HoopsHype.com Rumors

Steve Kyler: RT @kalaker1: do u see dantoni coming back as coach next season? ---> Maybe. He's owed a lot of money and hasn't had a healthy roster Twitter @stevekylerNBA

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

Mike D’Antoni had plenty to say in his postgame press conference, but stayed away from a pointed question where the response would have clearly been to blame Bryant for the team’s late-game staleness offensively. The question was something to the effect of, what did he attribute to the ball sticking on offensive possessions late in that fourth quarter. You can see D’Antoni’s response here, and it’s pretty hilarious. “Oh, I don’t know, that’s a good question,” D’Antoni said, extremely sarcastically. “I wish I knew.” NBCSports.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni 

D’Antoni’s expression told us that of course he knew. But there was no way he was going to say it. “What, are you going to throw me a piece of dynamite,” he said, after a hearty laugh that suggested we were all in on the same joke. NBCSports.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni 

In a season in which the Los Angeles Lakers have pushed the reset button seemingly a half-dozen times already, Friday's 103-100 loss to the Washington Wizards left coach Mike D'Antoni sounding like he'd prefer to reach for the off switch at this point. "This is a good team that just for whatever reason can't collectively mentally get stimulated to [play hard] every time," D'Antoni said after the Lakers wasted an 18-point first-half lead. "I told them today, we put our hands in [the huddle], and you guys have probably seen it, we say, 'Championship,' and go out [on the floor]. That's laughable. Championship? You got to be kidding me. Nobody understands the importance of every possession offensively and defensively. Every time they got to come out with some kind of determination to be a good basketball team, and [until] then, we're just, we're fooling ourselves. Right now, that's what we're doing. We're just making a 'sham-mockery' out of it." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Mike D'Antoni 

"There's no explanation for it," D'Antoni said. "I can't explain it, but every time we get up 16 [points], it's like, 'Well, we're really good and we don't have to play hard,' and we start messing with the game. You start messing with not moving the ball. You start messing with, 'I'm just going to go one-on-one every time.' You start messing with the basketball gods, and they get you. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards, Mike D'Antoni 

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni had toyed with the idea of bringing Gasol off the bench as he rounds himself back into shape after being out since Feb. 5 with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot but said after shootaround Friday that the four-time All-Star would play with the first unit. "The reason being he'll warm up. He feels better when he gets warmed up and gets going instead of sitting over there for about 10-20 minutes and then playing," D'Antoni said. "He's more comfortable that way, and that's what we're going to end up anyway, so we might as well go ahead." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Mike D'Antoni 

D'Antoni said Gasol would be limited as he gets his "wind and legs" back but said there would be no restrictions on Bryant as he returns to the lineup after missing the last two games with a severely sprained left ankle. Tweeted Bryant after shootaround Friday: "Ankle was a lil sore from practice yesterday but should be good to go tonight #mambaface." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Mike D'Antoni 

Pau Gasol: My relationship with D'Antoni is normal, good, positive, friendly. ABC.es

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

After his team scored a season-low 76 points and was outscored 28-10 in the fourth quarter, Mike D'Antoni said it just about every way you can say it: "I think we ran out of gas. … [The Suns] had more athleticism, more energy and more legs than we did. I think we were tired; we just kind of got stuck in mud." And yet, D'Antoni left four healthy players on his bench until garbage time Monday, subbing them in with less than three minutes remaining and the Lakers trailing by 17 in their eventual 99-76 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The coach, in essence, played just seven players for the second game in as many days and saw no problem in doing so. "It means I got seven guys that I'm really confident with and I'm not going to take out," D'Antoni said afterward. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

D'Antoni was defiant about his decision to keep his rotation the way it is. "We're down eight [points in the fourth quarter], what do you want me to do? Take Nash out because he's going to miss the next 3?" D'Antoni said. "I don't know he's going to miss the next 3. Take Dwight out? What are you going to do? That's hindsight, and most people on the other side are real good at it and they're pretty clear, but it's hypotheticals that mean absolutely nothing." D'Antoni said the fact that he didn't consider doling out some minutes to those other players "means that they're not playing well enough to play." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni 

Kevin Ding: Hey, Kobe ... "We don't have to be one-player dominant," D'Antoni said. "That ball has to move, and when it does, we're really good." Twitter @KevinDing

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni 

The Lakers' 99-93 victory Friday over the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse featured all the elements that make teamwork tick. Dwight Howard overcame early foul trouble en route to 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks. Metta World Peace both scored (19 points) and defended, holding David West to 4-of-13 shooting. Reserves Antawn Jamison (18 points) and Steve Blake (17 points) made big shot after big shot. Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni called it "a big win for us." Others took it a step further. "It was our best win of the season," World Peace said. Los Angeles Daily News

Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni, Dwight Howard, Steve Blake, Antawn Jamison, David West, Metta World Peace 

Frank Isola: For what it's worth, Mike D'Antoni wanted Knicks to re-sign David Lee & not pursue Amar'e Stoudemire...despite the Knicks spin job in 2010 Twitter

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Amare Stoudemire, Mike D'Antoni, David Lee 

Kevin Ding: Mike D'Antoni on late shots by @Kobe Bryant: "That's ridiculous. That's unbelievable." #Vino Twitter @KevinDing

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Mike D'Antoni 

Mike D'Antoni said before the game that he doubted the Lakers players knew their team's record ... "I bet you 50 cents that if you go in (the locker room) they don’t know we’re one game under .500," D'Antoni said before the Lakers played the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. "Players don’t do that. Players play in the moment, live in the moment. Coaches do that. We worry about everything." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni 

Ricky Rubio: "I didn't attack Mike D'Antoni. I said I would be delighted to have Pau Gasol on my team if they didn't want him. I didn't say anything against him, but he took it personal. Besides, Pau is my friend and I think I can talk about my friends." SER

Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Pau Gasol, Mike D'Antoni, Ricky Rubio 

Say what you want about D'Antoni, but at least he has a way of saying things that are brutally honest sometimes ... "If he goes one-on-one and tries to play an 'And-1' kind of game, then he is very normal or bad," Mike D'Antoni said, describing Steve Nash on Wednesday. The coach wasn't taking a dig at his point guard. He was stating what he believes to be fact. But he praised Nash in the next breath. "I don't think he's lost anything ... I know it's easy to say he's 39 and whatever; I don't see it. I just think we haven't played well and it's hurt his game." Sulia

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni 

Dave McMenamin: Despite not meeting Dr. Buss, D'Antoni said: "You only hear great things. What he's done for the sport is beyond compare." Twitter @mcten

Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni, Jerry Buss 

Mark Medina: Mike D'Antoni on whether Lakers should make any moves before trade deadline: "I remained convinced we have enough" Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Trade, Mike D'Antoni 

Adrian Wojnarowski: Mike D'Antoni has remained intrigued with bringing exiled Jazz guard Raja Bell to Lakers, sources say. Twitter @WojYahooNBA

Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Trade, Raja Bell, Mike D'Antoni