Not to say they can’t win that way, but this isn’t the 05-06 Suns that had young wing players running the floor to catch those lob passes. Hell, the few fast break opportunities this team gets look terrible… like some high school team that hasn’t practiced a fast break. I think they will test the trade market again with Pau to try and get a little younger and athletic at the 3 and 4.

I’m not going to watch the Lakers until they prove to me they’re a championship caliber team with a championship caliber offense and defense. If D’Antoni thinks his 7 second premature ejaculation offense is going to work with the Lakers then he’ll have to prove it. I’m not gojng to hope for another Laker championship when I see serious front office problems that will preclude it.

Go Lakers??? Maybe.

What Phil wanted is what a GM would usually ask for. He does deserve all (or most) of what he is asking, because you can’t replace 11 rings (13 if you are including the ones he won with the Knicks).

The thing is: No way in our lifetime will Jim Buss allow someone thats not in the family to have a stake in the “Buss Family Business”. It will never happen, even if Phil is dating his sister, Jenine.

If you remember, Pat Riley had a similar issue with the Knicks brass after the 94-95 season, which resulted in Pat Riley going to smaller market Miami and start his own foundation there. I think Phil needs to do the same thing. Go to a team, like Houston Rockets or Portland Trailblazers and start his own foundation there, with his own people. I will be a great challenge for him, and he wouldnt have to travel that much.

But he’s not doing that with the Lakers and the Buzz family business, especially if Jimmy is in charge.

i will support diantoni in the meantime. it is not his fault he was hired. his job now is to do the best possible job. his job is to meet expectations. if he does not, it will be in buss’ hand again to steer the lakers in another direction.

Having Phil back and winning, automatically diminishes Jim and raises Phil to cult status. Egos and pride supersede the greater good of winning. This is a huge setback for the team, whose biological clock is about to strike midnight.

Phil can be one of the most strategic, cuthroat and sometimes manipulative figures in the NBA when it suits his purposes – which is also partially why he is such a good coach.

That being said, Buss seems like an indecisive, frenetic leader who makes questionable decisions.

But I wouldn’t feel quit as sympathetic to Phil as some other would like us to be.

D’Antoni was just as shocked as anyone because he is recovering from knee surgery and can’t even coach. He wasn’t going anywhere. How are you going to hire a coach with a busted knee over the phone? At least have a face to face interview and get a note from his orthopedic surgeon!