Things have been moving slow on the head coach front for the Los Angeles Lakers since the team fired Frank Vogel after the 2021-22 season concluded. There has been a myriad of names connected to the Lakers with no real ground made on the search.
The most newsworthy event around the team’s search for a new head coach is the fact that Phil Jackson is officially advising the Lakers during the search. Hopefully, that does not result in the team hiring Kurt Rambis to be the head coach once more.
Overall, while there has been some variety in the names that have been mentioned, it is pretty clear why this search has gone relatively slow. The expectation is that the Lakers have been waiting to see if either Doc Rivers or Quin Snyder become available as the team chases the big-name head coaches on the market.
This approach is horribly wrong by the Los Angeles Lakers.
It is clear that the team is simply looking for a big-name coach that can conceivably manage the starpower in Los Angeles. It was reported that one of the main reasons for Vogel being fired was Russell Westbrook’s struggles and Vogel’s inability to make it work.
Instead of hiring a good Xs and Os coach that can actually elevate players, like Vogel did prior to Westbrook showing up, it appears as if the Lakers want someone who can handle big personalities and get out of the way of LeBron James and Klutch Sports.
This will yield nothing but poor results for the Lakers. The Lakers should be scrounging through every team’s coaching staff looking for an assistant coach that has something special that can change the dynamic of the team. LA should be looking to hire the next Ime Udoka, not hire a veteran coach who is more concerned about what time his tee time is the next day.
Both Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers have continually fallen flat in the NBA Playoffs. There is literally nothing to indicate that they would make anything better, especially on the Russell Westbrook front, in Los Angeles. But because they are big names with experience handling star players, there is some sort of warped reality that leads the team to believe they are more qualified.
They aren’t. And unfortunately, the Lakers are too dysfunctional at the top to make the better basketball move instead of making the better PR move.