November 15, 2012; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak (left) sits next to new head coach Mike D
Officially there is no official timetable for Mike D’Antoni’s official debut as head coach of the Lakers. It’s not too early to call this officially a mess considering the initial hire of Mike Brown, his quick firing, the disastrous flirtation with Phil Jackson and now the fact that Jim Buss hired a coach that was on the disabled list.
All that aside, the immediate returns on the new D’Antoni system are positive. Winning will do that. Had Coach Brown found early success then the Princeton offense would have been the answer instead of the punch line for a hack joke delivered by Charles Barkley.
So while the Lakers find winning ways during this interim coaching period there is no rush to force D’Antoni into action before he’s ready. Slated to make his debut on Sunday, D’Antoni called it off when he wasn’t feeling up to the task.
Going forward it’s going to be a day to day approach. Once again there is nothing official on the record saying D’Antoni will or won’t coach tomorrow when the new look Nets come to town. Instead it’s just wait and see. We’ll see D’Antoni’s official debut when he’s officially feeling up for it and not until then. Whenever that happens is anybody’s guess…even D’Antoni’s himself.