Topic: With head coach Mike D’Antoni resigning this week, we wonder if the Lakers would be better served going after a younger coach with potential, or an established veteran coach who has a lot of NBA experience.
Context: Earlier this week Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Lakers being one of the premiere jobs in the NBA, it makes sense that there have already been a number of names linked to the position.
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These names have a wide range of NBA and coaching experience. George Karl has the sixth most wins in NBA history and both Stan and Jeff Van Gundy have years of experience and success at the NBA level. With these guys, you know what you’re getting.
But then there are guys like Kevin Ollie who led the UConn Huskies to a national championship in only his second season. Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher both have no coaching experience, but present intriguing options as both are natural leaders and bright basketball minds.
The Lakers are in a very precarious situation right now. The team has missed the mark on their last two coaching hires and can’t afford to make a third mistake. To make things tougher, Kobe Bryant is expecting to win immediately in his final two seasons, and the roster is almost a blank slate, with only three players under contract.
With the franchise in transition, what type of coach do the Lakers need to target?
Verdict: We went to Twitter and asked the Lakers Nation faithful if the team should target a young coach with potential or an established veteran presence. These are some of the responses:
@TheeCoreyH @LakersNation Lakers won 5 championships with the latter. So I think the team should continue that path.
— I'm Clay Merritt (@NotClayMerritt) May 4, 2014
@TheeCoreyH @LakersNation I think Thibideaux, Byron Scott, George Carl would be great. If we want to win now you have to get a veteran
— Drizzy Dre (@ThaBrightMamba) May 4, 2014
@TheeCoreyH @LakersNation young or old, they need to be able to handle LA, our expectations, and Kobe.. Methinks it'd take young energy
— Sten (@StenBender) May 4, 2014
@TheeCoreyH An established coach that can develop young guys would be ideal (ala Thibs), but short of that, Ollie would grow into job well.
— Tomás Chavez (@trchavez41684) May 4, 2014
The example from another historic franchise: things appear to go smoothly with Stevens for the Celtics. RT @TheeCoreyH: LA Coach #Debate
— Rui Duarte (@ruiduarte16) May 4, 2014
The Lakers Nation faithful was relatively split on this subject. Admittedly it is a difficult decision to make, and one that will shape the future of this franchise.
Kobe Bryant wants to win now, which would seem to lead to an established veteran coach taking the reins. But in this year alone, first-time coaches Dave Joerger, Jason Kidd, Steve Clifford, and Mike Budenholzer all made the playoffs.
When you add that to legendary franchises like the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics trying their luck with young coaches in Brett Brown and Brad Stevens and it seems like young could be the way to go.
Maybe the Lakers split the difference and are able to get someone like Tom Thibodeau or Byron Scott who have both had success and are still relatively young. However, in my personal opinion, the Lakers need to try and go young.
If Kevin Ollie can be had, he would be the best choice to me, but Derek Fisher could be a dark horse and would fit what the Lakers need.
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Mike D’Antoni OUT, Magic Johnson Says He Couldn’t Be Happier
