Lakers make a surprise pick

EL SEGUNDO – Pau Gasol arrived home from Sunday night's game against the Kings and read the news on Twitter, and Dwight Howard received a midnight message on his BlackBerry.

They shared a mix of surprise, trepidation and anticipation with many Los Angeles Lakers fans.

Just when many people thought the Lakers were getting back together with Phil Jackson, they switched course in the middle of the night and went with Mike D'Antoni.

What a weekend in Hollywood – and the real drama isn't over yet.

The Lakers reacted with ample excitement and a little bewilderment Monday to their front office's surprising decision to hire D'Antoni as Mike Brown's replacement over Jackson, the 11-time champion who discussed the job at his home Saturday. D'Antoni didn't even interview for the job in person, speaking to the Lakers over the phone.

"It has been crazy, but all this stuff will just make this team stronger," said Howard, who has been in a Lakers uniform for about six weeks. "Everything that we've been through so far, it's going to make us stronger, and we have to look at this as a positive situation."

The Lakers' third coach in four days won't take over the team until later in the week. D'Antoni still hadn't been cleared to travel Monday after undergoing knee replacement surgery, although the Lakers were optimistic the former Knicks and Suns coach would arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

So interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff was still in charge Monday when the Lakers gathered for an informal workout ahead of tonight's game against San Antonio. Just two weeks into the regular season, the Lakers are about to start over with a new offense and another coaching staff.

"It's been a zoo," said forward Antawn Jamison, a 15-year NBA veteran who played for D'Antoni on a U.S. national team. "But as I was telling somebody, it's just a typical day here in L.A. It's interesting. … It should be a lot easier to adjust to than the system we were trying to get adjusted to early on in the season. We've got Steve (Nash) that can help us out."

Two Lakers who supported Brown and his two potential replacements weren't available in El Segundo to weigh in on the hire. Nash missed the workout while receiving treatment on his injured leg, and Kobe Bryant left before it ended to share a helicopter ride home to Orange County with point guard Steve Blake, who needed an exam on his abdominal injury.

And the tall, professorial coach with all the rings wasn't at the Lakers' training complex at all. Just 24 hours after Jackson seemed headed back to his oversized chair on the Staples Center bench, D'Antoni had the job.

It's too soon to tell how the Buss family's latest counterintuitive move will sit with Lakers fans, who chanted, "We want Phil!" during the club's weekend games, two victories after a 1-4 start, including a 103-90 win over the Kings on Sunday night.

"I think everybody had expectations about it, and they were all pretty high," Gasol said of Jackson's potential return. "We all understood what Phil brings to the table … and what he means to the city and the franchise. It just couldn't work out for whatever reason."

Jackson issued a statement to a handful of media outlets Monday, implying he was essentially offered the job after meeting with Lakers owner Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak.

Jackson thought he would be able to come back to the Lakers on Monday with his decision but instead was awakened by a midnight phone call from Kupchak.

"The decision is of course theirs to make," Jackson said in his statement. "I am gratified by the groundswell of support from the Laker fans who endorsed my return, and it is the principal reason why I considered the possibility."

• Read more articles by Greg Beacham

Order Reprint