Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has been under fire over the past several weeks as the proud franchise is on pace to have one of their worst seasons in history.
But while recent rumors indicated that D'Antoni's days in Los Angeles are already numbered, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak thinks the veteran coach has been doing a great job this season.
"I think he's done a great job," Kupchak said in an interview.
Kupchak pointed out that it is unfair to gauge D'Antoni's performance based on the Lakers' record this season because of the multitude of injuries that hit the team, including the injury sustained by superstar guard Kobe Bryant, who has only played in six games this season.
"I don't want to get into that with those kind of questions," Kupchak said when asked about D'Antoni's possible firing. "He's done a great job and dealt with a year last year when he was here part time and a ridiculous amount of injuries this year."
Bryant had a more direct to the point response when he was asked about D'Antoni's future with the Lakers, saying that he is unsure whether or not the 62-year-old coach will be back next season.
But like Kupchak, the 35-year-old superstar also said that the Lakers' disappointing season is not because of D'Antoni along, reiterating that the former Coach of the Year has yet to get a fair shake since replacing former Lakers coach Mike Brown last season.
"It's been tough on him," Bryant said. "The two years that he's been here, he's been dealing with so many injuries left and right. He hasn't really gotten a fair deal, fair shake at it since he's been here."
Bryant admitted, though, that he is still puzzled why the Lakers passed on hiring his former coach Phil Jackson last season, considering the fact that the 11-time champion coach expressed desire to handle the Lakers again.
"I didn't really understand it much either," said Bryant, who quickly added that he has no choice but to trust their front office executives. "What we can do as players is just trust the organization."
