The Lakers may have expected to struggle a little bit defensively when they hired Mike D’Antoni, but they certainly didn’t expect to have nights like Tuesday where they were only able to score 77 points in a home loss to the Pacers. Mike D’Antoni joined Miami’s 790 The Ticket and the Dan LeBatard Show on Wednesday to give his early impression of this Lakers team, but he had some surprising comments when he was asked whether the Lakers treated ex-coach Mike Brown fairly when they dismissed him after five games this season (courtesy of Sportsradiointerviews.com):
“No. No. It’s never fair. But it’s our business and our business is not fair. That’s the basis of it and that’s the way it goes. I think when you sign on the dotted line, and they pay you a lot of money to do that, it’s part of the business. A lot of it isn’t fair and it’s not a reflection on who you are as a head coach and who you are as a person, but that’s part of the game and otherwise don’t get into coaching ’cause that’s the way it is.”
D’Antoni can certainly relate to Mike Brown’s experience given the way that D’Antoni’s tenure in New York ended. While this Lakers gig may very be D’Antoni’s dream job, he could end up using his own words to comfort himself if he is not able to deliver a title for the Lakers this season.