Lakers Coaching Rumors: Heat Grant Permission To Interview Juwan Howard

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Without a president of basketball operations, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is reportedly leading the team’s coaching search.

While the Lakers should ideally hire Magic Johnson’s replacement first, it appears Pelinka has received more power during this process.

As the Lakers are reportedly set to interview former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams, another potential candidate has emerged.

The Miami Heat have granted the Lakers permission to interview assistant coach Juwan Howard, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN:

In Howard’s last three seasons in the NBA, he played with LeBron James and the Heat where he won back-to-back championships. Following his career, Howard joined head coach Erik Spoelstra’s coaching staff in 2013 and has been an assistant coach since.

While Howard has no head coaching experience, his relationship with James is a significant factor. In order for the Lakers to succeed, the reality is James does need to buy into the team’s next head coach.

With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Lakers, it will be interesting to see how owner Jeanie Buss handles the situation. As they have been known to hire family and friends, there is an opportunity to look for an outsider who can lead them back to the playoffs.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.