01-10-2020, 06:58 AM
LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike DAntoni resigned Wednesday after less than two seasons on the job. Team spokesman John Black confirmed DAntonis resignation, ending the brief tenure of the Lakers fourth head coach in less than three years. DAntoni went 67-87 after taking over the Lakers early in the 2012-13 season. He replaced the fired Mike Brown, who lasted just 71 games after replacing 11-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson in 2011. The injury-plagued Lakers were 27-55 this season, their worst campaign in more than 50 years and the second-worst winning percentage in franchise history. With Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol sitting out large chunks of the season while the Lakers lost an NBA-worst 319 man-games to injuries, the 16-time NBA champion franchise missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons and only the third time in 38 years. "Given the circumstances, I dont know that anybody could have done a better job than Mike did the past two seasons," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "On behalf of the Lakers, we thank Mike for the work ethic, professionalism and positive attitude that he brought to the team every day. We wish him the best of luck." The 62-year-old DAntoni had one year left on his contract, but wanted the Lakers to pick up his option year for 2015-16 to have any chance of success. The Lakers apparently refused, leading to DAntonis resignation. DAntoni walked away from a $4 million payday for next season, although he may receive a portion of that money as severance. A phone message left for DAntoni wasnt immediately returned. Despite the Lakers injuries on a roster consisting mostly of players on one-year contracts, Los Angeles fans largely directed their anger during a rare down season toward DAntoni. Lakers great Magic Johnson, who was sharply critical of DAntonis coaching style, hailed the news on his Twitter account. "Happy days are here again!" Johnson tweeted. "Mike DAntoni resigns as the Lakers coach. I couldnt be happier!" DAntoni also has coached the Nuggets, Suns and Knicks. He reached two Western Conference finals with Nash in Phoenix before having much less success in New York. "Whenever a coach isnt there anymore, for whatever reason, all of us in the fraternity feel badly," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said after the Spurs playoff victory over Dallas. "He is a heck of a coach and heck of a guy. You always feel badly when something like that happens. I just hope that what he wants is going to be what happens for him. He is a special guy." DAntonis signature up-tempo style of play seemed an odd match from the start with the aging, ball-dominating Bryant and the Lakers, who ran Jacksons deliberate triangle offence to perfection. Lakers owners Jerry and Jim Buss curiously chose DAntoni to replace Brown over Jackson, who strongly contemplated a return for a third stint on the Los Angeles bench. Jackson became the president of the Knicks in March. Kupchak said he will begin the search immediately for the Lakers fifth head coach since 2011 -- including Jackson, who walked away from the team after falling short of a third consecutive championship. DAntonis departure will allow the Lakers franchise overhaul to begin in earnest after their worst season since 1957-58 back in Minneapolis. Los Angeles missed the post-season for just the second time in the 17-season career of Bryant, who occasionally clashed with DAntoni. The Lakers have a top-10 pick in a strong draft and just three players under contract for next season, including Nash and Bryant. The fourth-leading scorer in NBA history will make more than $48 million over the next two years. A coaching change also might make the Lakers more attractive to Gasol, an unrestricted free agent who intimated he wouldnt consider returning if DAntoni still coached the team. Kupchak has said the Lakers are very interested in re-signing the 7-foot Spaniard, one of the top available free agents. "There would have to be significant changes," Gasol wrote in Spanish on his personal blog recently. "Ive never concealed the fact that DAntonis style doesnt suit my game. Everybody knows this. I dont know if my decision will be swayed by whether Mike stays or leaves. Obviously, the coach is a very important factor for any team." After joining the Lakers on short notice last season, DAntoni was unable to assemble a contending team immediately around Bryant and Dwight Howard, who struggled to embrace the pick-and-roll game so important to DAntonis offence. Los Angeles won 45 games last season despite its awful start under Brown. But the Lakers lost Bryant to a torn Achilles tendon late in the regular season before getting swept out of the first