The coaching situation for the Los Angeles Lakers is going to be a topic for major speculation until they finally decide to make a move or stick with Frank Vogel in the offseason. While the coach is expected to depart, they must find the right candidate to replace him, or they could find themselves back in a similar situation next season.
Names like Doc Rivers and Quinn Snyder have been thrown into the mix, despite both coaches having teams that are in the postseason with a lot on the line before any moves can be thought about. Shannon Sharpe has suggested that the Lakers interview Mark Jackson considering his role in putting together the championship core the Golden State Warriors have had throughout the 2010s.
And now, a new name has been added to the list of potential coaches the Lakers can acquire, with reports that the franchise will ask about Toronto Raptors Head Coach Nick Nurse. Nurse has won a championship with the Raptors and is considered one of the best in the business, and while it’s unlikely he would leave, an Eastern Conference executive thinks that the Lakers will at least ask.
One Eastern Conference executive says the Lakers could pursue Nick Nurse
“I would expect the Lakers to at least ask about Nick Nurse.”
(Via @SeanDeveney ) pic.twitter.com/IPbjsO1frb
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 10, 2022
Nick Nurse is an extremely impressive coach, he has a record of 186-121 since he took over the Raptors and has a championship pedigree, something that is very difficult to find. However, Nurse has been with the Raptors since 2013, first as an assistant and then as a head coach, and with the new team now one that he has helped build is unlikely to leave.
The Raptors have comfortably clinched the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference this season, going on an incredibly impressive run to end the season. Whether they face Philadelphia or Boston in the first round remains to be seen, but if the Raptors impress in the postseason again, the possibility of Nurse going anywhere near the Lakers goes from unlikely to almost impossible.
