The Lakers fired coach Darvin Ham after two seasons, each of which had unarguable successes however ended with the Lakers shedding to Denver within the playoffs.
The staff reached the Western Convention finals in Ham’s first season and received the in-season event in his second. However inconsistent lineups and an excessive amount of experimentation with personnel mixed with a scarcity of locker room help led to frustration.
Regardless of the trigger, the long run is what issues most. Who will the Lakers flip to subsequent?
The established candidates
There’s an assumption in some NBA circles that the Lakers, as they’ve been vulnerable to doing, will flip exhausting towards the opposite route after deciding the highway they had been touring was the improper one.
Previously, they changed an outsider in Mike D’Antoni with an insider in Byron Scott. They changed Scott, an skilled coach, with Luke Walton, who was getting his first head teaching job. After Walton, they went with somebody extra skilled in Frank Vogel, after speaking with different skilled coaches resembling Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue.
And after Vogel, they employed one other first-time coach — Ham.
So if the Lakers are going to zig after they zagged (no, not Gonzaga’s Mark Few), the place may they appear?
Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson was a finalist for the job two summers in the past and impressed some within the entrance workplace in the course of the Lakers’ final teaching search. Former Portland coach Terry Stotts has been excessive on the staff’s want checklist on a number of events, with the Lakers attempting to rent him as a lead assistant, in response to folks conversant in the state of affairs not licensed to talk publicly.
Lue, after all, can be a main goal ought to he develop into out there (and doubtless the identical for Dallas coach Jason Kidd), however Lue has a job teaching the Clippers, and will get a contract extension quickly.
Mike Budenholzer, Ham’s former boss in Milwaukee and Atlanta, is anticipated to fetch the most important teaching contract this offseason ought to he take a brand new job. Different former coaches who’ve lead bench roles across the NBA embody Scott Brooks and James Borrego.
Learn extra: Lakers fireplace coach Darvin Ham within the wake of first-round playoff loss
The redo
The Lakers may buck their hiring traits and once more attempt to discover a longtime assistant coach able to tackle an elevated function.
Denver’s David Adelman has had a front-row seat for the Lakers’ points with the Nuggets and has followers contained in the Lakers’ entrance workplace.
Minnesota assistant Micah Nori is about to tackle a outstanding function after Timberwolves coach Chris Finch suffered a knee harm in his staff’s sweep in opposition to Phoenix.
Learn extra: Plaschke: Hasty firing of coach Darvin Ham is extra Lakers insanity
Boston assistant Charles Lee labored with Ham in Milwaukee and has been considered a prime teaching prospect and a prime candidate in Charlotte. Celtics assistant Sam Cassell has interviewed for prime jobs as nicely.
Dallas’ Sean Sweeney is also seen as a powerful future coach, and Mavericks assistant (and former Laker) Jared Dudley could be very shut with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Miami’s Chris Quinn can be extremely considered in NBA circles.
Going this route once more — whereas acknowledging there is no such thing as a time for a studying curve with James and Davis anchoring the core — most likely isn’t the best possibility. However, it may find yourself being one of the best one if the Lakers don’t discover a sexy candidate with expertise.
The wild card
One identify that has had some steam is JJ Redick, a former participant turned TV analyst.
Redick, whose identify surfaced in regard to the Charlotte opening, is a strong-enough basketball thoughts in James’ ebook that the 2 partnered for a podcast about on-court technique. However Redick, 39, by no means has coached. And once more, the Lakers are getting into a interval of actual urgency.
Join our weekly e-newsletter on all issues Lakers.
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Instances.
