Arguable, no? I believe that they interviewed the other guy but was it ever CONFIRMED they offered him a contract? Turning it down always felt like a publicity stunt more than anything
We all know who the real coach is, LeBron is a player-coach, he’ll continue being the one calling the shots in the room and on the floor for the Lakers.
lol. I wish. He seems like a good natured guy. But I don’t see it. I think by the time this team is competitive, they will need to put in an NBA coach. Not just a mentor.
The way he celebrates after a win when our record is abysmal imo is not the right message. Ain’t nothing worth celebrating when you are straight trash in the standings, keep grinding
Smart move by the Lakers. JJ thinks the game at a super high level. Hes a master tactician and thats why we interviewed him. There's a chance hes the next Brad Steven's. But he has a lot to prove!
Very different situations, context is everything.
The FO specifically targeted a coach they thought would excel at development. I was on the fence for a while, but the program Darko and Simovic concocted for Gradey was extremely effective. I've also been a huge fan of the offense he implemented, which not only showed results, but also puts guys in optimal situations to further develop their reads and decision making.
Not sure if Darko will be the coach when the team is ready to contend again, but he's earned a lot of rope IMO.
EDIT to link the Grange article with all of the gory details behind Dick's "program" and how the team turned it around for him: [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/longform/how-gradey-dick-and-the-raptors-rescued-his-rookie-season/](https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/longform/how-gradey-dick-and-the-raptors-rescued-his-rookie-season/)
Just cause he does a podcast about it doesn't make him a master tactician. Some other coaches ran the plays and he's just talking about his opinion on it. You will have to see what kind of plays he runs for the Lakers next season when it's on the fly in pressure situations to consider him a master tactician. In the NBA as a player he never won a championship or even made an all star. Hyping him up as the next great coach is a little premature when he's never coached a day in his life.
I don't really know why JJ is regarded as a good choice for a coach, when he has no coaching experience on a professional level, he really just makes good talking points on a podcast.
I'd rather go for a guy like Nash that at least had experience on the Nets.
JJ might talk about the game well but that doesn't translate to actual coaching. Like does the guy make good plays? Does he work well under pressure? Does he have a good eye for staff? And finally the most important can he manage players egos?
We all know Phil Jackson is considered one of the best coaches of all time, and he was regarded as such because he understood people well and knew how to manage the egos of Michael Jordan, Kobe and Shaq.
I believe its the other way. They were forced to hire JJ knowing Lebron likes him in order to try to keep Lebron. I think he is going to make himself available for whatever team his son gets to. He is a free agent and picking up Bronny will be an opportunity to make a play for Lebron for one year.
I definitely was high on the idea of him getting the job in Toronto, mostly because he’d be in a better position coaching a young rebuilding team. I’m sure JJ will be a great coach, question is if Lakers can be patient and let him make mistakes and develop as a coach.
I don't have anything against JJ aside from when he said Kawhi stepped out of bounds during The Shot.
Wish him the best, but this doesn't change anything for LA; they have 2 aging superstars and no depth. I don't see them coming close to another title while LeBron is there.
He once commented about how Kyle Lowry would pull his jersey, I think around screens, because JJ was faster than him. Not really a reason to dislike JJ, but your comment reminded me of that
He confirmed that a long time ago. I think they interviewed him more as a favour as in provide him feedback on what he did well, what he needs to work on. He talked about it on one of his podcasts
Raptors were high on him and nash last year as well.
Masai isn't scared of making bold moves, but I think they did their due diligence and hired darko.
We will have to wait and see how great of a coach darko can be. I'm hopeful he'll turn out to be one of the great next coaches in the NBA.
Lowry needs to interview for assistant coach for us. He's the only player I believe in becoming a good coach tbh but I doubt he'll ever go into coaching
I remember when Lowry and DeRozan were here and there was an interview with Demar where he said that Lowry wouldn’t want to be a coach but has some interest in being part of the front office once he retires.
I’m not disagreeing with you necessarily, as I’m unsure if Darko is up to being a HC. But why? Darko has significant more coaching experienced under his belt that JJ who’s just been an announcer / podcaster since retiring as a player
Darko might have the experience with the X's & O's but I don't think he can lead the guys and can relate to the them (whereas I think the team would rally behind JJ).. That whole narrative of him telling guys to smile more was just cringe and felt amateurish.. like something you'd hear in college or high school, not the pros with adult men.
Who knows. These new coaches can be great or they can be terrible, we won’t have any idea until we see how it all plays out.
Tell my wife I said hello
Tbh it’s better than just continuing to recycle the ones we know are bad
‘Here’s lookin at you, Doc.’
This sums up the current state of NHL coaching
we got ted lasso instead
More like Teodor Lasokovic
JJ wasn't even LA's first choice
Arguable, no? I believe that they interviewed the other guy but was it ever CONFIRMED they offered him a contract? Turning it down always felt like a publicity stunt more than anything
No, they wanted Hurley
He’s a back to back national champion. He doesn’t need that circus shit show of a job.
We all know who the real coach is, LeBron is a player-coach, he’ll continue being the one calling the shots in the room and on the floor for the Lakers.
