Lakers Rumors: Juwan Howard Would Be Head Coaching Candidate If Luke Walton Fired

Dan Duangdao
2 Min Read
Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports

With just three games remaining to conclude the 2018-19 NBA season, all of the attention has naturally been on head coach Luke Walton’s future with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Regardless of the injuries to LeBron James and the young core, Walton has been viewed as the team’s scapegoat with them missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

While Walton has some shortcomings, the reality is president of basketball operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka ultimately did not hire him.

As there are already potential head coaching candidates, Miami Heat assistant coach Juwan Howard would be on the list, according to Marc Stein of New York Times:

From the 2010-13 NBA seasons, James and Howard were actually teammates on the Miami Heat. After winning two championships, Howard made the transition to an assistant coach where he has held that position for the last six seasons and counting.

If the Lakers ultimately make another coaching change, James will have to trust the new head coach. While former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd and former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson are reportedly options, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue appears to be the name among coaching circles.

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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.
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