The Los Angeles Lakers are back in a head coach hunt after three years of Frank Vogel’s tenure.
Vogel paid the ultimate price for L.A.’s disappointing 2021-22 season even though vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka admitted the last season’s roster “did not work.”
To justify the decision, Pelinka said the Purple and Gold need a “strong voice” to lead the LeBron James and Anthony Davis-led roster.
Numerous candidates have been linked with a move to L.A. However, The Athletic’s Jovan Buha thinks Quin Snyder, Mike Brown and Doc Rivers are the most realistic candidates to replace Vogel on the Lakers:
Doc Rivers, Quin Snyder, and Mike Brown are all realistic coaching candidates, in my view, depending on how Rivers’ and Snyder’s respective seasons end. I’d rank them Snyder, Brown, and Rivers from the Lakers’ perspective.
Buha added the Lakers head coaching job will be the most attractive on the market besides, perhaps, what the Brooklyn Nets could offer if they decided to part ways with Steve Nash.
Hence, he thinks “about any coach is attainable” for L.A. — although he labeled the Toronto Raptors’ Nick Nurse and Kentucky’s John Calipari as “the coaching long shots.”
Among other candidates for the job, the Lakers could reportedly take a look at Juwan Howard and Mark Jackson.
Snyder & Rivers believed to have second thoughts about Lakers job following Vogel’s dismissal
The Lakers parted ways with Vogel following days of rumors about the organization’s intent to fire its head coach. Vogel then had to awkwardly answer questions about his potential dismissal during the postgame interview after the season-ending victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The way the Purple and Gold dismissed Vogel reportedly made Snyder “less interested” in taking over in L.A.
Not long after, Rivers said the Lakers treated Vogel “unfairly” before adding he “wasn’t a candidate” for the position.
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