D'ANTONI OUT AS LAKERS' COACH - WOO HOO!!!

[Sirfindafold]

Dan D'Antoni to coach Marshall, according to school's athletic director

By Eric Pincus
April 24, 2014, 1:19 p.m.
Will D'Antoni be back to coach the Lakers?
The franchise has yet to announce the future of Coach Mike D'Antoni, but assistant Dan D'Antoni may be moving on to coach at Marshall University.
Mike had been linked to his alma mater but on Thursday, Mike Hamrick, athletic director at Marshall, tweeted Dan will be the Thundering Herd's next coach.
I am proud to announce that Dan D'Antoni will be the next head basketball coach at Marshall University. #THEHERD pic.twitter.com/LxpD13FFnR
— Mike Hamrick (@TheHerdAD) April 24, 2014
Dan joined his brother on the Lakers' bench early into the 2012-13 season, after the franchise fired Mike Brown.
The Lakers finished last season at 45-37, but fell quickly out of the playoffs at the hand of the San Antonio Spurs after Kobe Bryant was lost to an Achilles' injury.
Bryant was only able to play six games during the current season, the worst in the team's history (27-55) since moving to Los Angeles.
The Lakers are currently evaluating their options, including head coach.
"Mike is under contract for two more years. If anything changes, we’ll let you know,” said General Manager Mitch Kupchak on Friday. “Under the circumstances, I’m not sure anybody could have done a better job than he did."
If D'Antoni remains, it would appear to be without his brother and staunchest ally.
According to Hamrick, the official announcement is forthcoming.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakersnow ... z2zqJmJ1Y0

[smackaholic]

NBA forum is across the hall. It is the door with the cob webs on it.

[BSmack]

The Lakers fucked themselves when they gave Kobe that ridiculous contract. He's a cripple. But they have to keep him. Which means they won't be able to build a team. Which means they will suck for three or four more years.

[Dinsdale]

The Lakers fucked themselves when they gave Kobe that ridiculous contract. He's a cripple. But they have to keep him. Which means they won't be able to build a team. Which means they will suck for three or four more years.

Maybe, maybe not.

It's the Lakers -- salary cap be damned. They can afford to pay as much luxury tax as they want, and have always been the top free agent destination. Now they have a lottery pick in a deep draft, and may or may not be keeping Pau Gasol.

Hello, Kevin Love.

But the Kobe deal is a joke.

[Moving Sale]

But the Kobe deal is a joke.

It's a great recruiting tool and keeping Kobe happy is good for the bottom line no matter his failings.

[Mikey]

They basically were fucked by Donald Stern when the Chris Paul trade was disallowed.

[The Seer]

The Kobe money was a nod to his past contributions and to make sure he retires with the organization. He'd be damn lucky to get 1 decent year with those legs. The Chris Paul deal was a complete fix.

Hard to envision how even the Lakers can build a contender in the near future without ANY talent on the roster. No one on the current team (except Gasoft), could be sure to even earn a bench spot on other rosters.

Unless KLove, Westbrook, Melo, and Lebron suddenly get the urge to move to LA for less money, the future is bleak.

[Dinsdale]

They basically were fucked by Donald Stern when the Chris Paul trade was disallowed.

Did David Stern have a brother pulling strings behind the scenes?

The league owned the Hornets at the time, and the trade to the Lakers would have increased their salary burden, which is the opposite of what a team that's being sold wants to do.