The Los Angeles Lakers have been working behind the scenes to fill the vacancy of Head Coach that has followed Frank Vogel’s departure from the franchise. Recent names mentioned in the running have been Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darwin Ham and former Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts. However, it seems that overtures were made to another candidate as well.
Juwan Howard, currently coaching at the college level at Michigan State, was reportedly approached by the Lakers. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, he turned down the interest from the storied franchise, despite it being a massive opportunity for the 49-year-old:
Howard played at Michigan with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and with LeBron James in Miami. The Celtics had interest in Howard a year ago before eventually hiring Ime Udoka.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 22, 2022
“Michigan coach Juwan Howard recently declined a Los Angeles Lakers overture on the franchise’s head coaching job. Howard is coaching his two sons — Jace and Jett — in Ann Arbor.”
“Howard played at Michigan with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and with LeBron James in Miami. The Celtics had interest in Howard a year ago before eventually hiring Ime Udoka.”
Howard is a former All-Star, and he was teammates with LeBron James during the Miami Heat’s Big 3 era, and he won 2 NBA championships alongside LeBron. He has won multiple awards at Michigan for his work with the program, undoubtedly helped by his years of experience as an assistant with the Heat after his retirement.
It’s unclear as of now why exactly he didn’t pursue the Lakers’ interest, but at 49, he has the luxury of time before he takes the step to the NBA level. The Lakers are far from the best situation at the moment, with lots of stars in the locker room but an overall roster that has underperformed quite a bit.
There seem to be no candidates that are close to the job just yet, and the Lakers will be concerned about what it looks like to have their interest declined by a coach like Howard. Where they go from here is anyone’s guess, but the next coach will surely have quite the job on their hands trying to turn the organization’s fortunes around.
