The triangle is pretty complicated and requires rigorous practice. Remember, Kobe Bryant came thisclose to demanding a trade because he fucking hated the triangle.
This NEVER happened.
During Jackson's first season with the Lakers, Bryant got incredibly frustrated with the triangle's focus on the center (and the close relationship that O'Neal developed with Jackson), and he had several episodes of lashing out over what he felt to be a reduced role. Obviously, they've mended their fences, but the triangle is
not a simple offense.
Where do you get this stuff? Kobe became frustrated with the player and person Shaq was and that had little to do with the Triangle. Shaq was the no. 1 offensive option and that also had nothing to do with the Tri. Kobe never "lashed out because of a reduced role". Since Kobe came into the league Shaq was the no. 1 option on the Lakers. Why would Kobe's role be decreased? In fact, Kobe's role increased over the years as he developed. You may be basing your belief that Phil and Shaq were close on the fact that Phil felt Shaq should be the no. 1 option. But Kobe, "frustrated" because of the relationship...no. And none of this happened in PJ's first year with the team as you state.
BTW, the offense has no particular "focus" on the center position beyond the fact that the offense is initiated through that position. When Phil came back and coached the team after Shaq left, the Lakers ran the tri more like more like the Bulls did.
The triangle offense relies on wing players to do the bulk of the ball handling beyond half-court. Nash is not a good fit in that offense.
And so you think that because Nash plays point guard, he is incapable of playing on the wing? With Nash's ball handling and shooting skills, there is no reason he can't play on the wing although that won't likely be his designated role. The fact that the tri doesn't require a traditional "point guard", teams who run it can opt for a bigger (and sometimes less skilled) player alongside a 2-guard type.
Howard's a bi-polar headcase, though. It's hard to believe that picking up a new offense in the middle of a season would be terribly easy for him.
I don't care how big a head case he may be, the offense requires smarts not mental stability (MWP notwithstanding), and Dwight plays the easiest position to learn in the offense.
Huh? Jackson returned to the Lakers in June 2005, well after their season was done; Frank Hamblen took over the team after Rudy T resigned out of nowhere.
Okay.
The team made no such statement; it came from an unnamed source
True, but you were quoting Chris Broussard at ESPN and that guy is wrong way more often than he is right. I'll take the LA Times unnamed sources over Broussard any day when it comes to the Lakers.
Being a veteran doesn't mean you pick things up that much more quickly.
Yeah...it does, especially when there are guys on the team who have run the offense before.
I'll bet Nash knows the offense pretty well himself after having played against it for so many games. Besides that, the Lakers haven't been the only team he (and likely other guys) have seen play the tri in the west. San Antonio, and Minnesota have both run plays from triangle sets.
Edit: Jackson has told the team that he's pretty insistent on both the travel restrictions and the personnel thing, so both sides have agreed to table discussions for a couple of days; Lakers did a phone interview with D'Antoni today and are interviewing Mike Dunleavy tomorrow.
The team has stated that they are continuing the interview process in the event that Jackson does not take the job. From what I have been reading, although no formal offer has been made, the team has made it clear to PJ that he is their guy if things can be worked out to their mutual satisfaction.
Just as the leaks about the job being Jackson's if he wants it are almost assuredly coming from his agent as a leverage thing, I guarantee you that the interview with Dunleavy is a leverage move on the Lakers' part. They're telling Jackson that they're more than willing to go with another candidate if he decides to throw a tantrum about not wanting to travel.
Neither you nor I can confirm who the sources of the leaks are, but it is still a negotiation and both sides have things they want. One of the other things I've read is that PJ wants more say in basketball decisions -- now that could be way more of a sticking point than travel, if true.
I think they will work it out and the team will pick up the offense in time to be a significant factor in the playoffs and that is all that really matters.
