The Los Angeles Lakers need a new head coach after Mike D'Antoni was fired and the team has a number of targets they are looking at to replace him, including Roy Williams, Kevin Ollie, John Calipari, Byron Scott, George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy and Derek Fisher and those names all could be in the mix at head coach for Kobe Bryant as he returns from a serious injury in 2014.
The Lakers were a total mess last season and they had one of their worst years in franchise history and now the decision to pass over Phil Jackson before last year was one of the worst ever for the team. The Buss in charge now in Jim Buss seems to be an idiot with a big ego and that is why he pushed aside Jackson for D'Antoni and that never felt like a fit and he never got comfortable in La and now he is gone, basically making that choice a total waste. The Lakers actually deserve being in this situation, as the decision by Jim Buss was so wrong there aren't enough words for it.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers are planning on speaking with Kevin Ollie soon and another name on the list is Roy Williams from North Carolina. Williams has spurned NBA advances in the past, but the Lakers are different and he could potentially look at that as a realistic option. The report says that Williams is on the list of people the team wants to talk to and this comes after he was once approached a decade ago in 2004 and back then he declined to be in the running for the job. Williams is a very good coach and he has two titles at UNC and it likely would take quite a lot to get him to leave the college ranks at this point.
Byron Scott, George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Calipari and Ollie have all been mentioned in connection with the job and the Lakers really can't afford to muck this one up. Bryant is on his last legs and the team needs to show some improvement if they hope to get someone like Kevin Love and heading into the future, the team needs a coach that will be there long term. Ollie is working on setting up a meeting, but that doesn't mean he will leave, as he just won a national title with UConn. According to ESPN.com, the Huskies are looking to double his salary into next season and that could be one of many reasons for Ollie to remain.
