The first big decision the Los Angeles Lakers will have to make in the offseason is deciding who will be the team’s new head coach after parting ways with Frank Vogel at the end of the 2021-22 season. Plenty of names have been mentioned as possibilities for the Lakers’ head coaching job and now one of the best Lakers ever could be considering throwing his name in the hat in Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal has never coached in the NBA before, but his name was brought up originally by rapper Percy ‘Master P’ Miller. Master P actually threw his own name in the ring as being the next Lakers head coach and said he would bring in some great assistant coaches, with Shaq being one of them.
O’Neal would discuss the possibility of coaching the Lakers on The Big Podcast with Shaq. When asked whether he would do it, Shaq in his normal joking way, laid out his terms for accepting the job, while also adding that he wouldn’t be Master P’s assistant:
“If the Lakers offered me $25 million a year, for four years I would coach the Lakers […] I need a four-year contract, I’ll coach them right now.”
“Let’s just say they have a conversation with Master P and they don’t pick him. Now I’m just gonna go in as a side meeting and say ‘hey, I know you didn’t wanna consider my good friend Master P, but if you want me, this is the fee.'”
O’Neal also made sure to point out his rhyme in the end, being that he is a platinum-selling rapper and Master P of course is one of the biggest selling rappers of all time.
Obviously O’Neal is joking in this instance if his terms of being a head coach didn’t make that clear. At $25 million a year, Shaq would be making more than most players and more than double that of the current highest-paid coach in the NBA, San Antonio Spurs legendary head coach Gregg Popovich.
The likes of Nick Nurse, Quin Snyder and Mark Jackson have all been mentioned as targets or possibilities for the Lakers’ coaching position. Getting someone with a bit more experience than Shaq for a fraction of the cost seems the much more likely move, but if the Lakers do want to go down that route they now know what it will take.
Attractiveness of Lakers coaching job being questioned around the league
Being the head coach of the Lakers is a position that many dream of, but apparently the job isn’t looking so hot if rumors around the league are to be believed.
Concerns of front office meddling and too many voices are combining to perhaps make the Lakers job not too attractive. The Lakers’ reputation may not be the best right now, but regardless of the talk and murmurs, all that matters is them getting the right guy for the job.
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