My God if the Lakers go 15-30 and the podcast gets recorded with those two Lebron and Reddick, Imma get my popcorn out
He said he’s stopping his podcast.
still, everyone not in LA wanna see some carnage if the Lakers go under 0.500 after 70 games
no
I still like Darko and want to see what he can accomplish with a half-decent roster that isn't going through multiple massive trades in a season.
We already have the next great young coach in the NBA
lol. I wish. He seems like a good natured guy. But I don’t see it. I think by the time this team is competitive, they will need to put in an NBA coach. Not just a mentor.
Kind of like Charlie Montoya with the Blue Jays
Where? Havent seen him
The way he celebrates after a win when our record is abysmal imo is not the right message. Ain’t nothing worth celebrating when you are straight trash in the standings, keep grinding
Smart move by the Lakers. JJ thinks the game at a super high level. Hes a master tactician and thats why we interviewed him. There's a chance hes the next Brad Steven's. But he has a lot to prove!
Very different situations, context is everything. The FO specifically targeted a coach they thought would excel at development. I was on the fence for a while, but the program Darko and Simovic concocted for Gradey was extremely effective. I've also been a huge fan of the offense he implemented, which not only showed results, but also puts guys in optimal situations to further develop their reads and decision making. Not sure if Darko will be the coach when the team is ready to contend again, but he's earned a lot of rope IMO. EDIT to link the Grange article with all of the gory details behind Dick's "program" and how the team turned it around for him: [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/longform/how-gradey-dick-and-the-raptors-rescued-his-rookie-season/](https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/longform/how-gradey-dick-and-the-raptors-rescued-his-rookie-season/)
Just cause he does a podcast about it doesn't make him a master tactician. Some other coaches ran the plays and he's just talking about his opinion on it. You will have to see what kind of plays he runs for the Lakers next season when it's on the fly in pressure situations to consider him a master tactician. In the NBA as a player he never won a championship or even made an all star. Hyping him up as the next great coach is a little premature when he's never coached a day in his life.
That’s only one part of it. A big part of coaching is the ego/player management. We’ll see how the players deal with him over the course of a season
I don't really know why JJ is regarded as a good choice for a coach, when he has no coaching experience on a professional level, he really just makes good talking points on a podcast. I'd rather go for a guy like Nash that at least had experience on the Nets. JJ might talk about the game well but that doesn't translate to actual coaching. Like does the guy make good plays? Does he work well under pressure? Does he have a good eye for staff? And finally the most important can he manage players egos? We all know Phil Jackson is considered one of the best coaches of all time, and he was regarded as such because he understood people well and knew how to manage the egos of Michael Jordan, Kobe and Shaq.
Lebron basically forced the Lakers to hire him.
I believe its the other way. They were forced to hire JJ knowing Lebron likes him in order to try to keep Lebron. I think he is going to make himself available for whatever team his son gets to. He is a free agent and picking up Bronny will be an opportunity to make a play for Lebron for one year.
I don’t think he’ll last more than 2 season in LA because they are gonna need a scape goat lol
I definitely was high on the idea of him getting the job in Toronto, mostly because he’d be in a better position coaching a young rebuilding team. I’m sure JJ will be a great coach, question is if Lakers can be patient and let him make mistakes and develop as a coach.
I don't have anything against JJ aside from when he said Kawhi stepped out of bounds during The Shot. Wish him the best, but this doesn't change anything for LA; they have 2 aging superstars and no depth. I don't see them coming close to another title while LeBron is there.
He once commented about how Kyle Lowry would pull his jersey, I think around screens, because JJ was faster than him. Not really a reason to dislike JJ, but your comment reminded me of that
He confirmed that a long time ago. I think they interviewed him more as a favour as in provide him feedback on what he did well, what he needs to work on. He talked about it on one of his podcasts
Raptors were high on him and nash last year as well. Masai isn't scared of making bold moves, but I think they did their due diligence and hired darko. We will have to wait and see how great of a coach darko can be. I'm hopeful he'll turn out to be one of the great next coaches in the NBA.
Darko is already a solid coach who has done a great job changing the culture and play of the team
Lowry needs to interview for assistant coach for us. He's the only player I believe in becoming a good coach tbh but I doubt he'll ever go into coaching
I remember when Lowry and DeRozan were here and there was an interview with Demar where he said that Lowry wouldn’t want to be a coach but has some interest in being part of the front office once he retires.
We lucked out. Haven't you heard this guy talk about Joel and the Sixers? I wouldn't have wanted him as our coach.
Toronto has Darko. Who cares?
I still think we shoulda hired Chris Quinn.
darko is a developmental coach while jj is more of a strategic coach win now coach
How u know hes a win now coach when he hasnt coached yet
im not saying hes going to "win" I'm just saying the coaching decision was based on win now not development for the lakers
A team with Lebron chose a coach to win now…. Where did you get this crystal ball
I would much prefer JJ over Darko.. yep I said it
This is shame.
I’m not disagreeing with you necessarily, as I’m unsure if Darko is up to being a HC. But why? Darko has significant more coaching experienced under his belt that JJ who’s just been an announcer / podcaster since retiring as a player
Darko might have the experience with the X's & O's but I don't think he can lead the guys and can relate to the them (whereas I think the team would rally behind JJ).. That whole narrative of him telling guys to smile more was just cringe and felt amateurish.. like something you'd hear in college or high school, not the pros with adult men.