Uh oh.......Lakers coming calling

[Gringo]

KO will be discussed in just about every NBA head coaching vacancy. An NBA front office would be crazy not to consider him as a coach. The guy is the one of the best coaches out there.

With that said Ollie has shown no indication he is even considering leaving UConn in the near future. Until he does I'm not going to worry about what talking heads speculate on what Ollie will do.

 

[upstater]

The best thing that can happen is for Ollie to turn down his hometown Lakers right now. Then the other scrub teams can leave us alone for awhile.

 

[Justin M]

As said in article, Lakers would be interested in Ollie not only for his coaching but his friendship with KD. Which leads us to see why Derek Fisher is an even better fit than Ollie. He plays with KD now, is willing to jump into coaching right after retirement and knows the Laker system better than anyone. He understands how and where to get Kobe the ball and how to win games. Fisher is the perfect fit. With that being said, if Ollie left within next two years (which i don't think he will) i could see Calhoun lacing up the shoes again and coaching, which clearly isn't a bad alternative.

 

[Husky25]

I wouldn't blame him if he listened, but he is on the record that he is not done here. Here are three other reasons why I think Ollie stays put:

1. Who was the last college coach to do anything of consequence in the NBA? Tim Floyd (failure)? Mike Montgomery (failure)? It's a different game, considering the season length, salaries, and egos. Brad Stevens' tenure doesn't count, as it is incomplete. He has been in Boston for one year and his job for that year goes against every stitch of coaching fabric in his body. He was being paid $4 million to lose.

2. It took $4 million per to lore Stevens away from Butler. Ollie doesn't have Stevens' trackrecord if only because he hasn't been doing it as long. Regardless, no way the Lakers offer that to Ollie and whatever they do offer will most likely be matched by Manuel.

3. If any reason to go home is a negative, it would be for Ollie. He is from South Central Los Angeles. I'm sure that is the exact environment in which he wants to raise his kids. Though Ollie would probably choose to live elsewhere, home is probably not where the heart is.

 

[jibsey]

KO is not going to say anything nor should he until Warde sweetens up his contract, but I ask wouldn't KO assure Boat before his announcement that he was definitely staying? KO has character and I would be shocked if he took that. He can go for 10 years with UCONN and still have NBA opportunities galore.

 

[WillMadsDad]

I tweeted that dork and emailed him to apologize for that trash. And never associate Goodman with Sloth - that's an insult to Sloth Fratelli.

 

[Waquoit]

After what JC did for KO to get him this job there is no way he leaves UConn now.

KO doesn't owe JC or anyone else anything, IMO.

 

[warbler1055]

Where in the world is Warde Manuel in all this? The last I heard there is a new contract for HCKO.

 

[nomar]

I have a hard time thinking they would hire KO. The Lakers are one of the marquee franchises in the NBA. We all think KO is great, and he won a championship in only his second year of coaching, but does anyone think they're going to give a guy who has only 2 years of college coaching experience that job? I just have a hard time believing that.

KO has to listen though if the Lakers come calling.

By the way my mind keeps coming back to all the naysayers who said Ollie was doomed to fail with that short term contract he initially signed. Look at him now. He certainly proved them all wrong. If you want a good laugh read this article from Jeff Goodman.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...with-these-huskies-ollies-odds-dont-look-good

At least to his credit he did say, "I believe Ollie will someday be a star in this business. He has the pedigree, the work ethic and the knowledge." He just didn't think it would be now.

" No disrespect to Tyler Olander, but this year's starting center would have been a walk-on on just about every other Calhoun-coached Huskies squad."

Uh, except for the 2011 National Champion Huskies, the team that started Olander in the Championship Game, right? Is that what you meant, Jeff?

