In the wake of the Lakers "shocking" decision to fire Mike Brown, word out of LA is that they are meeting with the Zen Mistress in order to bring him back for yet a third stint as the Lakers coach.  I have no doubt that it wasn't the Lakers 0-8 record in the preseason, or the 1-4 record in the regular season, or even the Princeton offense that was the reason for firing Mike Brown.  It was this.


There is no doubt in my mind that Kobe hated his coach.  The look on his face says it all.  It's one of those "if looks could kill" looks.  Kobe wasn't happy when the Lakers hired Brown in the first place.  Kobe wanted Brian Shaw to be hired as their coach and was very unhappy when the organization hired Mike Brown without consulting him. 

Now, the Lakers are saying that they are 95% certain that Phil Jackson will return as the Lakers' coach.  The 5% is just in case Jackson doesn't want to come back.  Jackson is said to be intrigued by the Lakers roster with their new acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash.   Jackson is nothing if not an opportunist.  He has a knack of taking over teams that are stacked and ready to win.   Kobe is said to be behind the move, and that's half the battle.

"The one thing that's kind of always bothered me is that in his last year I wasn't able to give him my normal self," Kobe Bryant said Friday night. "I was playing on one leg and that's kind of always eaten away at me. The last year of his career I wasn't able to give him all I had.

"He's too great of a coach to have it go out that way. That's my personal sentiment. I took it to heart because I couldn't give it everything I had because I physically couldn't. My knee was shot. That's always bothered me."

If for some reason Jackson turns down the job, Mike D'Antoni is said to be their second choice.  For now, assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff is filling in until the Lakers can hire someone to take over.  Kobe is anxious to get back to running the Triangle offense again.  I'll leave you with a copy of Phil's clipboard showing the heart of the Triangle defense.  It might explain why Kobe wants Phil back so badly.. 



[Discuss on CG Forums!]