As you know by know, Phil Jackson is definitely, definitely not going to coach the Los Angeles Lakers next season. The last time the Lakers attempted to replace Jackson, they hired Rudy Tomjanovich and missed the playoffs. What will the Lakers do this time? Will they go with a big-name ringer or try to develop a new head coach? Will they try and keep running the triangle or try to go more uptempo?
Kobe Bryant, whose opinion on this matter likely carries some weight, wouldn’t mind seeing current Laker assistant coach Brian Shaw get The Big Chair (if not Phil’s specially-made giant chair). Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports has the story:“I feel all of the players believe in coach B-Shaw,” Bryant said at the Lakers’ Friday morning shootaround. “We have such a rapport with him. He’s been with us for such a long time. We all have a bit of a bias towards him.
“I don’t want to get in the way of management. But we’ve all kind of had our eye on him for a while.”Shaw would certainly be the safest choice, and the Lakers wouldn’t have to make many adjustments under him. Filling Phil Jackson’s shoes is a big task, but I have a feeling that Shaw could pull it off if he has Kobe in his corner.