Lakers Coach: Juwan Howard Update

While Juwan Howard has not been heavily discussed in recent days as a potential head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, you can’t deny that he exists.

The Lakers interviewed the Miami Heat assistant and many view him to be a distant third in the race.

The L.A. Times’ Broderick Turner noted that Howard “impressed” the Lakers during his first interview.

According to Turner: Howard also impressed the Lakers during his interview at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

Howard also has the advantage of being teammates with LeBron James and winning a championship with him during their Miami Heat playing days.

On the coaching side: Howard has had no head coaching experience, yet.

But objectively speaking: Neither did former Lakers coach, Luke Walton. Walton, a former Golden State Warriors assistant coach, did however serve as an interim coach with the Golden State Warriors after Steve Kerr took significant time off due to health concerns.

As for Howard: he has served as the Miami Heat’s defensive coordinator under head coach, Erik Spoelstra.

And as SB Nation’s Silver Screen and Roll’s Harrison Faigen brilliantly pointed out: Under Juwan Howard’s assistant coach tutelage, the Miami Heat have had a top-10 defense for the last four seasons.

Howard also has a background in player development, which would certainly help with the Lakers’ young core; if any of them are still around next season.

It is widely believed that Ty is still a favorite.

Lue is a former NBA Champion as a head coach and has had two interviews with the Lakers.

Ty Lue is believed to be up there because of ties to LeBron James.

But other names have surfaced, too.

Jason Kidd’s been mentioned.

Kidd posted a 139–152 record in his 291 games coached in Milwaukee before he was fired last season.

Kidd was higher on the list during the NBA season. Magic Johnson was also calling the shots back then, as well.

Will Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach, Monty Williams choose the Los Angeles Lakers as the team he will coach next season?

Per Lonzo Wire’s Christian Rivas:

According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams didn’t leave their second interviews with jobs offers, nor were they told when their decision would be made:

Neither Williams nor Lue were offered the job and neither was given a timetable on when the Lakers will make their decision, said the people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The Lakers also interviewed Miami Heat assistant Juwan Howard, but he’s viewed as a distant third in the race. While there are rumors that the team will interview more candidates in the coming weeks, expect the decision to come down to Lue and Williams.

Multiple reports in the last 24 hours state that the Phoenix Suns have an interest in Monty Williams.

Via Bleacher Report:

On Wednesday, Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the possibility of Phoenix hiring Monty Williams to fill the role is “gaining real momentum.”

Stein noted the job is his “if he wants it” but pointed out the fact Williams could have multiple opportunities means he “has the rare ability to be choosy about where he wants to coach next.”

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in April the Suns were “planning to target” Williams, who is currently an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, after they fired head coach Igor Kokoskov. However, he also noted the Los Angeles Lakers were planning to interview him a second time, as well.

Williams was a player before he was a coach, entering the league out of Notre Dame as a first-round draft pick of the New York Knicks in 1994. He played nine seasons for the Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic and 76ers.

He was then an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers before he became the head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans prior to the 2010-11 season. He spent five seasons in New Orleans and accumulated a 173-221 record with two playoff appearances, although he lost in the first round both times.

Williams has been the associate head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and an assistant with Philadelphia since.

As for Phoenix, it finished with the worst record in the Western Conference (19-63) this past season. Organizational stability is also a question mark following the decision to fire Kokoskov after just one season.

According to controversial Twitter account, Igotsources: The Phoenix Suns have an edge over the Los Angeles Lakers in the bidding war for Williams because the Suns are willing to give more front office input to Williams as way to to pry him away from Lakers.

Igotsources also claims that the Lakers would never consider such idea and that a decision on Williams’ part is expected by this weekend.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a lot to figure out between now, the NBA Draft and the NBA’s free agency period this July.

 

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