Los Angeles Lakers: One of these ESPN announcers should be coach

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be looking for a new head coach this offseason, they should look toward the ESPN telecast for their next head man.

With the Los Angeles Lakers disastrous season coming to a painful end, the focus has shifted from LeBron James and his “Walt Frazier” verbal whipping to who’s going to be the next coach next season.

A couple of weeks ago, Luke Walton made his comment about what his plans were according to Bill Oram of The Athletic

Now, this could easily turn into a comedy article clowning Luke Walton‘s defiance considering there have been leaks about the Lakers coaching wish list for weeks. First, the Lakers break out a name from across the hall in Doc Rivers, who shut those rumors down as soon his shift ended that night after the Clippers played.

Then there were rumors over that Jason Kidd was weighing his options between the Lakers and his old college stomping grounds, the University of California. I weighed in on what Kidd would bring to the table if hired.

Now the Los Angeles Lakers have used the coaching narrative to get their names in the paper. With LeBron James‘ memoir written by Brian Windhorst called LeBron Inc. The Making of a Billion Dollar Athlete, the Lakers have gone Hollywood for real.

For the record, I fully believe that Luke Walton will be fired at the end of the season. I laid out much of his issues earlier this season when Magic Johnson “admonished” him after the Lakers stumbled out of the gate. Did he get a fair shake? No. But I knew his goose was cooked before the season started based on LeBron’s storied history.

The Los Angeles Lakers will not make the playoffs this year and if you are paying close attention to reality, as opposed to media propaganda and empty LeBron James rhetoric, you will realize the Lakers are no closer to that level next year.

Why?

The Los Angeles Lakers seemingly have no vision or direction to make this franchise a contender for the playoffs much less the Finals. On July 1st, the cat will be let out of the bag.

No player or coach of any merit wants to deal with LeBron James and the disco show that comes with it. Remember disco music died, so is the era of the Lakers.

But, there is a man who works for ESPN that can turn the entire franchise around if allowed. His name has not been mentioned in any reports and there is no inkling that he even wants the job.

Let me introduce you to the only coach that can save the Lakers.

Introducing the man who can change the direction of the Lakers, Jeff Van Gundy

After covering the Los Angeles Lakers for this site for the past NBA season, I have learned the hard way that criticizing LeBron James, in any way, can cause a backlash. He has a fan base that will back him up and stand up for him under any and every circumstance which includes the Lakers watching the playoffs again.

We have all watched LeBron James shut down (Like numerous times this season) and his fans will come out the woodwork and make excuses and justify the failure that has been this Lakers season.

I have never trended on Twitter, however, with my comments about LeBron James. But with one comment on a Saturday night when the Boston Celtics beat down the Lakers, Jeff Van Gundy trended on Twitter.

There are two former coaches having a conversation here. One is Jeff Van Gundy, the other is Mark Jackson, one of the names on the Lakers wish list and a Klutch Sports client.

If you read the caption, Jeff Van Gundy is telling the viewing audience a viable option to get the Los Angeles Lakers back on track and possibly obtain max-level free agents, while keeping the young guys that took two years or more to develop for the future.

Plus, they will have cap space. Plus, think about ALL of the assets the Lakers could get with players, draft picks, fewer distractions and drama.

If the Lakers could get a Kevin Durant or a Kawhi Leonard by getting rid of a soon to be a 17-year veteran that has done nothing but alienate his teammates, coach, and more importantly the fan base that pays their money to see him quit the season, I say to LeBron, goodbye, peace, see you later, hasta manana, strike three, you’re out!

But here’s the situation.

LeBron James will not be traded. He is coming off his worst year only playing 55 games. He has messed up not only his reputation as a player but the Lakers front office as well. No self-respecting NBA GM that wants to keep his job will deal with the salary cap wrecking ball of an aging superstar who is not totally invested.

LeBron James actually wants to be in LA and you see what the fans got for their money. Think about how he would play in a place like Memphis. The Lakers are stuck with LeBron James for better or worse. So now let’s get the coach that can control the man.

Jeff Van Gundy already showed the NBA world how to hold LeBron James accountable in one conversation. The reason James has played the way he has is because he knows he is the only player guaranteed to come back next season. If he knew he could be traded or if he has a coach that has no issues going to management about making a move with him in mind.

LeBron will have some act right!

When Jeff Van Gundy was in Houston, he shipped Steve Francis out

In his last NBA job, Jeff Van Gundy had a vision of how he wanted to play and which players were needed to play in his system. More importantly, Van Gundy knew the players that needed to be on the front lines.

That scenario was never more evident than when he was the coach of the Houston Rockets. Before Rudy Tomjanovich retired from the Rockets for health reasons, the offense was uptempo and the keys to the offense were handed to Steve Francis.

Let me tell you, if there was any player that needed the keys, it was this guy. After the Rockets had gotten old and were in transition from the Clutch City championship days, Francis was the star to bring excitement back to Houston.

People always talk about Allen Iverson‘s crossover but forget that the entire Rockets offense was based on Francis’ killer crossover. Lakers fans and players alike remember the headaches he used to give out at that time.

Then Jeff Van Gundy came in with a new game plan. Something that the franchise player did not like.