 

[tzznandrew]

"Just look at this roster. It's the UConn junior varsity squad. Sure, there are a couple of guys from the current group that could have played on some of the loaded teams over the last couple decades: Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and maybe even DeAndre Daniels (based solely on potential). But most of these guys could easily be found on bottom-tier Big East rosters, maybe even in mid-major programs. No disrespect to Tyler Olander, but this year's starting center would have been a walk-on on just about every other Calhoun-coached Huskies squad."

This is fantastic. Pure incompetence. Perhaps most egregiously the Olander bit, because, while we know Olander wasn't our best center, he did, umm, start on the 2011 title team! He didn't always play a lot, but walk-ons don't tend to play at all.

 

[ZooCougar]

Will someone explain Goodman to me?

 

[nomar]

"Just look at this roster. It's the UConn junior varsity squad. Sure, there are a couple of guys from the current group that could have played on some of the loaded teams over the last couple decades: Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and maybe even DeAndre Daniels (based solely on potential). But most of these guys could easily be found on bottom-tier Big East rosters, maybe even in mid-major programs. No disrespect to Tyler Olander, but this year's starting center would have been a walk-on on just about every other Calhoun-coached Huskies squad."

This is fantastic. Pure incompetence. Perhaps most egregiously the Olander bit, because, while we know Olander wasn't our best center, he did, umm, start on the 2011 title team! He didn't always play a lot, but walk-ons don't tend to play at all.

Great minds, tzzn...

 

[warbler1055]

KO doesn't owe JC or anyone else anything, IMO.

I have no doubt KO earned everything he's got. But JC did play a major role in his life and got him his UConn head coaching job. WM wanted to do a national search if you remembered.

 

[nomar]

Will someone explain Goodman to me?

 

[Waquoit]

I have no doubt KO earned everything he's got. But JC did play a major role in his life and got him his UConn head coaching job. WM wanted to do a national search if you remembered.

And if you remember, KO just coached the team to the national championship. Paid in full.

 

[warbler1055]

Wow!!! From the Courant "What we can report: UConn AD Warde Manuel said Thursday, through a spokesman, “there is no update to give” regarding Ollie’s contract talks. No word from Ollie’s side."

 

[warbler1055]

And if you remember, KO just coached the team to the national championship. Paid in full.

I don't think I will ever forget that championship run. I do get your drift though.

 

[CallMeBruce]

And if you remember, KO just coached the team to the national championship. Paid in full.

That's not the point. The championship is great, but the point of funneling the team into Ollie's hands was to carry on Calhoun's legacy, not to bolt in two years. If Ollie leaves now, after everything he's said, I'll consider him a hypocrite and a liar, and rightfully so.

 

[Chris]

I'll wait on the final word from Cheif and his sources, before I start to worry

 

[The Viking]

Wow!!! From the Courant "What we can report: UConn AD Warde Manuel said Thursday, through a spokesman, “there is no update to give” regarding Ollie’s contract talks. No word from Ollie’s side."

Which means they are still negotiating. I don't take that to mean they HAVENT. Started to negotiate. This lakers news will speed things along quickly.

 

[amory]

I really don't think he will, but on the offchance he does decide to leave this year, he'd earn a spot on my personal mount rushmore of hypocrites.

I don't mind Ollie-isms, in fact I quite like most of them. But you can't talk like that and then bolt this fast.

 

[babysheep]

Someone inform Goodman that Tyler Olander has more championships than Jim Boeheim

 

[businesslawyer]

No employee owes his employer or coworkers any more than his best work for the period for which he is being paid. KO is free to do what is best for him and his family without criticism from me. If he leaves, UConn just has to figure out what the next step is.

 

[businesslawyer]

And calling Goodman a hack, by the way, is insulting to hacks everywhere. The team he panned had three contributors to a national championship team on it, plus Daniels and Boat. Good duck*ing grief.

 

[The Viking]

This is where it's good to have a man of faith on payroll. He not some shuckster. He knows he's having an impact on kids lives here and he's making millions doing it. The NBA will still be out there in 5-10 years. He's not leaving.