Brian Shaw Shooed Away

Up to now, the Lakers organization still haven’t reached out to Brian Shaw and this obvious lack of communication translates to a very indifferrent treatment to a person who was with them for 11 seasons as a player and assistant coach and was instrumental in giving them 5 NBA championships. They hired new coach Mike Brown without even informing Shaw, who had been always loyal to the franchise.

The Mike Brown era brings a new system to the Lakers and obviously, top management also wants new faces to assist their new coach. Another assistant in the days of Phil Jackson was also left hanging in the air - Jim Cleamons. Jerry and Jim Buss are in the process of cleaning up whatever close remnants of the Jackson era that are left behind. Will they be sweeping away also team executive Jeanie Buss who, as per last checking, still lovey-dovey with Phil?

Joining Brown’s staff is Ettore Messina, a Euroleague coach who has become a legend in Europe. His job description reads something like a full-time consultant, just like what Tex Winter used to do on Jackson’s staff. Messina figure things out and helps make decisions when the going gets crazy for Mike Brown. He doesn’t sit on the sidelines like the other coaching assistants but rather hovers behind, within earshot of the coaches. Just like Tex.

So, who’s Messina? His resume reads six-time Italian League Coach of the Year while spending time with Virtus Bologna and Benetton Treviso between 1989 and 2003. He left Italy and hooked with CSKA Moscow, again becoming Euroleague Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008. Prior to his LA tour of duty, Messina was head coach of Real Madrid of the Spanish League.

Messina has an impressive resume but this still translates to a lack of NBA experience as compared to Shaw. Brown and Messina are completely unfamiliar with Lakers culture and the most logical thing for the franchise to do is to surround their new hires with people who practically spent the best years of their active lives as members of the purple and gold organization.

Top management argued that Shaw didn’t have head coaching experience. It’s a given and it’s non-debatable. But for goodness freaking gracious sake, Shaw had Lakers coaching experience, he had Ron Artest coaching experience, had Gasol coaching experience, had Bynum coaching experience, had Odom coaching experience and most important, had coaching experience with the league’s supreme diva, Kobe Bryant, who incidentally was his chief backer and endorser for the head coaching job. This should have been stressed and given importance.

Kobe for the moment, doesn’t want to talk about their new coach and his silence speaks volumes. This could be the beginning of a fragmented organization and I don’t want to see a repeat of that forgettable 2004 season. This could be risky.

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Congratulations to the Liloan 18-Under basketball team for winning the 5th Cong. Red Durano Basketball Cup last Saturday at the Danao City Civic Center. Except for the early minutes of the first quarter, the game was close all throughout. Liloan needed 2 overtimes to dispose of the equally strong and talented Sogod side, prevailing 105-103. In the battle for third place, the boys of Carmen outlasted Danao City in another tight game. Former PBA player Teroy Albarillo called the shots for Liloan, ably assisted by Randy Antonio. MVP of the tournament is Paul Desiderio, son of my good friend and neighbor, PAL’s Abner Desiderio. Layo ra imong abilidad sa imong anak, Te.

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Research shows an alarming increase on HIV-AIDS among senior citizens. They had become leading carriers of hearing AIDS, walking AIDS, medical AIDS, government AIDS, even Band AIDS. Among the men, majority are HIV positive - Hair Is Vanishing. Gerardo Frasco, Jr. and Benjamin Ypil, tinuod ni. Personally, I’m beginning to have symptoms of the first carrier. Ha? Unsa to?

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