Jeff Van Gundy took the job in Houston knowing that he had a young center in Yao Ming. He knew that an offense centered around Francis doing isolation plays and passing the ball to his partner in crime Cuttino Mobley would not work, so he slowed the tempo down to take advantage of the matchup problems a 7’5″ Yao Ming would give to opposing teams.

Despite setting records, being one of only four NBA players at the time to average 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill being the others) with three All-Star appearances, Steve Francis was the headliner in a trade to Orlando for Tracy McGrady.

It was a shock to some around the NBA, but it’s the essence of Jeff Van Gundy.

LeBron James would concentrate on basketball and not business ventures! 

LeBron James. right now. is known just as much for his business portfolio as his accomplishments on the basketball court.

At one time, Magic Johnson got a ton of credit for securing LeBron James in free agency. Now, it is widely believed that LeBron was coming anyway just to get his media company off the ground.

Remember the announcement of LeBron James being the A&R guy for 2 Chainz album?

I bring this up because it was rumored that this happened the night before the Lakers played the Golden State Warriors. That was the night LeBron was a scratch from the game about an hour before tip-off.

The Lakers lost and that was the night when there were reports of a “fracas” in the locker room between Luke Walton, Michael Beasley and JaVale McGee. Rumors were all over the place, but from reports, the arguments stemmed from selfish play.

Think this would have happened under Jeff Van Gundy’s watch? Nope. Super Bowl Gate makes it very clear. Steve Francis was suspended for one game for allegedly going to the Super Bowl and not making it to the team fight for Phoenix.

There were two stories reported. One from Steve Francis’ agent and one from Jeff Van Gundy.

Francis’ agent stated that his client had a “family emergency”.

Jeff Van Gundy’s take.

"“I talked to Steve,” Van Gundy said. “He was in the parking lot of the Super Bowl. We had a long discussion about him thinking it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and me talking about the commitment to the team. “I know what the truth is. Steve knows what the truth is. Everyone involved knows what the truth is. That’s up to them if they want to try to spin it a certain way. Everyone knows what happened. What agents say doesn’t have any bearing. “I talked to him last night. He disagreed with the (suspension) decision vehemently. He just thinks it was the wrong decision.”"

Do you think Rich Paul would have any influence over Jeff Van Gundy?

Jeff Van Gundy is the only coach that can bail Magic Johnson out at this point!

The big names Los Angeles Lakers throw out almost on a daily basis are to show the fans that good times are coming. The only problem is, what big names?

Jason Kidd? Nope. Tyronn Lue? He’ll probably get the job only because of his ties to LeBron. Neither have the characteristics Magic was talking about earlier in the season.

"”Since Magic has taken over, they had been hoping to get their own coach in at some point. We saw it play out in the meeting they had earlier in the year where Magic really went after Luke,” Wojnarowski said. “If they’re going to be able to go to Jeanie Buss and sell her on replacing Luke Walton, they better be trying to do it off a season where they missed the playoffs or off of a long losing streak. Because she has been fiercely loyal to Luke Walton. “That was her hire in every way, and so far she has kept management off of him. They’ve allowed Magic and Rob Pelinka to change everything there, they haven’t been able to touch Luke Walton.”"

If Magic Johnson wants a fiery coach that fits the mold of a Pat Riley, why not hire his first coaching protege when he coached in New York?

Ah, did you forget that Jeff Van Gundy started his head coaching career in New York?

Jeff Van Gundy kept up the aura of the Knicks after Pat Riley sent the fax on his way to Miami when he quit coaching the New York Knicks. It was Van Gundy that led the Knicks to their LAST Finals appearance in 1999. Oh, by the way, that was without Patrick Ewing who was out with a wrist injury.

If you don’t think this guy is tough, remember he coached Latrell Sprewell after the choking incident. If you are not scared of Sprewell, LeBron James won’t make Van Gundy bat an eyelid.

Anyone that tries to get in a fight with Alonzo Mourning is exactly the fire Magic Johnson needs.

Van Gundy will tell LeBron James what he is supposed to do!

Jeff Van Gundy is currently coaching a USA team against international competition. He even had Alex Caruso on the team. It seems that Caruso is playing very well these days for the Lakers.

Coincidence? Jeff Van Gundy is the best coach for the Lakers because he will let everyone on the team know what role they have to play for the season. They will have a specific job and will be held responsible for that job.

Plus, more importantly, he knows how to talk to superstars about their roles. Ask Tracy McGrady how good a coach Jeff Van Gundy is and how he influenced his career in Houston with Yao Ming!

If the Lakers hire Jeff Van Gundy, there will be a conversation. There will be guidelines and LeBron James will follow them. Forget the injuries, forget the trade saga surrounding Anthony Davis. The beginning of the end was when LeBron James reneged on an offseason plan for him to play off the ball.

The roster was constructed based on that. Lonzo Ball was supposed to handle the ball with Rajon Rondo. The small ball scheme was based on LeBron James playing the five-spot. How long did that last?

Oh, by the way, I dare LeBron to ignore Jeff Van Gundy’s play calls on the sideline!

In closing, I know that Jeff Van Gundy will not be the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Tyronn Lue will be the guy. I knew that 30 seconds after the man was fired from Cleveland.

But when the Lakers hire a “LeBron James” coach and the Lakers struggle next year, just pull this article out and pass it around to Lakers fans worldwide to show who the coach of the team should be.