While we don’t know how much weight every factor carried, it’s fair to say that Monty Williams believes the Phoenix Suns will provide a better working environment than the Los Angeles Lakers.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday morning that the Philadelphia assistant coach is finalizing a deal to become the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, replacing Igor Kokoskov, who was fired almost two weeks ago.
The Suns later announced that Williams and the franchise had agreed to terms on a contract.
It was widely reported that for several reasons, being viewed as an outsider as well as not having a strong relationship with LeBron James, that Williams was considered the frontrunner for the Lakers job. But there are several factors working against the Lakers, even in a bidding war with the dysfunctional Phoenix Suns.
First of all, the Lakers power structure is a matter of debate and rumor. Rob Pelinka is running the Lakers as the General Manager and some within the league consider Linda Rambis as running the show instead of Jeanie Buss. Then of course you have the LeBron James Factor, meaning that any coach who shows up to coach the Lakers will have high expectations as soon as they show up.
Phoenix, for all their issues, won’t have the same expectations and they have considerable young talent that rivals the Lakers core. And some would say Phoenix’s young players are better than the Lakers young players, especially considering the possibility of a top pick again in the upcoming draft.
Williams’ decision to go to Phoenix seemingly leaves the door open for Ty Lue to take the Lakers job and reunite with LeBron James, with whom he went to three straight NBA Finals and won an NBA Championship. It’s not a bad backup plan.
