Mitch: Problem is the players' effort, not coach

[TruSkool]

this team is FULL of talent and solid role players. so frustrating.

[Cashin out]

We should fire Mitch if he doesn't make a move by the deadline. This team clearly doesn't fit, trade Pau to Charlotte and get some bench depth and a draft pick.

[egelband]

kobe bryant is the real coach.

[kobe808lak]

MDA is a cancer that is dividing the team rather than bringing them together.

really? thats what everyone said about Brown, coaching is not the problem, the problem is players cant and wont adjust and sacrafice for the benefit of the team.

Really? You think that Pau shooting 3s will benefit the team? GTFO. His system is garbage, why do the players need to adjust to a system that has never won jack?

This same thing happened in NY, he tried making Carmelo a role player to Jeremy Lin for God's sake.

Who here doesn't believe that this team would have a better record with Phil Jackson right now? Coaching matters.

[Free Rider]

I don't pretend that coaching is the only problem this team has right now. They're are a whole myriad of reasons why we're playing as poorly as we are right now, many which have nothing to do with coaching. But I also honestly believe that Mike D'Antoni is just a poor coach. I said this before he was hired and I continue to believe it right now. A Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Rick Adelman, etc., would have been able to make some adjustments that would benefit this team. Mike D'Antoni just can't do it, he really can't. I don't think he knows how to coach a different kind of system. Even if he wanted to, I don't think he'd know how to and I think even he realizes that. The only reason why he is and he'll continue to be our head coach is that Buss doesn't want to pay for three head coaches.

[TheFix]

Kupchak must be fired for failing to understand that the four main pieces would not fit.

I don't care if most people didn't foresee this. He's the only one whose job is to foresee these things.

[The Skyhook]

Kupchak must be fired for failing to understand that the four main pieces would not fit.

I don't care if most people didn't foresee this. He's the only one whose job is to foresee these things.

This is probably coming from someone who was probably praising Mitch for putting this team together. Guess what? It didn't work out. nobody saw it coming. Not Mitch, not the fans, not even the basketball gods themselves.
Its not Mitch's fault it didn't work out. Even if it didn't work out Mitch still deserves a ton of credit for having the summer he had.

[The Boot Room]

Kupchak must be fired for failing to understand that the four main pieces would not fit.

I don't care if most people didn't foresee this. He's the only one whose job is to foresee these things.

he did his fu.cking job perfectly. howard and nash to lakers while bynum out (and the guy still didn't play a game). tons of salary space for the 2014 summer. really difficult to do it better. just a shame that the nba didn't let the paul trade happen.

[AcecardZ]

We should fire Mitch if he doesn't make a move by the deadline. This team clearly doesn't fit, trade Pau to Charlotte and get some bench depth and a draft pick.

This is a bit silly. We all know Mitch is ready and willing to make any move that would likely help our team but that requires another team to cooperate with us. Put yourself in another manager's shoes. Do the Lakers have any assets you'd want? Earl Clark maybe?

[contract]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The problem is that D'Antoni is obsessed with "small ball". The Lakers may as well have hired Don Nelson. If the Lakers had Tim Duncan and David Robinson, D'Antoni would find a reason to bench or trade one of them ... and he'd secretly wish to rid himself of the other one too.

This is just a load of crap. No coach is going to turn Pau Gasol into a functional NBA PF at this stage in his career.

Tired of all this blame on the coach, it wasn't apt when Brown was the coach and it isn't now either. At some point in time you have to realize the players just don't fit regardless of the system.

We make a trade for Pau or we hit the lotto and give the Suns a great player to start their rebuilding. Those are the options and Mitch knows it, he just can't say it or he loses what little leverage he currently holds in discussions.

Yeah, that Gasol guy is a bum. You should ship him off to Miami to rot.

[Father Time]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The problem is that D'Antoni is obsessed with "small ball". The Lakers may as well have hired Don Nelson. If the Lakers had Tim Duncan and David Robinson, D'Antoni would find a reason to bench or trade one of them ... and he'd secretly wish to rid himself of the other one too.

