After seeing the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets taking steps to find their next head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers finally started to make their move.
The Lakers face a pivotal offseason where they have several important decisions to make to turn the franchise around, and finding a new leader on the sidelines is priority number one. So far, Los Angeles has interviewed a few candidates such as Mark Jackson and Terry Stotts and they will reportedly meet with up to eight to 10 candidates.
The current list of candidates they have met with so far is a mix of first-timers and experienced coaches, but they have also been linked to bigger names like Doc Rivers and Quin Snyder. Rivers and Snyder are still with their respective teams, but it seems the Lakers may be holding out to see if either of them become available in the coming weeks, via NBA insider Marc Stein:
Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham, Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin and Jackson are the four known candidates to have interviewed with the Lakers to date. Sources maintain that the Lakers’ search is moving deliberately at least in part because L.A. wants to see if Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers or Utah’s Quin Snyder makes it to the open market this offseason.
From the sound of it, it looks like L.A. is more interested in bringing in someone with previous head coaching experience, which make Rivers and Snyder desirable targets on paper. Rivers has a championship under his belt during his time with the Boston Celtics while Snyder previously worked with the organization as an assistant.
However, even if either or both of them were to hit the market, it seems like a longshot they would consider coming to Los Angeles.
Rivers took exception to how Frank Vogel was treated and publicly said he would not be interviewing, while Snyder reportedly does not view the Lakers as an attractive landing spot. L.A. biding their time may come back to bite them, so it would be better for them to make a move now rather than wait.
Phil Handy not being considered in Lakers head coaching search
One name who has been surprisingly omitted from the Lakers head coaching search is current assistant Phil Handy. Handy is primed to become a head coach at some point in the near future, but it seems he is not seriously being considered by Los Angeles as they look for someone with more experience.
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