If the Lakers are serious about accountability, Doc Rivers should never have been considered

Since this last Lakers season mercifully ended, just about everyone involved has preached messages of accountability, ownership of mistakes, and the steps they need to take to ensure last year doesn’t repeat itself.

Problem is: Jeanie Buss outlined how little accountability is actually being shown as all the decision-makers who built last year’s roster aren’t going anywhere, various parties from inside the organization have leaked why they can’t possibly be blamed for any of the mistakes made and, generally speaking, no one seems all that interested in actual accountability for last year’s failure.

In that regard, maybe Doc Rivers would’ve fit perfectly with Lakers culture.

Rivers is held up by a reputation earned years ago, has stubbornly refused to adapt as the league around him has evolved and lashes out and anyone and everyone who dares question whether there was something he could possibly have improved.

Sounds vaguely familiar but I just can’t put a name to a player who fits that description and the Lakers certainly wouldn’t have given up real assets and important players for such a detrimental presence in the locker room.

Ah, right.

This week on “The Hook,” Aaron Larsuel and I honestly evaluated Rivers as a head coach in the NBA as it is currently constituted then reacted as news broke live that Daryl Morey said in his exit interview Rivers would be returning to the Sixers.

Look, Rivers was, at one point, a very good head coach. The league around him has reached a point where he’s probably closer to average but, given the outright disdain he seems to have for accountability, it’s not exactly surprising to see four different organizations grow pretty clearly sick of his approach to the position.

If the Lakers are truly serious about looking inward and addressing where they collectively fell short last season, Rivers should never have been considered.

Aaron and I discussed all that, plus James Harden’s legacy and his contract situation moving forward, Nike separating itself from Kyrie Irving and what promises to be a thrilling weekend of playoff basketball.

You can listen to the full episode below, and to make sure you never miss a show, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.