Jeff Van Gundy rips the Lakers management

[The Laker Kid]

The media loves this show. If the Bobcats fires a coach 5 games into the season, how long do you think the talk would last? Everything the Lakers do goes through a microscope and people like JVG and Barkley blow it up.

[miggs]

From @SportsCenter

D'Antoni reaches out to Magic Johnson. They'll be having dinner.

*This was after Magic basically trashed D'Antoni on ESPN by saying, like Mike Brown, he too wasn't the right coach for this Lakers team.

Pretty classy by Mike. I must say he is a bigger man than me. He really took a verbal beatdown by Magic.

You come through quite often on these updates, good stuff.


Very classy or very clever move by mike. If only Stern was crazy enough to mic coaches all the time

[LaLa]

The media loves this show. If the Bobcats fires a coach 5 games into the season, how long do you think the talk would last? Everything the Lakers do goes through a microscope and people like JVG and Barkley blow it up.

are you really comparing the Bobcats job to the Lakers job? LOL, cmon its the LA Lakers, Hollywood, Phil was passed over for Mike D, of course they're gonna put the spotlight on this entire process.

[CALI-LOVE]

who cares what jeff has to say

[Gek]

If Spo was fired and then some how in a crazy twist ownership selected Mike D'Antoni instead of Pat Riley to be head coach after everyone thought Riley would become the head coach including Riley himself because he met with team management and it seemed to go well.... Most of these guys in the media would have reacted the same way and so would most of us rational NBA fans.

[dockingsched]

reading the full comments, its pretty classless to come out and just completely question d'antoni for absolutely no reason.

[semi-sentient]

It was cringeworthy listening to him, knowing he had absolutely no clue what the hell he was talking about.

Agreed. It was hard watching that game while being distracted with his nonsense. He was just completely off base.

... and Magic needs to zip it. If Jim, Jerry, and Mitch were unanimous in choosing D'Antoni, not to mention the players being for it, then he needs to get behind it as well. There was no point in voicing his frustrations since it wouldn't bring about any sort of positive change. All it does is cast doubt on the Lakers organization and right now that's the last thing we need. We should view this as a positive change and just move on from the past.

Hell I wanted Phil as well, but what's done is done and it's time to look toward the future.

[JustAwesome]

You know what scares me about what Magic said? He used to be part of the Lakers front office. He knows the culture and what goes on behind closed doors. And he's pointing his finger at Jim Buss.

The fact that he used to be a part of the front office means that his opinion could also be tainted as well. He might have had a bad relationship with Buss and/or Kupchak. Since he's no longer there, he's using his powers as a public figure to voice his complaints about them. I'm a huge fan of Magic, but he's also human. Emotions could very well be playing a part here.

[Imadogg]

No way to defend how Jim Buss/Lakers have operated recently... and also no reason at all to blame or say anything bad about D'Antoni right now.

[LateRoundFlyer]

I think this works as a visual representation of what everyone -- Magic, the fans, the media -- is doing right now:



H/t NotBenRosales, LG

[JellosJigglin]

I don't see anything wrong with what Magic said. We heard a lot worse on these boards after the hiring. Why the double standard for Magic? He's a fan just like all of us. The vast majority of Lakers fans preferred Phil Jackson and thought he was a lock for the job. I think we were all initially disappointed. Magic is just saying what most of us were thinking.

Now SVG and Lebron and all them who have nothing to do with the Lakers can stfu.

[Kilroy]

See that's the thing though, Magic ISN'T a fan like us... His words carry much more weight than any of ours. He's earned that respect...
He will forever be perceived as a member of the organization. A perception he uses from time to time for his own benefit.
I endorse that... I would love to see Magic as a lifetime, active member of the Lakers...

But with that comes a certain level of responsibility, professionalism and trust...

If you want to be a part of the org, don't go airing dirty laundry.

[Michael Lucky]

Magic has a tendency to overreact to everything. Last year he kept switching from the Lakers are a 1st round exit team to a championship contender depending on wins and losses. If D'Antoni starts winning big, i fully expect him to be back on the bandwagon. He's very reactionary.

[PurpleGold]

I take everything studio Magic says with a grain of salt. The dude is king of flip flopping too.

Simmons is such a troll on that show though
anyone know where I can watch the archives of NBA Countdown? I don't really have time to catch the nationally televised games so I usually just DL them later but the uploaders always cut the halftime sh11t out.

[aggo]

first off,

JVG is like the #1 mofo when it comes to defending coaches.

He always defends coaches pretty much no matter what situation. For him, the sanctity of coaching is paramount, and he took this opportunity to defend a coach (mike brown), praise a legend that transcends the sport (PJ), and take a dump on a front office that he feels wronged not 1 but 2 coaches.

win win for JVG.

[Mamba Venom]

J Van Gundy would have taken the job if it were offered


/story