NBA Rumors: Lakers Interview Mike Dunleavy

The general consensus regarding the Lakers head coaching search was that it would commence after the draft lottery, and general manager Mitch Kupchak wasted no time. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Lakers interviewed Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday for their head coach vacancy.

While not one of the sexier names, Dunleavy has history with the Lakers and Los Angeles. Dunleavy replaced Pat Riley in 1990 and led the Lakers to the NBA Finals, where they’d lose to the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. The following year, he made the playoffs, but lost in the first round. He then made his rounds in the league, with stops in Milwaukee and Portland before settling in Los Angeles again, this time with the Clippers.

While in Portland, Dunleavy was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1999. It was in that season that Dunleavy and the Trail Blazers had the Lakers double digits on their own court in Game 7 before letting it slip away. His most recent stint in Los Angeles saw him take the Clippers to the playoffs in 2005-06.
Dunleavy’s total record 17 seasons as a head coach is 613-716, while sporting a playoff record of 38-33. He made one trip to the Finals in his first year as head coach and two other trips to the Western Conference Finals, both with Portland. He has been in the playoffs seven times total, making it out of the first round four of those times.