round by San Antonio. Howard left the Lakers as a free agent last summer, fleeing to Houston for less money to escape the Lakers drama and high expectations. Bryant played in just six games this season after breaking a bone near his knee in December, and Los Angeles never had a consistently competitive team in his absence. Nash also missed most of the season with various injuries, but the 40-year-old point guard hopes to play again next season. DAntoni realized he would take the blame for the Lakers woes this season, and the veteran coach seemed comfortable with the prospect when the team packed up for the summer. "Every coach should be under scrutiny," DAntoni said two weeks ago. "Some coaches get fired even after the best years theyve ever had. ... Theres always things we could have done better, and its easier with hindsight. Things dont always go smoothly. For the most part, our guys were very competitive. For us, there are some silver linings in there, but in hindsight, its disappointing for everybody." Wholesale Flames Jerseys .What they got was a bevy of players chipping in to pick up the slack.Josh Smith scored 18 points and James Harden added 17 as the Rockets used a balanced scoring effort to outlast the Mavericks for a 99-94 victory. Flames Jerseys 2020 . -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops. https://www.cheapflames.com/. He was attracted by the punishing defence, the strong running game and a coaching staff he trusted. The 49ers announced Thursday that Manningham had signed a two-year deal to join the team he helped knock out in the NFC championship game two months ago in their latest offensive upgrade at wide receiver. Stitched Flames Jerseys . Louis Blues were workmanlike, methodical and -- most of all -- effective on Monday night. Calgary Flames Pro Shop .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.BAD KLEINKIRCHHEIM, Austria - A womens World Cup super-G on Sunday was delayed for 45 minutes and then called off after 11 starters because of strong winds, a day after the cancellation of a downhill on the same course.We always want to race but safety comes first, FIS womens race director Atle Skaardal said.Organizers initially postponed the start of Sundays race as course workers needed more time to harden the snow surface using salt and chemicals following a night of mild temperatures.After the first skiers completed their run, fierce winds started blowing over the course, prompting an interruption of the race as conditions got too dangerous for speed racing.When the weather failed to improve over the following 45 minutes, organizers decided to call off the race.By then, Daniela Merighetti had posted the fastest time, leading Italian teammate Nadia Fanchini by 0.15. Merighetti was the third starter and said her run was still unaffected by the wind.Julia Mancuso, who started eighth, said it was definitely windy when she came down but judged conditions not too dangerous at that time.Everyone has their own comfort zone, said the American, who trailed Merighetti by 0.64 in fourth. Its always tough when you have a windy race but it also something we understand doing an outdoor sport ... I felt I was in good conditions racing but the storm is definitely moving in.A downhill on the same course was cancelled Saturday after a storm destroyed parts of the finish areaa and the safety fencing along the course.ddddddddddddVolunteers worked through the night to rebuild the infrastructure, and the storm still wasnt an issue in the hours leading up to the super-G.The 33 gates were set Saturday though organizers had to move several gates as the snow around them had become too weak.According to Skaardal, the course doesnt look bad but it didnt freeze overnight and under the top layer its soft.Several racers, including Lindsey Vonn and Lara Gut, had said they didnt want to race if the course conditions didnt improve.The course set is good, unfortunately the snow isnt good, Vonn said. Can it be dangerous? I think so. I think we should not race.And Gut added, If its like it is now, I dont want to race.Vonn referred to her crash at the 2013 world championships, when the American standout landed in a spot of soft snow and badly damaged her right knee.Its like Schladming here, and I lost two years because of that, Vonn said. I think its too dangerous. If it was a training today, I wouldnt be skiing at all.With a win Sunday, Vonn would have matched the all-time mark of 62 womens World Cup wins by Annemarie Moser-Proell, but the feat wasnt on her mind.No, the record can wait until after Cortina, she said, referring to a downhill and a super-G in Italy next weekend.The womens World Cup travels to Flachau, Austria, for a night race on Tuesday, the final slalom before next months world championships in Vail and Beaver Creek. ' ' '