Forget about going after a recycled coach who's already been fired three different times. Fresh minds and thinking appear to be in, with experience and credentials now seemingly holding less weight on the resume.
And it looks like the Los Angeles Lakers will be interviewing, following the resignation of Mike D'Antoni. Two names that have been thrown out there as possible targets, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne, have been Kentucky's John Calipari and Connecticut's Kevin Ollie—the two coaches who met in this year's NCAA national championship game.
Calipari's name always seems to come up during coaching searches, given his tremendous success at the college level. Ollie is coming off his second season ever as a collegiate head coach, after spending years as an assistant to Huskies' legend Jim Calhoun. And he generated some serious buzz in March and April for his immediate impact and well-known, natural leadership during Connecticut's run to the title.
Though the Lakers' job opening is probably the most attractive one on the market, it won't be the only one available—depending on what happens the rest of the playoffs, there could be a number of openings over the next month.
Chances are the interest the Lakers are showing in Ollie will end up spreading around the league.
But at this point, you have to assume it's going to take a whole lot to pry Calipari from his throne at Kentucky, where he has every resource he needs to build the top program and his own personal brand. He also just raked in over $5 million dollars this season, per USA Today, so throwing money at him, unless it's an inordinate amount, probably isn't going to move the needle much.
And I'd be shocked if he'd even consider a job that didn't offer a roster built to win now. The Lakers could be preparing for anothe...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
