Los Angeles Lakers: What If Mike Krzyzewski Had Taken the Laker Job?

The Los Angeles Lakers were defeated by the underdog Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA finals.

Following the loss, a major rebuilding program began in L.A. Head coach Phil Jackson, who had guided the team to three titles, decided to leave.

And three-time Finals MVP Shaquille O'Neal was traded to Miami, causing superstar Kobe Bryant to go from Shaq's "sidekick" to the team's main go-to guy.

To replace Jackson, the Lakers attempted to pry the great Mike Krzyzewski away from Duke University. Coach K would reject the offer though, and chose to remain in the wonderful world of college basketball.

The Lakers eventually hired head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who had led the Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets to a pair of championships in the '90s.

Unfortunately, the 2004-05 season would prove to be a miserable one for basketball fans in Los Angeles. Due to health issues, Tomjanovich stepped down after just 41 games and the team ended up missing the playoffs for the first time in eleven years.

Jackson, however, would return to the Lakers the following year and went on to guide Bryant and Co. to another finals appearance in 2008 and then back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.   

Jackson obviously did a marvelous job for the Lakers and the Rudy T experiment didn't work out. But, what if Krzyzewski hadn't turned down the offer and decided to take his talents to the pros?

Krzyzewski is not just one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history, he's one of the greatest in the history of sports.

By '04, back when the Lakers tried to sign him, Krzyzewski's resume had included three national championships and 10 Final Four appearances at Duke.

After his decision to stay at the college level, Krzyzewski went on to guide Duke to another Final Four in 2006 and then another national title in 2010. And very soon, he'll pass Bob Knight as the winningest men's basketball coach in Division I history.

But, just because Krzyzewski enjoyed success in college, doesn't mean that he would have had any in the NBA. Several great college coaches over the years failed to have amazing pro careers, like Rick Pitino, Tim Floyd, Jerry Tarkanian and Lon Kruger.

How would Coach K have done as the head man for the Lakers?

He has quite a bit of experience coaching NBA players. He was an assistant for the U.S. Dream Team that won a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics and served as the head coach of the "The Redeem Team" which won gold in 2008. 

However, most of the players on those teams were NBA All-Stars and not guys like the Lakers' Kwame Brown, Smush Parker and Luke Walton.

Could Krzyzewski have led Kobe and the gang to a couple of titles like Jackson did? No one will ever know.

But Krzyzewski probably did the right thing by passing up the bright lights of the NBA. There was really no point to risk tarnishing a legendary legacy.