Halfway through April, the Los Angeles Lakers notched their first win of the month, snapping an 0-7 skid and a stretch that saw them lose nine of 10 overall Monday night, however embattled coach Mike D'Antoni said he doesn't plan on addressing the team's struggles until after the season is over.
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The Lakers have one more game on the schedule, a visit to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, after the team topped the Utah Jazz 119-104 on Monday. D'Antoni, whose future with the team is in question, said that he won't address the future or the team's season until it's officially over after Wednesday night's game.
"Thursday, we got exit meetings," D'Antoni said via ESPN "So, there you go, I'm to Thursday. Then I've got Easter coming up. I'm going to do that. Then after that, I don't know, guys. We'll see what happens."
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The Lakers victory over the Jazz may have hurt the team's chances in the NBA Draft lottery, however D'Antoni doesn't want his team to tank.
"We want to win," the coach told ESPN prior to Monday's game. "It would be unprofessional not to try to do it. That's not right for these guys. We want to compete. Hopefully we can get it."
The Lakers have dealt with injury woes all season and are 25-56 this season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005. D'Antoni's job status is one of the many question marks heading into the offseason, but the coach won't address anything until Thursday.
D'Antoni has one-year and $4 million left on his contract after this season with a team option for the following season, but he may not be able to see it through if the team opts to get rid of him next season.
While he shied away from an overall assessment, D'Antoni did say that not many of his players should long for credit after the way the season has played out.
"I don't think there's any credit to be given," D'Antoni said per ESPN. "We've only won 25 games, so you can't give credit. Guys have been working hard. OK, you can [note] that. Some of them have gotten better. Yeah, OK. But there's no credit to being in a bad season."
The Lakers visit the Spurs Wednesday to close out the 2013-14 slate, what happens after that is anyone's guess.
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