Chris Webber hasn't made many headlines since he retired at the end of the 2007-08 campaign, but he's certainly making some now.
Speaking to NBA TV, Webber wasted no time in questioning the Los Angeles Lakers decision to hire Mike D'Antoni as their head coach.
We get on players for getting tickets and driving too fast...he (D'Antoni) quit in the middle of a year. You go in the locker room you sell winning, and you sell family, and you sell all that...and I'm proud to be the only one that says this. As I listen to friends on different stations, no one says this and I'm proud to be the only one that says it. But guys got to trust you in the locker room and it has to be more than Kobe. It has to be. You don't want your coach writing a book about you, you don't want your coach talking about you and you don't want your coach quitting on you and it being your fault. Ask the guys in New York. And they played better when he left. So I don't think this is about Phil Jackson. I think this is like 'How the heck did he get this job?' You all want to be that different from Phil Jackson? That's my honest opinion: How the heck did he get that job?"
Wow. That's a lot to take in. But let's take it in nonetheless.
Webber clearly is emotional about this hiring and goes on to note if the Lakers were going to stray away from Phil Jackson, they should have sucked up their "pride" and chased Brian Shaw. But despite his overwhelming emotion, he does make some valid points.
D'Antoni did, in fact, quit in the "middle of a year." And once he left, the New York Knicks started playing much better.
Which makes Webber right—to an extent.
Yes, D'Antoni jumped ship midseason, and yes, the Knicks proved to be better off for it, but that means nothing in the scheme of things for the Lakers.
New York was a completely different situation. Not only were there rumblings&nbs...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
