2014-15 Official Lakers Season Thread, Vol: We Love Each Other

[CP1708]

I'll be here everyday, when it's broke, and when it's fixed.

*See Cubs in my sig*

 

[licensed to ball]

Cubs fan, living in Oregon? Damn that must be painful.

 

[CP1708]

Doesn't matter who I'm a fan of, living in Oregon is painful regardless. It's a lot like hell, but with more rain.

 

[licensed to ball]

My housemate is from Bend, Oregon (wherever that is).

He said the same thing. Nonstop rain. He couldn't take it anymore got a job and moved out here to cali

 

[CP1708]

Bend is almost dead center of the state. A smidge West of dead center.

 

[kingjaffejo]

I'll be here everyday, when it's broke, and when it's fixed.

*See Cubs in my sig*

That's why regardless you have my respect

 

[kingjaffejo]

Damn imagine being a dentist in Oregon ...omg deaths left n right

 

[phillie5o3]

@ making fun of oregon on a forum named NikeTalk

 

[grandtheftbike]

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Nike Inc.

 

[kal-el-8]

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Nike Inc.

I love you gtb

 

[phillie5o3]

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Nike Inc.

lol touche

 

[had pants]

Some fans make very random appearances in our threads

 

[bravelude]

Yahoo's lame article about Shaw a while back and now Fisher is just absurd!  They seem to love this ex-player turn into coach type of thing.  When you're looking for a coach, you're looking for someone with some type of experience.  Ollie would be a good one, but definitely not Fisher.  Just because they got along w/ Mamba, they feel they have to bring in someone to appease him. Let's not kid ourselves.  Kobe is on his last 1/4 tank and the roster just ain't no secret.

The basic pre-req for any coaching job, is to find a coach w/ a voice that guides and commands attention.

SMH at Magic's comment though.  He's pressing too hard these days.

 

[MVP]

This is my last post on this coaching issue.

Coach A:
-.668 winning percentage during a 5 year span
-2 time MVP on the team in that span
-.588 winning percentage in the playoffs (2 conference finals appearances)

Coach B:
-.708 regular season win percentage
- 2 time MVP on the team during that span
-.462 winning percentage during the playoffs (2 conference finals appearances)

For the sake of this argument, both coaches didn't have enough roster wise due to lack of leadership and backing by ownership.

Both were regarded as one dimensional coaches for the most part and each of their teams were in the top 10 in offensive or defensive efficiency during those years for the majority.

Who would you guys say is the better coach? A or B? Or about the same?

 

[bravelude]

This is my last post on this coaching issue.

Coach A:
-.668 winning percentage during a 5 year span
-2 time MVP on the team in that span
-.588 winning percentage in the playoffs (2 conference finals appearances)

Coach B:
-.708 regular season win percentage
- 2 time MVP on the team during that span
-.462 winning percentage during the playoffs (2 conference finals appearances)

For the sake of this argument, both coaches didn't have enough roster wise due to lack of leadership and backing by ownership. Who would you guys say is the better coach? A or B?

It's hard to compare apples to apples, or oranges to apples.  It's always gonna be a debate.  But w/ Mike D, it was very obvious that his coaching style and the roster wasn't going to work out well.  Again, the issue seems to be the fact that Mike D realized the CIRCLE, but still attempts to force the SQUARE PEG into it.  He made no efforts to change, and was extremely stubborn and unsure.  You can't keep using the INJURY card.  The players are probably injured due to the nature of the offense, and due to a terrible training staff.  But glad he resigned, since his brother found a job to 'financially' support themselves.  

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

I mean the fact that last year's team didn't start winning until they blatantly disregarded everything he had to say about how to play basketball was really all I needed to know about the guy

As a coach If you are constantly butting heads with a guy like Pau gasol it doesn't matter who you have on your roster, you're not gonna win because you have no clue how to manage egos, your own or your players'.

Never wanted him in the first place, thought the Lakers were trolling ("we're deciding between mda and phil" seriously? ). I kept an open mind and gave him a chance. He impressed me with his plays out of timeouts and not much else.

