With Frank Vogel out as coach of the Lakers, a new voice in the locker room is needed for the Purple and Gold next season.
While the search is still ongoing, there are two candidates most likely to land the job: Terry Stotts and Bucks assistant Darvin Ham:
The Lakers have already been linked to over a dozen candidates for their head-coaching vacancy, but none of them have emerged as a clear front-runner yet. Ham and Terry Stotts are probably the closest to current favorites.
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka made it clear that the team was going to take their time with the search and that one of the most important coaching qualities would be gravitas. That suggests a coach with experience, but several of the first-year candidates they’ve been linked to are former players that are known to command respect.
Aside from Nick Nurse, Quin Snyder or another elite coach becoming available, it looks like the Lakers are strongly considering the upside of a rookie head coach.
After finishing 11th in the West this season, the Lakers are facing a busy summer ahead.
LeBron James needs this time to get right, Anthony Davis needs to get healthy, and Rob Pelinka will have his hands full trying to tweak and adjust the roster for the sake of improving the team.
Amidst it all, the Purple and Gold will have to look for their next coach, who has the potential to make or break this next era for L.A. Do they bring in a proven and respected veteran who will shake things up? Do they hire the inexperienced assistant who can breathe a completely new culture into the locker room?
Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see who they pick and whether it works in their favor on the court.
