Prior to the start of the 2012-2013 season, after the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, many have anointed the Purple and Gold as the obvious choice to win the NBA championship for that year and for many years to come. That’s hard to refute considering two top superstars joined the superstar duo of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to form a Fearsome Foursome. But we all know how that turned out.
The Tragedy
Nash got injured in his second game as a Laker. Howard, though he showed flashes of dominances, was generally a wuss. Coach Mike Brown was fired 5 games into the season. Gasol didn’t put on his pantalones de macho (big boy pants) for most of the year. Kobe had to carry most of the load (as usual) until he succumed to that achilles injury..
After Coach Brown’s dismissal, rumors have surfaced that the Lakers front office were engaging in talks with former coach, Phil Jackson to return to the sidelines and steer this much vaunted LA squad. The excitement brought about by these rumors were outrightly crushed the next day as Lakers hired former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni to lead the team. Many were disappointed by this decision. But some, including yours truly, were fine with the signing. D’Antoni did lead the Suns to its most successful stretch in recent memory. Fast forward to today. The Lakers are miserably sitting at the bottom of the western conference. Many fans want the Lakers to axe D’Antoni and I, after defending him for so long, finally concede that this is the right thing to do.
Amidst all the turmoil, Jackson has expressed his desire for a front office role with the Lakers. Despite this (and the fact that Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss is his fiancee), he was not hired, or to the very least offered a job by the lakers. It is a known fact that he and Jeanie’s brother, Jim are not buddies.
A couple of weeks ago, talks have surfaced that the Knicks want to make Jackson their President of Basketball Operations and that he was leaning towards accepting the offer. The Knicks made the deal official on Friday, March 14th and was introduced to the media in a press conference the following week.
The Million Dollar Question
What does this mean for the Lakers at this point? Nothing. Nothing, besides the fact that Jackson will never be a part of the Lakers organization anymore. But that’s not exactly a worst-case scenario. Yes, the idea of playing for a team that has Phil “The Greatest Basketball Coach To Have Ever Existed” Jackson working for it is enticing for NBA players. But he’s not the only solution to the Lakers’ problems. It’s a given fact that nobody could top Jackson when it comes to connecting with a player (especially superstars), but there are also others can do a stellar job as well.
The San Antonio Spurs didn’t have Phil at any point during the past decade but they’ve been ultra successful, winning at least 50 games for 15 straight seasons. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat,though not exactly as successful as the Spurs, have revamped their franchises into championship-caliber squads after wallowing at the bottom for the some parts of the 2000’s.
Spoiled Brats
The problem with us Lakers fans is that we think we always get what we want. When we’ve set our eyes on a particular person — coach, player, front office guy — we tend to lose sight of everything else around. After news broke out that Carmelo Anthony allegedly wants to play in LA next year, people started shouting Melo’s name without considering if he really is who the Lakers need, or if whether there are other guys who fit that description. Same thing happened with Kevin Love. And Phil. We’re fixated on PJax and we’ve failed to stop and think that maybe, just maybe, there are others who are more than able to resurrect the Lakers from a front-office standpoint.
What Now?
We should stop putting all our hopes on Phil. Remember, the guy is almost 70 years old. He’ll most likely stick with the Knicks for a couple of years and then retire to his farm in Montana and never speak about basketball ever again. It’s a safe bet that he would do the same had he signed with Los Angeles instead of New York. The point is, we have to move on with life without Phil. The Lakers have a good General Manager in Mitch Kupchak. He has delivered five championships since succeeding Jerry West as the Lakers GM in 2000 and deserves the same credit Kobe, Pau and Dr. Jerry Buss received for those rings. Kupchak showed he’s capable of building a championship team and I’m sure he’ll show us again.
Jackson would’ve been a nice asset, but frankly the Lakers don’t need much “bait” to lure in star players. The NBA is filled with ginormous egos and there’s no better place to satisfy those egos than the City of Angels. Lots of TV exposure, rubbing elbows with celebrities on a daily basis, playing for one of the two most celebrated teams in NBA history? If you’re a big-time player, it’s hard to say no to that once it comes calling you. Sure, some say they’re content with playing for their small-market teams, but remember: money talks. Money does crazy things to people.
Let’s just be happy for Phil that he has a new gig, though it’s for a rival. But again, let’s all move on. We will, anyway, at some point in the near future when Phil decides he’s too old for basketball. Let’s just do so while we’re ahead.
patrickkennan.com 