Like others have said he's not a leader of men and would be best suited having input but not final say

 

[essential1]

I mean the fact that last year's team didn't start winning until they blatantly disregarded everything he had to say about how to play basketball was really all I needed to know about the guy

No they didn't. Just stop it.

 

[menacin methods]

Cubs fan, living in Oregon? Damn that must be painful.

Doesn't matter who I'm a fan of, living in Oregon is painful regardless. It's a lot like hell, but with more rain.

Yeah living in Dayton must really suck, at least your an hour away from Portland. Only reason why I don't mind CP's rants are because he's a Cubs fan just like myself.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

No they didn't. Just stop it.

"We're not running D'antoni's system".

 

[essential1]

No they didn't. Just stop it.

"We're not running D'antoni's system".

You do know players do what the coaches ask.

If the coach wants to run his system and his system only, then they do that. If they go away from it, it is because the coach did that.

Players don't just go out and play, and completely disregard what a coach wants.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

^you gotta be joking E . players do what they want to, coaches do what they can. Kobe didn't even obey phil half the time, why would anybody listen to mda?

‘I do not know if we are playing D’Antoni system much right now, we are playing our own system a bit, with a slow passing game, putting the ball a lot in Kobe Bryant’s hands, playing the blocks … and distributing the ball very well. We’ll see if we can continue playing like this,’

 

[laker4lifeman]

What's the Pacers record since they got Bynum?

 

[essential1]

^you gotta be joking E . players do what they want to, coaches do what they can. Kobe didn't even obey phil half the time, why would anybody listen to mda?

‘I do not know if we are playing D’Antoni system much right now, we are playing our own system a bit, with a slow passing game, putting the ball a lot in Kobe Bryant’s hands, playing the blocks … and distributing the ball very well. We’ll see if we can continue playing like this,’

^you gotta be joking E . players do what they want to, coaches do what they can. Kobe didn't even obey phil half the time, why would anybody listen to mda?

‘I do not know if we are playing D’Antoni system much right now, we are playing our own system a bit, with a slow passing game, putting the ball a lot in Kobe Bryant’s hands, playing the blocks … and distributing the ball very well. We’ll see if we can continue playing like this,’

Noooooooooo players do what the coach tells them to do. Some coaches give more latitude than others. And Mike D'Antoni let's players play through mistake more than anyone. It's why role players, and young players like him because he won't yank you for making a mistake.

"I've accepted it because nothing is really ideal right now, nothing is perfect or great," Gasol said. "We're going to put team functioning and team success first and that's what I'm doing. I'm accepting that and whatever the coach decides, whether I like it or not or whether I agree with it or not, I'm still going to go out there and do my job and do the things that I can do."

That quote is from the same day as your quote.

If they deviate, it's because the coach allows them. If they are not playing offense in a way that THE HEAD COACH WANTS, he will stop the game, and he will adjust it.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Ok....I really don't wanna get into it but what you're saying is almost on par with saying kids do everything their parents tell them to. Players tune out coaches all the time, dantoni absolutely lost that team. If all your best players Don't agree with your style, there is no adjustment you can make. Players are fully aware that they're more valuable than a coach like mda. If kobe doesn't wanna come out the game, he ain't coming out the game. Doesn't matter who's on the sidelines. It's what makes coaching a difficult job, getting players to buy in to what you're selling

Anyway I'm always complaining about how much mda is discussed here so I won't contribute any more to that nuisance. I'll read your response but keep my comments to myself. Or you can check back 5000 pages for my thoughts on mda losing the team.

 

[essential1]

Why we should place all blame on Jeanie Buss, and not Jim:


Mike D'Antoni:

In her memoir, Jeanie Buss writes that her brother — who runs the basketball operations — approached her and asked if she thought he and Jackson could work together again. Jeanie Buss told Jim that she didn’t want to be in-between the two of them, and put her brother in contact with Jackson.
Source: NY Daily News / Jeanie Buss' memoir

Jim came to Jeanie about Phil coming back.

"When I left [the interview], [Lakers owner/executive] Jimmy [Buss] was pretty happy about it and [General Manager] Mitch [Kupchak] was still saying, 'We're going to keep interviewing people,' and I think the ultimate [decision] kind of rested with Dr. Buss and he made the decision in the hospital the day after," said Jackson.
Source: LA Times

Jerry makes the decision.

