Getty Lakers GM Rob Pelinka
The Los Angeles Lakers need a new head coach after firing Frank Vogel. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Lakers’ search for Vogel’s replacement is expected to be expansive and lengthy.
We can rule out one name for the job, though. Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told Toucher & Rich that he won’t be leaving Beantown for Los Angeles.
Brad Stevens was asked on @Toucherandrich if he’d have interest in coaching the Los Angeles Lakers: “I definitely would not leave the Celtics to go to the Lakers. Like, I’m definitely not doing that. I know that for a fact.”
Stevens coached the Celtics from 2013-14 to 2020-21. He won 354 games in the regular season and 38 in the playoffs. The former Butler coach moved to the Celtics’ front office last summer and hired Ime Udoka as his replacement.
Stevens is a big fan of Lakers superstar LeBron James. In January 2021, he had this to say about the King: “He’s as special as special gets. He’d be a multiple-time more MVP winner if people didn’t get bored and look for other things to discuss.”
When he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15, LeBron showered Stevens with praise as well: “I highly respect their coaching staff and especially their head coach. A very well-coached team, he put those guys out there every night and put them in position to win the game and I think Brad Stevens is a very good young coach in our league.”
Doc Rivers Prefers Return to LA, Quin Snyder Doesn’t
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Doc Rivers and Quin Synder have been linked to the Lakers. However, on his podcast called Please Don’t Aggregate This, Fischer said Rivers and Snyder may both not take the Lakers’ job.
“There seems to be a lot of momentum toward him (Rivers) exiting stage left in Philly,” Fisher said. “Doc spent a lot of time in LA as the Clippers coach. Talk around the league is that that’s the job that he wants and I wonder if the Doc-Lakers smoke is more driven by that being a situation that Doc wants than the Lakers want.
“To be honest, I’ve heard from a lot of people who are close to Quin or who have worked with Quin or have known Quin in the past, it doesn’t seem like Lakers is something that he really would want. I feel like that interest and his name popping up might be coming more so from the Los Angeles side of things and that the San Antonio job would be far more attractive to him.”
If the Lakers can’t get Stevens, Rivers or Snyder, they may have to hire one of Vogel’s assistants (David Fizdale, Phil Handy) or go with the guy LeBron supposedly wants.
LeBron Wants Mark Jackson
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, LeBron would be very enthused by the prospect of Mark Jackson landing the Lakers’ head coaching job.
Jackson is currently a broadcaster for ESPN and ABC. He’s interviewed for various jobs since being let go by the Golden State Warriors in 2014.
“And here’s a tidbit to monitor as the Lakers conduct their latest coaching search: Sources say James would be very enthused by the prospect of Mark Jackson landing the job,” Amick reported. “But as history tells us, that doesn’t mean it will actually happen.”
The Lakers’ new coach will get to work with LeBron and Anthony Davis, two of the best players in the NBA. However, the rest of the roster is pretty flawed, so GM Rob Pelinka not only has to hire a new coach, but he also has to improve the team around LBJ and AD.