After parting ways with Frank Vogel last month, les Lakers accelerated in their quest for a new coach. So much so that there is now only three names on their initial “short list”: Kenny Atkinson (assistant Warriors), Terry Stotts (ex-Blazers) et Darvin Ham (assistant Bucks).
Luxury consultant of the Californian franchise, given its legendary status, Magic Johnson was asked to give his opinion on the question of the identity of the future coach of Los Angeles.
« Apart from Erik Spoelstra, the other three coaches who are in the conference final are former players “, he notes first, by The Athletic. « I think that says a lot regarding the phenomenon of these young former players who directly command respect. I’m not saying it has to be a former player, but I’m just saying you have to watch the trend, those who are still in the playoffs. »
Magic Johnson scores a point: apart from Erik Spoelstra (Heat), Steve Kerr (Warriors), Jason Kidd (Mavericks) and Ime Udoka (Celtics) all had a more or less glorious playing career in the NBA. On the other hand, he forgets to specify that the last three champions (Raptors, Lakers and Bucks) were led by a coach without any experience as a player in the Big League (Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel, Mike Budenholzer).
Take inspiration from the trend that works
In any case, the trend seems to be towards renewal on the benches of the league, with the appointment of former players with little experience in coaching (Steve Nash, Ime Udoka, Willie Green, Chauncey Billups, etc.) or assistants without the slightest experience. player (Taylor Jenkins, Chris Finch, Jamahl Mosley…)
Magic Johnson would like the Lakers to follow the same path. Why not by hiring Darvin Ham, the only one among the three candidates for the position to meet the criteria of the leader Hall of Famer ? Provided, however, that he can put the players face to face with their responsibilities.
« In my opinion, the most important thing is everyone’s responsibility. “, he underlines. ” Everyone has to be held accountable, from the first to the last player. And we walked away from that. The players never talked regarding it this season, it was always someone else’s fault and I hate it. Nobody said: ‘I played badly, it’s my fault’. So I want a coach who will hold everyone accountable, that’s what I would like. »
In order to bounce back and find the playoffs, following this failed season.
« Everyone was talking regarding Finals for the Lakers with Russell Westbrook, that they would be among the favorites and it must have driven all three of them crazy [de manquer les playoffs]because they did not meet expectations », continue Magic Johnson. « It’s a failure, but the question now is what to do so that it doesn’t happen once more next season. […] It’s really important that they get the right person and that there are the right changes in the squad. You have to make the right decisions. »
Find out how to tame Russell Westbrook
Precisely, one of the main decisions to be made will concern the thorny case Russell Westbrook. Disappointing and never seen to his advantage during his first year in California, the All-Star point guard might have to pack his bags in the coming days.
However, recovering an interesting reward will not be so easy, despite his status as MVP and future member of the Hall of Fame…
« It can only work if you have the right trainer “, continues Magic Johnson, when asked if the Westbrook bet can still work. ” In my opinion, it always comes back to the identity of the coach. Then there’s his one-year, $47 million deal. Even if you put it in an exchange, what will you concretely be able to recover? I told them [aux dirigeants des Lakers, ndlr] that they were probably going to get contracts they didn’t want. You have to think regarding it. »
Thus, we must be able to prepare for Russell Westbrook to still be present in the squad in 2022/23.
« No matter what happened, how to improve with Russell [Westbrook] ? How to make it more comfortable? They need to figure it all out “, repeats Magic Johnson, on possible solutions to be found. ” You have to talk to him. Because if he should still be there [la saison prochaine], we have to do better than this season. It doesn’t matter who is appointed as the coach, that’s the first thing to do. And you don’t just have to talk once, but several times, for a week or two, to understand things. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Lebron James | 56 | 37.2 | 52.4 | 35.9 | 75.6 | 1.1 | 7.1 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 3.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 30.3 |
| Anthony Davis | 40 | 35.1 | 53.2 | 18.6 | 71.3 | 2.7 | 7.2 | 9.9 | 3.1 | 2.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 23.2 |
| Russell Westbrook | 78 | 34.3 | 44.4 | 29.8 | 66.7 | 1.4 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 7.1 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 3.0 | 18.5 |
| Malik Monk | 76 | 28.1 | 47.3 | 39.1 | 79.5 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 13.8 |
| Carmelo Anthony | 69 | 26.0 | 44.1 | 37.5 | 83.0 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 13.3 |
| Talen Horton-tucker | 60 | 25.2 | 41.6 | 26.9 | 80.0 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 10.0 |
| Isaiah Thomas | 4 | 25.2 | 30.8 | 22.7 | 72.7 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 9.3 |
| Austin Reaves | 61 | 23.2 | 45.9 | 31.7 | 83.9 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 7.3 |
| Rescue Doumbouya | 2 | 8.2 | 62.5 | 50.0 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 7.0 |
| Mason Jones | 4 | 12.6 | 46.7 | 25.0 | 80.0 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 6.8 |
| Wenen Gabriel | 19 | 16.4 | 50.5 | 26.1 | 60.5 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 6.7 |
| Wayne Ellington | 43 | 18.8 | 41.4 | 38.9 | 81.8 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 6.7 |
| Stanley Johnson | 48 | 22.8 | 46.6 | 31.4 | 71.6 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 6.7 |
| Avery Bradley | 62 | 22.7 | 42.3 | 39.0 | 88.9 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 6.4 |
| Dwight Howard | 60 | 16.2 | 61.2 | 53.3 | 65.8 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.9 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 6.2 |
| Mac Mcclung | 1 | 21.8 | 40.0 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
| Dj Augustine | 21 | 17.8 | 45.3 | 42.6 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.3 |
| Deandre Jordan | 32 | 12.8 | 67.4 | 0.0 | 46.2 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 4.1 |
| Trevor Ariza | 24 | 19.3 | 33.3 | 27.0 | 55.6 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 4.0 |
| Kent Bazemore | 39 | 14.0 | 32.4 | 36.3 | 76.5 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 3.4 |
| Rajon Rondo | 18 | 16.1 | 32.4 | 26.7 | 50.0 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| Jemerrio Jones | 2 | 7.4 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Darren Collison | 3 | 12.4 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| Chaundee Brown | 2 | 10.3 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Jay Huff | 4 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
