I think we all knew that Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t be the Coach of the Lakers next season. Although the assumption of most would be that D’Antoni gets fired and the Lakers hire another big name leader to replace him. The complete story is likely yet to come, but news is breaking tonight that Mike D’Antoni has decided to resign from his position as Coach, even though he had another year left on his contract.
D’Antoni won 67 of 154 games after taking over the Lakers early in the 2012-13 season, replacing the fired Mike Brown.
The injury-plagued Lakers were 27-55 this season, their worst campaign in more than 50 years. Los Angeles missed the playoffs for only the third time in 38 years. (via)
Although D’Antoni only had one guaranteed year left on his contract, he was in negotiations with the Lakers brass seeking their commitment to pick up the following option year on his contract for 2015-16. The logic from D’Antoni being that the Lakers can’t turn this mess around in one season, that he needed two seasons to really show they could rebuild a contender. Lakers wouldn’t budge, so D’Antoni decided to move on.
At least Kobe will be happy, as he made waves at the end of the season saying he would no longer play for D’Antoni when he returns from injury.
Who’s got next for the Lakers?