Later on, the elder Buss explained to his daughter that the final decision on the hire had been his, and it was not personal towards Jackson. He simply saw the NBA heading in a direction that seemed to fit D’Antoni’s uptempo style.
Source: Ramona Shelburne

Tell his daughter, it was his decision

“How do you do that to your sister? How do you do that to Phil Jackson?

“I hope the flirtation with Phil wasn't just a PR stunt. I still can't get my head around the whole story.”

The excerpt ends with one final jab.

“I want my bother to realize that I’m not the enemy,” Jeanie Buss wrote.
Source: NY Daily News / Jeanie Buss' memoir

Jeanie writes in her memoir that she felt betrayed. Saying it was stabbing her in the back. Then publicly pits herself against her brother making it seem like there was instability in the Front Office.



Dwight Howard:

“I still don’t understand why he left,” Buss said. “He had his own reasons. People I guess maybe would be talking [angrily] about the billboard. That really seemed to rub people the wrong way. I thought it was a good idea. It obviously didn’t mean anything to him.”

Buss was referring to the “STAY” campaign unveiled by the Lakers last summer around Los Angeles.

Stay Dwight was HER IDEA.

They would've probably had a better relationship if my dad hadn't been sick. When it came time to try to convince Dwight to stay, we lost the best closer in the business in Dr. Buss. Putting up the billboard maybe wasn't the right thing. But we maybe have to learn to do things differently because Dr. Buss isn't here anymore. People said [of the billboards], 'Oh, that's not the Laker way.' Well, the Laker way isn't the same, because Dr. Buss isn't here.

Then takes a shot at Jim by saying they can't be as stable without Dr. Buss.


Kobe contract:

"Jim has assured me that they have a plan in place, that the team will be better next year and we will be back in contention shortly," Jeanie said. "He's very confident in that plan and so I have to believe he knows what he's doing and what he's trying to accomplish. We have to be patient and give him that opportunity."

There's no doubt, though, who has the final say in the team's day-to-day operations, according to the family trust set up by their father.

"If Jeanie and I got into a disagreement, Jeanie can overrule my argument," Jim said. "If she is adamant about the way she wants to do things, all she has to do is say, 'That's the way it's going to be.' But I don't anticipate those kind of arguments. We're two smart people and we respect each other. We're grown up enough to where we can talk things out."

One choice Jeanie shaped last November was to sign the team's aging superstar, Bryant, 35, to a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension.

Jeanie was enamored by the idea of Bryant spending his entire career with the Lakers and pushed for an extension to get him to 20 years with the team. The deal honored Bryant's long career but also limited the Lakers' rebuilding possibilities while anchoring them to a suddenly injury-prone player.

Bryant signed his contract while getting ready to return from surgery on his Achilles' tendon. He played six games in December, then fractured his knee and missed the rest of the season.

Source: Mike Bresnahan

Jeanie Buss is determined that Kobe Bryant get that deserved treatment, in what could be his final year in 2015-16. From Eric Pincus at the Los Angeles Times:

"We never got an opportunity to do the farewell tour for Magic Johnson," Buss said on "Access SportsNet" via Time Warner Cable SportsNet.

Early in the season, Bryant agreed to a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension.

"Kobe, by signing that deal, will have played 20 years for one organization," said Buss. "I guarantee that won't happen again. ... We don't draft players at 17 anymore. To have the kind of longevity that he's had, makes it extremely special, and I think that Lakers fans understand that."

Source: Eric Pincus

She wanted to give Kobe a farewell tour, so she gave him $48.5mil

"Too much attention is being paid to salary cap and all that kind of stuff, which is important," said Buss. "Why can't we just talk about the players ... and how a basketball team comes together and not focus on slotting and cap space? "That stuff, to me – I don’t wear a hat and a t-shirt with ‘Cap Space’ on it. It doesn’t seem like a warm, cuddly thing. I’m more interested in the players and how the players fit together and the players coming together and creating something bigger than just the sum of their parts.”

Source: Eric Pincus

This quote is the nail in the coffin, it's Jeanie. It isn't Jim. And this quote will definitely swing C CP1708 to it's all Jeanie.