Decision Detailed by Kupchak!!

Kupchak Addresses Coaching Decision

http://www.nba.com/lakers/features/1211 ... g-decision

At lease D'Antoni didn't say he would think about it..

PJ blew it..

^^ Damage control. I do feel bad for Mitch in all of this.

I've never come across a more serene individual in Kupchak given the pressure he has to deal with. He is ALWAYS in a no win situation most of it beyond his control. I am willing to bet that Jackson knows the decision is less about him but more about others.

OP....you read the presser right? Phil who has done a little something for this organization (5 of those stars on the court serves as a constant reminder) got one meeting and was under the assumption of a Monday meeting.

Meanwhile Mitch had D'Antoni on the phone multiple times on Saturday and then with Jim and Jerry on Sunday.

Do people know how negotiations work? One meeting doesn't really cut it...normally. For an 11 time champion, 5 of which he won for your organization...he's probably earned that extra day..wouldn't you think?

Of course that's assuming he even had a fair shake at coaching in this whole circus.

"he told me two months ago that he never wanted to coach again"

Mitch does explain his position well. I give him that. If Phil told him a couple months ago he doesn't want to coach again that tells me his heart would not have been in it. Phil is easily the better coach but if he doesn't have the fire to do it, I can't see a ring happening with Phil. That requires total dedication by everyone, including the head coach.

^^^Two months ago, there really wasn't a coaching vacancy here....was there?

Phil in his statement the other day said that he would only coach for the Lakers and no other team. The desire was there which was obvious if his agent is flying to LA to negotiate and he contacted Kurt and other assistants.

Listen...the majority wants to move on....but seriously fans need to stop taking swipes at Phil in this case. Dude saved this organization multiple times and that is undeniable. He would have done it again if management allowed it. They didn't unbeknownst to the masses...we collectively scratched our heads and now are looking to move on.

seems to me that, basically, the front office didn't think phil would be interested in the job and sold themselves on d'antoni. then they found out phil was in fact interested, and the fans wanted him. but by that point they were already committed to moving forward with d'antoni.

if they had communicated that to phil then that would be the end of it, no problem. but seemingly they led him on, and led the fans on. i'm 100% fine with them as a group deciding they want to move in another direction (even if i would've preferred phil) and i'm still very optimistic and excited to see how the team plays under mike. i'm not cool with what seems to be shady dealings in regards to phil and the way they led us on, which doesn't really make sense.

i'm sure this thought has been conveyed better elsewhere in the past 2 days or so but that's my 2 cents

How is saying Phil is the better coach taking a swipe at him? The way Mitch explained things seems very reasonable.

^^Phil doesn't have the fire to come back. How can you even assess such a thing? There was no coaching vacancy in Lakerland. Phil only wants to coach here...so of course he doesn't want to coach if there isn't an open spot. Things changed within the last 2 months after Mitch talked to Phil, so that comment about Phil not wanted to coach holds really no weight. Its actually unnecessary for Mitch to even say. Did Phil desire to coach when they visited him...that's what matters. And apparently he did.

Whether Phil had the fire in his belly is still a fair question. What I'm getting from this as well as Phil's own words is that Phil wasn't exactly gung-ho about returning. His context was more like "oh gee if they'll throw enough money at me, I suppose I'll take the job after all."

Here's the thing: a team doesn't lose 16 of its last 18 games without the coach getting into some trouble with management. Everyone knows that. If Phil was living in LA and watching the Lakers closely, he had to know Brown was on the hot seat. Phil's too smart to be stupid about something like that, he had to be thinking what if they fire Brown, would I want that job again? If he had decided he really wanted the job, he should have said hey I want the job, I want to coach Howard, call my agent at that first meeting. And Mitch would have said are you sure? Last time we talked you weren't feeling like that. And they would have hashed it out.

But Phil's reaction was a lukewarm "let me think about that; I'll get back to you Monday" ... ... ... ... that response isn't exactly going to inspire Jimmy and Mitch let alone Jerry. So of course Mitch will tell Phil, I got a job to do, I got other candidates, I'm gonna talk to them.

