Mike D'Antoni resigned this week after one season on the job with the Lakers, a season that was characterized by anything and everything but success.
Kobe Bryant's guidance will be instrumental to turning this ship around.
Bryant is more than your ordinary team MVP. He's an icon in Los Angeles, a defining image of all things purple and gold. Importantly, he's also been the de facto assistant coach on this team for a while now. He's both emblematic of the Lakers in all things public and leader of the Lakers in all things private.
General manager Mitch Kupchak will undoubtedly do most of the legwork during this search, but it's Bryant's opinion that should reign supreme.
This won't be an any decision by any means, not if the list of candidates is any indication.
That's a lot of names, and a lot of good ones.
We'll set aside the question of who would be the best fit. After all, that's really not for us to answer. The best fit is whoever does the best job of keeping Bryant a happy camper.
If you think that's an overstatement, consider the implosion of Bryant's relationship with ousted head coach Mike D'Antoni.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
As little as Mike D'Antoni wanted to coach Kobe Bryant in the end, Bryant wanted to play for D'Antoni even less. They had barely communicated for months, steering clear until a permanent parting on Wednesday night. They would've been miserable together, would've inevitably imploded the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.
While we're on Wojnarowski's report, it's worth noting he's added yet another na...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
