The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for their next head coach remains ongoing with the three finalists reportedly being former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson.
While others could reportedly still be in the running, those are the three most reported.
While all three are intriguing names who bring something different to the table, none of them are the biggest or most flashy names available, which is often associated with the Lakers. The Lakers are a premier franchise in the NBA and coming off arguably the most disappointing season in franchise history, a big splash was to be expected.
To that point, former Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves big man and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett gave his thoughts on the Lakers’ coaching candidates in a social media post and he was not impressed, to say the least, via Complex Sports:
Kevin Garnett weighs in on the Lakers search for a head coach ?
(Via: tic_pix Instagram) pic.twitter.com/NV71Z8qnJm
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) May 23, 2022
In fairness to the Lakers, the biggest or most well-known options are not always the best choices for a team. In fact, the franchise got a lot of criticism when they hired Frank Vogel in 2019 with many believing he wouldn’t make it through his first season and it would be just a matter of time before Jason Kidd took over.
As everyone now knows, that wasn’t the case as Vogel did an excellent job in his first year, leading the Lakers through a tumultuous 2020 season and hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of it. Though he is no longer with the franchise, it is hard to say that was the wrong choice considering a championship was won with him in control.
Though the list of Lakers coaching candidates may not look the best on paper, it does not mean Ham, Stotts or Atkinson can’t be the one to help turn things around for this franchise. Garnett and others may laugh now, but all that matters in the end are results.
Magic Johnson believes the right coach can make Russell Westbrook work on Lakers
Whoever that next Lakers coach is could have an extremely difficult situation to handle as Russell Westbrook’s fit with the Lakers did not work too well last season. It is possible the team could deal him away, but it is also a real possibility he remains on the roster next year.
But Magic Johnson believes the right coach can make the fit work. Magic noted that whoever the next coach is must take the time to sit down and talk with Westbrook to really figure out what he needs to thrive and be most comfortable with the Lakers.
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