NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — Newly appointed Mike D’Antoni has earned the respect of his players and coaching staff, but Los Angeles Lakers legendary Magic Johnson doesn’t believe he’s the right man.
The Lakers fired Mike Brown a week ago and former coach Phil Jackson, who was contacted by the club a day after, was widely tipped as his replacement.
However, D’Antoni was shockingly signed on Saturday night and Johnson believes the move was the wrong one – just like when they hired Brown.
“I love Dr. (Jerry) Buss. I don’t believe in Jim Buss. [But] he’s made two critical mistakes already. To me, they made two critical mistakes,” Johnson said on ESPN on Wednesday night.
“First, hiring Mike Brown — he wasn’t the right coach. He’s a great coach but not the right coach for the Lakers.
“And I don’t feel Mike D’Antoni is the right coach for the Lakers. Especially when you have Phil Jackson sitting out there, who wanted to be the Laker coach.
“Jim Buss decided he didn’t want Phil Jackson, he wanted Mike D’Antoni. And that’s OK, but why didn’t you just say that?
“But the fans were cheering for Phil Jackson two nights in a row.”
