Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers are in search of a new head coach now after firing Mike Brown after a 1-4 start to this season.

Phil Jackson and Mike D’Antoni are both being targeted by the Lakers. Jackson is reportedly “willing to listen” as he awaits the inevitable phone call from the Lakers.

D’Antoni just had knee replacement surgery and wouldn’t be able to travel with the team until later this month if hired.

Some of the Lakers players are already backing the potential hiring of Jackson.

“He’d be great,” Dwight Howard told the LA Times. “There’s a lot I can learn from him. But until he comes, we’ve got to put faith in Bernie [Bickerstaff].”

Jackson once said that if he could pick one player to start a franchise with, it would be Howard and not LeBron James. The chance to now coach Howard in L.A. and chase some more titles might be enough to entice the Zen Master.

Former assistants Jim Cleamons and Kurt Rambis are ready to re-join Jackson on the sidelines if he does return, according to Yahoo! Sports.

D’Antoni would be an interesting fit in L.A. because of his history of not being a defensive-minded coach. To be fair, D’Antoni has almost always had Amare Stoudemire on his team and that never makes it easy to play great defense. Howard would be about the biggest possible upgrade from Stoudemire in terms of defense and could make it so D’Antoni’s system is able to more closely compete for a title.

There is Steve Nash’s history with D’Antoni which also must be considered. Nash thrived under D’Antoni winning two MVP’s and making it to the Western Conference Finals twice. Nash did not look like he was going to be used right in the Princeton offense and the Triangle offense also doesn’t feature a point guard much.

There have been a few other names mentioned as possible replacement candidates for the Lakers head coaching position. Former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is among the candidates as well as Brian Shaw and Mike Dunleavy.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Kobe and head coach Mike Brown have discussed in detail the possibility of the Lakers switching their offense to the Princeton style next season.

“It’s a great offense,” Kobe told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s exactly what we need. It takes us back to being able to play by making reads and reacting to defenses. It takes a great deal of communication, but that’s where we’re at our best: Reading and reacting as opposed to just coming down and calling sets. Calling sets make you vulnerable.”

The Lakers will look different next season with or without Dwight Howard. They traded for Steve Nash shortly after the season ended which will throw an entirely new variable into the Lakers and Kobe.

Kobe has never played with a point guard quite like Nash before, one who is so talented and has dominated the ball so much in his career. Both Kobe and Nash will be due to adjust now playing together and this new offense may play a big part in that.

The Princeton offense, which is considered a close relative to the Triangle offense Phil Jackson ran with the Lakers, will allow for more versatility from more players. Someone like Pau Gasol will be a perfect fit in it as he is such a great passer for a big man and skilled in so many ways.

As Kobe continues to age, now 33, he will continue to look for more ways to gain an edge on the competition. The great players always do this. They don’t just keep deteriorating as time goes on, they keep fighting during their athletic decline and often will rise back up in forms we haven’t seen before.

Kobe embracing an offense that won’t feature him as much as an isolation monster is an example of this. It’s really just what the Lakers need from him too.

The Lakers were bounced in the second round of the playoffs this past season in five games by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder and Miami Heat met in the NBA Finals in what was a glimpse into what the future of the NBA will look like. The Lakers realize they need to change some to keep up with these young guns.

The Lakers have vaulted probably to the second-best team in the Western Conference for this coming season. The Thunder are still considered the class of the conference but adding Nash has moved L.A. ahead of the Spurs, probably unfairly.

There is still a great chance L.A. will trade for Dwight Howard before the season begins too which will make them that much more potent of a title contender.

The Thunder got over what some would consider a big hump beating the Lakers, the team that has dominated the Western Conference for so long, in a series a few months back. The Lakers aren’t rolling over and dying though.

The Thunder will be considered the favorites in the West this coming season but there will be a lot of work to do to repeat and make it to the NBA Finals again.