Given the names on the Lakers roster, their 7th seed in the playoffs and first round sweep ensure that this season can be deemed a failure. The club had high hopes but fell flat on their faces. I get it: injures didn’t help, but no team has been completely healthy all year.
Mike D’Antoni definitely deserves some blame for this disappointing season and there was speculation as to whether or not he’d be back next year, because you could make the argument that he should be let go to. But that isn’t the case. In fact, he had the audacity to fire the Lakers’ assistant coaches. You know what they say, s#$t often rolls downhill.
However, it’s not a complete surprise since Bernie Bickerstaff and Chuck Person weren’t D’Antoni hires.
Coach Mike D’Antoni told assistant coaches Bernie Bickerstaff and Chuck Person Monday they would not return to the Lakers’ coaching staff next season. Meanwhile, Lakers assistant coach Steve Clifford plans to interview with the Charlotte Bobcats’ vacant head-coaching position, according to sources familiar with the situation. D’Antoni kept all of Mike Brown’s assistants after he was fired following a 1-4 start while hiring his brother, Dan, to help oversee his offense after spending time on his staff in Phoenix and New York. But it was expected D’Antoni would alter his staff after the season ended.
H/T: ketv.com