^^^Haha, you're reaching. Say what you want, but if management was going to fire Mike B after 5 games, they should have fired him in the summer. Not really Phil's fault. If you're sitting in mid September with preseason looming and they haven't fired a coach they got on a 4 year contract, how can you assume that coaching spot would open up?

If folks are gullible enough to take what management said at face value, then go right ahead. Jimmy basically said he believes in Mike B and will stick with him...a couple days later, he's fired.

Yeah Phil is smart...so why did he think he had a meeting with Mitch. He's too smart to assume that management needed a response asap and if he was given that impression, don't you think that he would have acted accordingly. Management is lying through their teeth....that's plain to see now and that is why they had to deal with a firestorm from the fans.

You want to believe their lies...go right ahead, but don't make ridiculous accusations about Phil not wanting it, when his agent was flying in for negotiations and he reached out to his assistants.

lots has been said about this situation, but just one more thought from me.

what do you even need to interview phil jackson for?!?! the conversation should be this:

mitch - "Phil, there's an opening, do you want the hc job?"

phil - yes, no, or i'll let you know in 2 days

it's almost insulting that you need to "interview" the greatest coach of all time

For what its worth.. a caller came on Mason and Ireland and this caller owner of multiple small business.

He then went on to say when he did Interviews for Job openings,one of the key spots in the Interview from the answer and body language he got from the prospect "Does the prospect act and really want the Job..

He also went onto say that some of the prospect that he got the feeling they didn't get the Job because the owner dint feel the prospect wanted the job bad enough.

The caller made a point to M&I he didn't think Phil wanted it bad enough..

And so do I... Again.. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Phil back, but again, Phil blew it..

Pig Miller wrote:lots has been said about this situation, but just one more thought from me.

what do you even need to interview phil jackson for?!?! the conversation should be this:

mitch - "Phil, there's an opening, do you want the hc job?"

phil - yes, no, or i'll let you know in 2 days

it's almost insulting that you need to "interview" the greatest coach of all time

I don't think it was so much of an Interview..I think it had much to do with to see where Phil's
head was at and Mitch got the feeling the Phil didn't want it bad Enough...

Just my take as well..

mrnr wrote:For what its worth.. a caller came on Mason and Ireland and this caller owner of multiple small business.

He then went on to say when he did Interviews for Job openings,one of the key spots in the Interview from the answer and body language he got from the prospect "Does the prospect act and really want the Job..

He also went onto say that some of the prospect that he got the feeling they didn't get the Job because the owner dint feel the prospect wanted the job bad enough.

The caller made a point to M&I he didn't think Phil wanted it bad enough..

And so do I... Again.. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Phil back, but again, Phil blew it..

But how do you gauge interest and body language from a phone call?

Scnottaken wrote:

mrnr wrote:For what its worth.. a caller came on Mason and Ireland and this caller owner of multiple small business.

He then went on to say when he did Interviews for Job openings,one of the key spots in the Interview from the answer and body language he got from the prospect "Does the prospect act and really want the Job..

He also went onto say that some of the prospect that he got the feeling they didn't get the Job because the owner dint feel the prospect wanted the job bad enough.

The caller made a point to M&I he didn't think Phil wanted it bad enough..

And so do I... Again.. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Phil back, but again, Phil blew it..

But how do you gauge interest and body language from a phone call?

Weren't Mitch and Jim at Phil's house?

gcclaker wrote:I've never come across a more serene individual in Kupchak given the pressure he has to deal with. He is ALWAYS in a no win situation most of it beyond his control. I am willing to bet that Jackson knows the decision is less about him but more about others.

After reading Kupchak's comments, I always feel more comfortable. The guy always sounds like he knows what he's doing. When you read what he said it all sounds perfectly reasonable. Whether or not they should be focused more on style of play over what can help them win, that's another story entirely. But hey, you gotta love how Mitch handles stuff like this.