It’s doubtless no coincidence that James declined to talk with reporters after the staff misplaced to the Miami Warmth. This morning, the web was awash with tales about how Ham was dropping the staff.
Rivers gained a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and took the staff to an in depth seven-game NBA Finals in 2010. He hasn’t had the identical postseason success with the Clippers or 76ers, however he’s additionally constantly taken his groups to the playoffs.
Positive, Rivers hasn’t gotten out of the second spherical since 2012, however making the second spherical could be a wild success for the 17-18 Lakers.
Mike Budenholzer
If the Lakers actually have championship aspirations, there’s one coach accessible who has gained a championship within the final decade. That’s Mike Budenholzer, who was fired by the Milwaukee Bucks two years after main them to a title in 2021.
Coach Bud has a historical past of success with two totally different groups, taking the Atlanta Hawks to the Japanese Convention Finals and making a collection of deep playoff runs with the Bucks. He’s additionally had his share of playoff failures, struggling upsets to the Miami Warmth in two of the final 4 seasons.
After all, the Warmth went to the NBA Finals every of these playoffs, which ought to make the sting of Milwaukee dropping to a No. 8 seed final Might much less brutal.
With out Budenholzer, the Bucks protection has gotten considerably worse, dropping from the NBA’s fourth-best defensive ranking to its Twenty second-best. A few of that is because of swapping Jrue Vacation for Damian Lillard, however a lot of the distinction is dropping Coach Bud’s efficient scheme.
If the Lakers wish to enhance schematically and of their rotations, Budenholzer could also be the perfect candidate.
Phil Jackson
The one different title-winning coach of the final 15 years with out a present job? It’s Phil Jackson, who gained 5 titles with the Lakers after profitable six with the Chicago Bulls.
Positive, Jackson hasn’t coached since 2011 and hasn’t labored within the NBA since he was dismissed as New York Knicks staff president in 2017. However there’s no dwelling coach with a greater resume than Jackson, even when his triangle offense and Zen philosophy have fallen out of style.
However two factors are working in his favor. First, he loves assigning books to his gamers to learn. James all the time picks a guide to learn in the course of the playoffs — even when it looks like he’s all the time on the primary few pages.
