Mike D'Antoni, Lakers Agree To 4-Year Contract (Instead Of Phil Jackson): [UPDATED]

The Lakers have hired Mike D'Antoni to the next head coach, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Although D'Antoni's history with Steve Nash in Phoenix and Kobe Bryant with Team USA made him one of the frontrunners for the job in the wake of Mike Brown's firing, Phil Jackson had widely been perceived as the favorite for the gig. Nevertheless, the Lakers may be instituting D'Antoni's "Seven Seconds Or Less" scheme rather than the Zen Master's Triangle Offense.

Mike Bresnahan

Mike D'Antoni signed a four-year deal with the Lakers. Phil Jackson was "asking for the moon," accoring to source familiar w/ the situation.

Shortly after Bresnahan initially tweeted about D'Antoni deal, J.A. Adande of ESPN tweeted that he had a source confirm the report for him. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! reported that the Lakers called representatives of the former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks head coach on Sunday evening and offered him the deal.

J.A. Adande

Kobe made it clear he wanted Phil, but said after game tonight that he let Lakers know he was fine with D'Antoni.

Shortly after Brown was fired, D'Antoni was asked about the vacancy.

?If they offer it, I'd love it," he told FOX Sports Southwest. "It'd be a perfect fit."

Based on the #WeWantPhil hashtag that had been popping up on Twitter since Brown was sacked, it's not clear if Lakers fans agree. The reaction on Twitter to these reports were decidedly mixed.

UPDATE 3:50 a.m. EST: Not long after Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times first reported the deal, the Lakers make it official via press release. Mike D'Antoni and the team have agreed to a multi-year deal and a press conference will be held early this week.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/12/mike-dantoni-lakers-coach-phil-jackson_n_2115589.html

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