Getty Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski
While it’s always interesting to speculate about future moves from NBA teams, the situation with the Los Angeles Lakers has been tough to gauge. Current head coach Luke Walton’s job security has been deemed as safe, but the chatter around the situation is anything but convincing. In turn, this has led to the door opening for talk about potential future replacements.
Of the many names who have come up, one which jumps out the most is Duke Blue Devils legend Mike Krzyzewski. Although there’s little reason to believe Krzyzewski would leave Duke on the surface, the oddsmakers are making it an option. As Odds Shark revealed, Coach K is listed in a tie for No. 7 on the list of most likely options to be the Lakers head coach at the start of the 2019-20 season.
Updated odds to be the Lakers Head Coach for Game 1 of the 2019-2020 NBA season:
Jason Kidd +300
Tyronn Lue +350
Luke Walton +400
Mark Jackson +500
Brian Shaw +600
Juwan Howard +1000
Coach K/Rick Pitino/Jay Wright +1600
Bill Self +1800
Magic Johnson/Phil Jackson/Tom Izzo +3300
Obviously, much of this hypothetical situation would likely depend on how the current NBA season plays out. The Lakers find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in and have an uphill battle to make it to the postseason. But even if they do, there’s no guarantee Walton will return as their coach, and even the odds have him listed as No. 3 behind Jason Kidd and Tyronn Lue.
But then comes the debate over Krzyzewski, who’s made his fair share of interesting comments on the Lakers, specifically when offered the job previously.
Coach K Considered Leaving Duke for Lakers Previously?
Although Krzyzewski is a Blue Devils legend, Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times reported back in 2004 that he’s considered leaving Duke just three times ever. Once came when the opportunity to join the Boston Celtics in 1990 came up, another with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1994 and finally the Lakers.
Coach K told me three years ago he only thought of leaving Duke 3 times: The Celtics in 1990, Blazers in 1994 and Lakers in 2004.
This certainly doesn’t mean much now, but it’s still worth noting, especially since LeBron James, a member of the USA Men’s National Basketball Team is now leading the Lakers. James and Coach K know each other well, and it’s hard to forget the comments made just months ago about Duke’s coach.
LeBron James Praises Mike Krzyzewski
Early on in the 2018-19 college basketball season, LeBron responded to a video on Instagram of Krzyzewski cooling off the hype around his star-studded Duke team. In the comment, James said “Love Coach K!!” and that he hopes “he’s still at the helm when my boy comes up,” per SportsCenter.
LeBron is a big fan of Coach K dialing down the hype on his talented Duke team 👀
It’s a unique situation and one that the Lakers don’t need to worry about at this moment. But hypothetically, if the situation did arise, it would be tough to imagine Krzyzewski being willing to trade his former star Brandon Ingram in any potential Anthony Davis trade.
That’s at least something to consider.
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