After reports surfaced of a very particular criticism Los Angeles Lakers management had for Luke Walton regarding his coaching staff, today’s podcasts used that internal assessment to hope they might apply it to the rest of the organization.
The Lake Show
This week, Harrison and I use the aforementioned report as a springboard with which to discuss some of the, um, similar concerns that have faced the Lakers for as far back as we can remember. There have been precious few hires that couldn’t be directly tied back to the Lakers or those in charge, and those who did come from differing backgrounds weren’t offered very much patience.
For every Phil Jackson (whose greatness gave him staying power, twice), there are the Mike D’Antonis and Mike Browns, who were unceremoniously shown the door fairly early into the process. Since their departures, the Lakers have buried their heads back in their own history, going with Byron Scott (awful) and Luke Walton (initially promising but ultimately disappointing) and appointing Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka in large part because of their ties back to the franchise.
Sometimes, hires made due to proximity pan out. Jerry West was fairly successful, I’d say. So was Pat Riley. But using proximity or familiarity with the team as a main basis for employment is a tremendous way to insulate one from the advancements the industry has made around them. And thus, we have where the Lakers are now.
We also discuss a few coaching candidates, whether firing Luke Walton actually solves anything and plenty more. Listen below for the full episode and, for more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.
Locked on Lakers
Today’s episode builds on the discussion above for a bit, but focuses more on the Lakers’ shooting woes. Why is it that every Laker this year has seen a distinct drop in their percentages from deep? Even Reggie Bullock saw a midseason decline after having been traded to the Lakers.
So I focus on some potential explanations for those drops in ability. Some reasons were more tangible (structure, consistency, injuries, etc.) than others (increased pressure playing alongside LeBron James).
Listen below for the full discussion, and make sure to subscribe on iTunes, where you can also leave questions in the form of a five-star review to guarantee your topic makes the show.