The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of their head coaching search to find the replacement for Frank Vogel. Terry Stotts and Mark Jackson have already interviewed while Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and Bucks assistant Darvin Ham will both interview as well.
But one name who has been mentioned as a top Lakers target from the beginning is Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder.
Snyder has a history with the Lakers franchise having served as an assistant under Mike Brown, but has been the head coach of the Jazz since 2014. Under Snyder, the Jazz have grown into one of the most consistent franchises in terms of regular-season success.
The question now is whether Snyder is ready to leave the Jazz, but as is the case with many involved in the game of basketball, family is important as well. In his exit interview following the end of the Jazz’s season, Snyder made note that his family absolutely loves it in Salt Lake City, via Sarah Todd of the Deseret News:
“First of all I want to say — and I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again — my family has loved it here. And don’t judge my tense when I speak,” he said with a smile before continuing. “My family loves it here. How’s that? Whether it’s school, the community, Salt Lake the city, the experience has been, and continues to be, a great one.”
The happiness and well-being of Snyder’s family will always be of the utmost importance as it should be and if they are extremely comfortable that will play a role. But it is also well known that Snyder has just one year remaining on his contract and did not sign an extension with the Jazz when offered, hence why the Lakers rumors were so strong.
Regarding his contract, Snyder continued to refuse to discuss it, though he did praise the Jazz players who he has been able to coach:
“I’m privileged to coach this group of players and I’m reminded of that consistently throughout the year. We’re all not perfect, but I’m grateful for that and I really like our players,” he said. “Beyond that, I think I’d continue to maintain that I’m not going to discuss my contractual situation publicly. That’s just not something that I want to do or am comfortable doing.”
Though it is Snyder’s right to choose not to discuss his contract situation, it will undoubtedly lead to more speculation about his future with Utah. The Lakers are known to have interest, but it has also been reported that Snyder isn’t as high on the Lakers’ job either.
The Lakers are taking their time in their search and would likely love to interview Snyder. But if he is not interested, which is looking more likely to be the case, the Lakers are already exploring any number of options with plenty of other names likely to pop up as time goes on.
Lakers expected to interview 8-10 candidates
While the Lakers are still early in the process of finding a new head coach, a recent report indicates they will interview at least 8-10 candidates so it seems they are leaving no stone unturned.
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