This is just a load of crap. No coach is going to turn Pau Gasol into a functional NBA PF at this stage in his career.

Tired of all this blame on the coach, it wasn't apt when Brown was the coach and it isn't now either. At some point in time you have to realize the players just don't fit regardless of the system.

We make a trade for Pau or we hit the lotto and give the Suns a great player to start their rebuilding. Those are the options and Mitch knows it, he just can't say it or he loses what little leverage he currently holds in discussions.

Yeah, that Gasol guy is a bum. You should ship him off to Miami to rot.

We'll take battier plus allen plus chalmers.

[Dr Aki]

Yeah, that Gasol guy is a bum. You should ship him off to Miami to rot.

We'll take battier plus allen plus chalmers.

salaries dont quite match, gotta include haslem

[So Gutta]

The Lakers don't have a clue what they're doing on offense. So many plays go like this:

--Nash brings the ball up, gives to (Kobe, Jamison, Meeks, Metta) and they shoot a 3. Not 2 passes in the entire possession. Other team gets the ball for an easy layup or dunk. Repeat.

But where Phil would be irate with it, D'Antoni is apparently fine with it. Does he still want to run?

What is he doing? He is coaching like a fool. NO ONE IS HAPPY! Not Pau, not Dwight, not even Nash or Kobe. What's the point again?

[JustAwesome]

--Nash brings the ball up, gives to (Kobe, Jamison, Meeks, Metta) and they shoot a 3. Not 2 passes in the entire possession. Other team gets the ball for an easy layup or dunk. Repeat. But where Phil would be irate with it, D'Antoni is apparently fine with it. Does he still want to run?

Jackson allowed/accepted shorter possessions once the team started fading from the triangle offense (after Winters the bench).

[Edrees]

Early in the season i posted that the lakers would miss the playoffs after we lost to cleveland, and people were saying "this thread will be funny to bring up later" Told you guys. I'm accepting now that this is just a badly constructed team. Pieces don't fit together. I agree it was tough to see coming though. Mitch did a good job. Dantoni isn't good but its not entirely his fault.

Coaching is probably the biggest reason. Lol at this concept of sacrificing for them team. Do you think the spurs would have the same team culture of sacrificing for the team if D'antoni was their coach? A coach's job is to instill that feeling to players. dwight howard, nash , kobe and gasol have all shown in their careers to have plenty of heart and fire and suddenly they don't care? Don't buy it

[milesfides]

''I do think they play as hard as they can play, and that's what's scary,'' coach Mike D'Antoni said of his Lakers, who are now 2-10 in January. ''I mean I don't know how we can play harder or blame something else. We just didn't play well.''
-yahoo sports

[Draper]

A guy who came in midseason should not be giving the team as many days off as he does. They need to be in the gym working things out. It's as if he think it's magically going to come together one day.

I was disappointed we didn't hire Phil just like everyone else but I actually thought Mike D. would be ok, I figured he'd learned from the New York debacle with 'Melo but clearly he is as dumb as advertised. Here's to hoping he resigns. Someone give him a kick in the knee.

[LaLaKeRs]

The inevitable is coming, Dantoni is quitting because he is clueless and a goddamn idiot!!! AND we should give credit to those who saw that coming, meaning nearly everybody on this planet besides the Lakers FO!!!!

[contract]

Yeah, that Gasol guy is a bum. You should ship him off to Miami to rot.

We'll take battier plus allen plus chalmers.

salaries dont quite match, gotta include haslem

SOLD!

Jesus H, it's unreal how much damage a moron like D'Antoni can do to a franchise (and apparently a fan base) in a matter of weeks. There is nothing wrong with the Lakers that a competent coach who isn't married to a stupid small ball system couldn't fix. Any number of head coaches could turn this Lakers team around THIS SEASON and make the playoffs and be a threat. For some reason your owner hitched his wagon to this nag and refuses to admit that it was a horrible mistake and move on. Gasol is STILL an all star caliber player, and you guys are ready to trade him away because D'Antoni wants a smaller lineup???

[milesfides]

Or D'Antoni could be become Bernie's assistant.