Fired 6 head coaches in 13 years! Reveal the real reason for the Lakers' frequent coach changes James is another dissatisfaction exposed

Rowe said the NBA

2024-05-05 05:12Posted in Fujian Sports Creators

This article was compiled from: ESPN

作者：Ramona Shelburne

原标题：Six coaches in 13 years: What's behind this constant churn for the Los Angeles Lakers

In the past 13 years, the Lakers have fired six head coaches, what is the reason for such frequent coach changes?

Current Kings coach Mike Brown admitted on a podcast that he might not be willing to take over as Lakers head coach if he were to go back in time. Brown played just five games in his second season with the Lakers before he was fired. Brown said that the standards set by NBA Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson (5 championships in his Lakers career and 6 championships in his Bulls career) have left future generations in the dust.

Brown knew this when he took over the job in 2011. He said something similar at the press conference.

"I have a lot of respect for Phil Jackson and all of his accomplishments," Brown said at the time, "I'm not sure what size shoes he wears, but I'm not here to replace him." I'm here to help this team carve out our own path to success. "Acknowledging how much pressure the Lakers head coach is under and actually taking that pressure are two completely different things, though.

Over the past 13 years, six coaches have tried to fill Jackson's void, and none of them have survived three seasons. Ham became the most recent man to fall, and although he led the team to a 90-74 record and reached the Western Conference Finals, he was fired after just two seasons.

Of those six coaches, two were subsequently voted NBA Coach of the Year, Brown at the Kings and D'Antoni at the Rockets, which seems to indicate that it's not the coach's ability that determines the Lakers' success. On the star-studded stage of Los Angeles, everything is magnified.

Ham excelled in that during his first season with the Lakers, skillfully leading the team through the awkwardness of the Westbrook era while forging strong bonds with the team's superstars James and Davis and leading the team to the Western Conference Finals unexpectedly.

But Hamm's tenure quickly collapsed in the second season. Sources say James was unhappy with the idea of limiting his playing time at the start of the season, a practice that was apparently abandoned after just a few games. Throughout the season, James, Davis and other key rotation players have barely hidden criticism of Ham's plans, rotations and in-game tweaks.

After the Lakers' first-round series loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2, Davis bluntly stated, "There were times when we didn't know what we were doing on both ends of the court. ”

Ham told ESPN that he spoke privately with Davis before publicly defending himself and his coaching staff. But the damage has already been done. Next, when James' insistent coaching challenge was rejected by Hamm, James stamped his foot in frustration, highlighting his lack of confidence in Ham.

And so, another turbulent summer began. The question the Lakers must ask themselves now is why, and how to recover from another short, failed coaching career.

A few years ago, Lakers general manager Jeanie Buss told ESPN that it's important to find a coach and use him for the long haul, nurturing and developing his style. But after all, the coach hired by the Lakers will still be fired in a short time.

This season, Ham has made changes to his roster in an attempt to regain the defensive intensity that he was successful last year. But his actions instead sparked resentment. The players began to vent their frustrations, both publicly and privately. There's no doubt that with the Lakers out early, Ham is bound to be the one to pay the price.

"I think Ham is a great coach," Nuggets coach Malone said after the G5 game. "It's not an easy task. I think Hamm did a great job. He's a good guy, a good coach and I wish him all the best. Hopefully he can coach with the Lakers for a long time because he deserves it. Four days later, Ham was fired by the Lakers.

Malone faced a similar crossroads in 2018, when the Nuggets lost to the Timberwolves in the regular season finale and missed out on the playoffs. According to sources, the Nuggets nearly fired him at the end of the season. But in the end, the team decided to give him another chance. However, it took Malone two more seasons to reach the division finals and five more seasons to win the championship.

The Nuggets are now among the NBA's elite teams, with Jokic on the verge of a three-time MVP and Malone the fourth-longest tenured coach in the NBA, with two seasons left on his contract.

Continuity is important, and 14 of the Lakers' 17 championships have been won by three coaches. This kind of patience and stability is a luxury in the NBA. Everyone fights for it, but very few teams can achieve it. Since Zen master Jackson retired in 2011, the Lakers have tried to find this opportunity six times, but all of them have failed.

Everyone who takes the job says they know what they're up against. Before the Lakers hire their next coach, they need to think again.

View original image 112K

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•