

The more we learn of the Mike Brown hiring the worse it looks. Replacing Phil Jackson was an impossible task. This much the world knew once the Zen Master walked away from the game. Given the enormity the task of finding a new head coach you’d think all possibilities would have been exhausted. Well…think again. Mark Heisler is the latest to weigh-in on the current state of affairs within the Lakers’ front office. According to his piece that appears in today’s Times, Jim Buss casted a net about wide enough to catch a guppy. Mike Brown was the lone interview [...]

Here is what makes Laker fans one of the most impossible to please fan bases. Our team just hired a coach with a career winning percentage of .663 and that isn’t good enough. Mike Brown isn’t a horrible hire by any means. Problem is he’s arrived in Los Angeles at the wrong time. This is a Lakers team that is still very much capable of winning another couple of titles over the next three years. This is a team that is only minor roster tweaks away from being an unstoppable force. This is also a team that suffered from one [...]

News from the “what are they thinking?” department broke last night when the Times’ Borderick Turner reported the Los Angeles Lakers have extended an offer to Mike Brown. If Brown accepts the three-year deal he’ll become the man pitted with the impossible task of replacing Phil Jackson. According to the Times’ report, the deal is worth between $4 and 4.5-million a year with a team option for a fourth year. Brown’s name crept into the mix over the weekend so it comes as a bit of a surprise that he’s been given an offer this soon. It remains a strong [...]

Blame it on the rings. Thanks to Phil Jackson’s eight-figure salary the next man to helm the ship for the Los Angeles Lakers is guaranteed not to earn more than half of what PJ was banking. Mike Bresnahan reports that the Lakers have put a $3-5 million cap on the salary of L.A.’s next head coach. Given the names that have been floating around you can pretty much guess just who will get what offer if it comes to that. On the $5-million end of the spectrum you’ve got your Rick Adelman and Jeff Van Gundy price tag while Brian [...]

Let’s just state the obvious before we move forward. It is going to be impossible to replace Phil Jackson. Red Auerbach couldn’t fill PJ’s kicks. Not a knock on Auerbach, just saying that there is no way to duplicate Phil’s approach to the game. With that being said we’re finally seeing some movement on the Lakers’ front to begin the actual interview process. The L.A. Times reports that the Lakers have contacted Rick Adelman and have plans to sit down with Mike Dunleavy and Brian Shaw in the near future. You already know the LSL stance on Adelman and if [...]

The rival Golden State Warriors are desperate to overhaul their current state of lackluster hoops. Enter Laker legend, actual NBA icon and the most respected mind in modern hoops – Jerry West. Mr. Clutch has accepted an invite to join GSW in an advisory role. According to Tim Kawakami’s report West will work with the front office but will not have any decision making powers. Sounds like a good gig to me. Except, of course, the fact that he’s going to be working with a team that has long been one of the Lakers’ chief rivals…even if it hasn’t been [...]

As Kareem Abdul-Jabbar embarks on his Rodney Dangerfield-esque odyssey to get respect and a statue outside Staples he should be sure to pack a mirror. The Cap needs to take a long hard look at his own reflection and ask himself one simple question: Am I the problem? If you check the NBA record book it is impossible to ignore the name of Abdul-Jabbar. When the history of hoops is written it will not be possible to tell the story of the rise of the sport of basketball without mentioning his name several hundred times. He was the greatest recruit [...]

For those of you who think Phil Jackson is playing possum with his retirement then consider the following as one of the strongest indications that PJ isn’t walking through that door anymore. Broderick Turner reports that Jim Cleamons, a longtime assistant on Jackson’s staff, is mulling over the possibility of becoming the head coach of the Puerto Rican national team. Cleamons has been a fixture next to Jackson going way back to the days in Chicago. On the surface you can clearly see that Phil’s staff doesn’t seem to think they’ll be retained no matter who the new coach is. [...]

Long rumored to be a potential Phil Jackson replacement, Brian Shaw is starting to get looks as a potential Keith Smart replacement as well. But B-Shaw isn’t the only Lakers assistant on Golden State’s short list. According to the L.A. Times Chuck Person has an interview this week for the Warriors job. But the love doesn’t stop there for the Rifleman. Person is also said to be drawing interest from the squad he used to play for, the Indiana Pacers, for their head coaching position. Between the two you’d have to say the Pacer gig looks a little better than [...]