The Lakers are still in upheaval and getting used to their new coach. The last thing Mike D'Antoni probably wants to do at this point is make things worse and bring more change.
D'Antoni has no plans for any more changes to the Lakers coaching staff. He said last week that he plans to keep Mike Brown's former coaching staff in place through the end of the year. Eddie Jordan, Steve Clifford, Bernie Bickerstaff, Chuck Person and Darvin Ham will remain assistant coaches.
It is a bit of a mis-matched group. Bickerstaff and Jordan have former head coaching experience. Jordan was brought in to help install the Princeton Offense. Clifford is known for helping construct the defense in Orlando with Stan Van Gundy. Person was brought in to be the pseudo-shooting coach and has notably worked with Dwight Howard on his free throws this year.
So it would seem D'Antoni will not have his full arsenal of assistants until after the season ends.
I've known all of them and I've seen 'em work. They're coaches. They're very valuable in what they add. Their insights. The more insights you have, I think the better you are.
These are all accomplished coaches. There is nothing wrong with the coaching staff already in place. The staff will do a good job and keep the Lakers competitive. But do they know the ins and outs of what D'Antoni wants to do?
Reportedly the real reason the Lakers have decided to keep the staff on is because of the players. There is not really a reason to make the kind of sweeping changes many anticipated in the middle of the season. Especially since the season is so young. Besides, several of the star players have their favorite coaches on staff and the rumor is that Los Angeles does not want to disrupt those relationships midseason.
The Lakers certainly still have a lot of work to do. Chris Duhon admitted Los Angeles was in shape but not D'Antoni shape entering the season. Learning and running this offense will remain a work in progress.
Los Angeles has had its share of struggles. This next month might be a rehash of training camp. Having these familiar coaches around might help speed that transition up some.
