-D'Antoni has the wrong personnel, needs to go despite $12M in guaranteed money. Give reins to Bickerstaff.-Broussard thinks D'Antoni will eventually be fired so why prolong it? Says Mike Brown firing was rationalized the same way.
-"Sources" say players already tuning out D'Antoni. Kobe is the only one keeping the team from completely shutting him out.
-"Sources" say Dwight has mentioned privately that won't re-sign if D'Antoni is the coach.
-Goes through some high-level trade partners/scenarios for Dwight but concludes that keeping Dwight is the best solution. Even in his current down year, Dwight is still more productive than any active center.
-Says that Bickerstaff, albeit with a small sample size, would be the best option. May not make finals but would help team chemistry tremendously.
-Says realistically that Jimmy won't fire D'Antoni not only because of the money but because of pride. Won't admit to "colossal mistake."
From LG, I don't have a account.
So while it has been only 32 games and the Lakers still owe D'Antoni nearly $12 million in guaranteed money, it is time for a divorce. The Lakers should fire D'Antoni and let assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff coach the rest of the season.
I know it sounds drastic, but it needs to be done. This is simply not working, and you know what? It's not going to work because D'Antoni's perimeter-oriented, point-guard-do-it-all, defense-be-damned system does not fit this team. And there are not enough trades out there to be made to make it fit, especially when it's built around a soon-to-be 39-year-old point guard.
Beyond that, there are strong rumblings that D'Antoni already has lost significant parts of the locker room. Two sources close to the situation have told me that many of the Lakers are fed up with D'Antoni and his system and that Kobe Bryant is the only one keeping many of the players from completely tuning out their coach.
What's worse is that I've heard talk that Howard is hinting he won't re-sign with the Lakers if D'Antoni is the long-term coach. I'm not sure whether that's true because I haven't heard it from Howard or anyone in his camp. But it makes all the sense in the world. Howard wanted the ball more in Orlando, where he was the focal point of the offense, so he certainly can't be happy with the offense he's in right now. It's hard to see him wanting to play the next two seasons or more in this system.
Will making the move to Bickerstaff get the Lakers to the Finals? I doubt it. But I bet it would improve the chemistry, get them playing much better basketball and perhaps even get them into the playoffs. And at this point, that would be an accomplishment.
Most believe Jim Buss won't fire D'Antoni soon, not just because of the financial repercussions, but because it would be an admission of a colossal mistake. But it would be an even bigger mistake to let the season continue to spiral out of control and as a result, lose Howard.
I don't have insider but found Broussard's article on a Laker's forum.