The notion may sound ridiculous to some, given that Fisher is set to take on the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. Make no mistake, though, once Fisher retires at the end of the postseason as initially scheduled, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin, he is probably the answer for the Lakers.
Some could dislike the idea since Fisher would essentially graduate from player to coach within a matter of months, or perhaps even weeks. But the precedent has already been established.
Indeed, Jason Kidd retired from basketball at the end of last season and quickly became the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets. This might not be the norm, given that coaches typically have to pay their dues, but it illustrates that the route has seen a few tweaks over the years.
Evolution in Coach Selection
The process involved with hiring coaches has apparently changed.
Once upon a time, a prospective headman spent time on someone’s staff as an assistant in the professional ranks or coached in college. After a few years, the prospect was deemed good enough for an NBA gig.
That path has since taken a turn.
For instance, the Golden State Warriors hired Mark Jackson straight out of the broadcast booth three seasons ago, despite his lack of coaching experience. Jackson worked as an analyst and was mostly famous for uttering catchy phrases on the air such as "hand down, man down" and "Mama, there goes that man!"
Fast-forward to the 2013-14 campaign, Golden State fired him after the Warriors were eliminated from the playoffs and replaced him with someone with a similar background, barely a month removed from postseason elimination: Steve Kerr.
Much like Jackson, Kerr accepted the job without any prior coaching experience. What’s more, he was also an analyst at the time...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
