The Los Angeles Lakers decided to make a drastic change before heading into this past weekend by firing head coach Mike Brown. The decision came suddenly and shocked quite a few people as it was thought the franchise would give Brown a chance to turn things around this season after getting off to an ugly 1-4 start.

Unfortunately for Brown, the storied NBA franchise felt it was time to stop the bleeding as soon as possible by making a change at head coach. Immediately after Brown’s firing on Friday, the Lakers contacted 11-time NBA champion and former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson.

The Lakers’ front office made it clear that Jackson was the clear favorite to be hired by the team for a third time. Jackson met with the Lakers’ brass at his home in Playa Del Ray on Saturday to discuss the position and his interest in returning. Jackson expressed a strong interest to return and received the backing of the Lakers faithful.

Unfortunately for Jackson, the Lakers decided to go in another direction by hiring Mike D’Antoni formerly of the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks shortly after defeating the division rival Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

The move took everyone in the city of Los Angeles completely by surprise. D’Antoni was one a short list of other candidates for the position along with Jerry Sloan and Mike Dunleavy, but none of the three were considered serious contenders if Jackson ultimately wanted the job.

Apparently, Jackson had a listed of demands that the team did not want to meet in order to bring him back to Los Angeles. Along with Jackson’s demands, the Lakers’ front office was reluctant to bring back the Triangle offense in favor of D’Antoni’s run-and-gun style.

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