Lakers News: Recent LA Coaches Being Considered For Plum New Gigs Next Year
Two very recent Los Angeles Lakers coaches have been actively pursuing new opportunities this spring.
Frank Vogel, who served as LA's head coach from 2019-22 and led the Lakers to their 17th title during his first season with the team, was considered to be a finalist for the Houston Rockets head coaching assignment that ultimately went to controversial ex-Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Fischer reveals that former Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego was also a finalist for the role.
Marc Stein, who would know about such things, has revealed that current Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, himself a former LA assistant coach, is looking for veteran experience to fill out his bench. Stein floated the possibility that Vogel, under whom Kidd served in Los Angeles, could be considered as a potential assistant under Kidd in Dallas, though for now the ex-LA play-caller is hoping to find work as a head coach.
Kidd took the Mavs to a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2022, but his team dramatically underperformed in the 2022-23 season after letting Jalen Brunson leave for the New York Knicks in free agency. He's looking for a bounce back after the club finished as the 11th seed in the West (albeit in a bit of a late-season tank job to ensure its draft pick, but even if Dallas was trying it wouldn't have gotten much higher than the ninth seed in the conference).
Sources inform Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson of Bally Spots that John Lucas III, a former journeyman reserve NBA point guard who most recently served as an assistant coach under Vogel for the 2021-22 Lakers, is being considered as a potential assistant coach to serve under Udoka in Houston.
In terms of appetizing head coaching gigs for Vogel, it seems like the Milwaukee Bucks would represent the most tantalizing opportunity, although they do have a bit of a short leash, as evinced by the fact that they canned the head coach who led them to a title in 2021, Mike Budenolzer, this summer. The Lakers, too, fired Vogel just two years after he led them back to the promised land. The Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons are also on the hunt for a new head coach. One wonders if playoff clubs like the Cleveland Cavaliers or Philadelphia 76ers might also be looking for a new voice soon.
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