Lakers Coaching Rumors: Monty Williams Becoming Suns Head Coach ‘Gaining Real Momentum’

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

With the 2019 NBA playoffs in progress, the Los Angeles Lakers are currently looking for former head coach Luke Walton’s replacement.

As owner Jeanie Buss’ current plan reportedly involves general manager Rob Pelinka running the team’s front office, he has interviewed four potential candidates so far.

Out of the group, Pelinka and the Lakers have already interviewed Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue twice.

With the Phoenix Suns also reportedly meeting with Williams twice, it appears this scenario is ‘gaining real momentum,’ according to Marc Stein of New York Times:

As the Lakers reportedly have not offered the head coaching job to Williams or Lue yet, the Suns are prepared to take the next step:

While the Lakers have been patient so far, they have competition for Williams now. If the former New Orleans Pelicans head coach is truly their frontrunner, it will be interesting to see if Los Angeles quickly makes an offer soon.

As all candidates do have ties to LeBron James and there is a certain perception that comes with that, the Lakers just need to hire the best one possible. Heading into Year 2, James buying into the new head coach is a major factor in the team’s ability to truly compete moving forward.

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Dan Duangdao was the managing editor at Lakers Nation (2013-16, 2018-20). He is currently the founder at LA Sports Media, Lake Show, Raiders Nation, Rams Nation, Kings Nation, Galaxy Nation, and MMA Rumors. Born and raised in Southern California and a lifelong Los Angeles sports and mixed martial arts fan, his first NBA game was Kobe Bryant and the Lakers against the Golden State Warriors with Michael Jordan in attendance during the 1998-99 NBA season. He was previously a contributor at HOOPSWORLD (now Basketball Insiders) and an NBA editor at ClutchPoints. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @DanDuangdao.