Jim Buss decided for the Los Angeles Lakers to hire Mike D'Antoni instead of Phil Jackson largely out of a concern that the triangle offense would have pushed Steve Nash out, according to sources.

Buss thought hiring D'Antoni would trigger the Lakers' offense by reuniting him with Nash.

"The way this turns out," one league source connected to the hiring process said, "you've chosen not only Steve Nash over [Pau] Gasol, but maybe over Gasol and Dwight [Howard]."

If the Lakers had hired Jackson, the offense would be running through Gasol, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant in the post.