The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for a new head coach might be over soon. According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, the Lakers have already identified preferred candidates for the position and will soon begin with the last stage of the process.

The list includes former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, ex-Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, and current Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant Darvin Ham. The trio is expected to head to Los Angeles for in-person interviews in the coming days.

Stotts is the most accomplished of the previously mentioned candidates, having made the postseason eight consecutive times with the Blazers before being fired at the end of the 2020–21 campaign. His best run with Portland was during the 2018-19 season when the Blazers made Western Conference Finals. Stotts previously coached the Atlanta Hawks and the Bucks as well.

Atkinson’s only head coaching job was with the Brooklyn Nets. He led the franchise for three-and-a-half years, mostly during its rebuilding years, before stepping down midway through the 2019-20 season. The 54-year-old player has since served as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

Ham is the wild-card, having no previous NBA head coaching experience. However, his work as an assistant under current Bucks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer made him a popular candidate for several head coaching jobs in recent years.

The Lakers decided to fire their head coach Frank Vogel after a disastrous 2021-22 season that saw the team finish with a 33-49 record and miss the playoffs. Several high-profile names were linked with the vacancy in recent weeks, including the Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers and the Utah Jazz’s Quinn Snyder, but it appears that the LA team opted for a less glamorous name.

The post Lakers Considering Terry Stotts, Kenny Atkinson, and Darvin Ham for Head Coaching Vacancy appeared first on SportzBonanza.

If you thought that the Los Angeles Lakers are done with their organizational shakeup, think again. Three days after Magic Johnson stepped as Lakers’ president of basketball operations, the team announced that they have mutually parted ways with head coach Luke Walton.

“We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years,” – said Lakers’ GM Rob Pelinka in a team statement. “We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward.”

Walton leaves the Lakers after a disappointing season in which he led the team to 37-45 record and extended the franchise’s postseason drought to six seasons. The 39-year-old posted 98-148 record during his three seasons long tenure as the team’s head coach.

“I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers,” – said Walton in a statement. “This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family.”

According to sources close to the situation, Los Angeles Lakers are considering several names as a potential replacement for Luke Walton, but former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers’ assistant coach Monty Williams emerged as the most favored candidates.

Lue, who left Cavs early in the season, has good chances of landing the job due to the fact that he previously coached team’s biggest star LeBron James to an NBA title in Cleveland. He also has connections with the franchise, having played for the Lakers between 1998 and 2001. 

Williams, on the other side, is a well-respected name in NBA circles and has previously served as a head coach with New Orleans Pelicans between 2010 and 2015.

The post Luke Walton Mutually Parts Ways with LA Lakers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ search for a new head coach might be over soon. According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, the Lakers have already identified preferred candidates for the position and will soon begin with the last stage of the process.

The list includes former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, ex-Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, and current Milwaukee Bucks’ assistant Darvin Ham. The trio is expected to head to Los Angeles for in-person interviews in the coming days.

Stotts is the most accomplished of the previously mentioned candidates, having made the postseason eight consecutive times with the Blazers before being fired at the end of the 2020–21 campaign. His best run with Portland was during the 2018-19 season when the Blazers made Western Conference Finals. Stotts previously coached the Atlanta Hawks and the Bucks as well.

Atkinson’s only head coaching job was with the Brooklyn Nets. He led the franchise for three-and-a-half years, mostly during its rebuilding years, before stepping down midway through the 2019-20 season. The 54-year-old player has since served as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors.

Ham is the wild-card, having no previous NBA head coaching experience. However, his work as an assistant under current Bucks’ head coach Mike Budenholzer made him a popular candidate for several head coaching jobs in recent years.

The Lakers decided to fire their head coach Frank Vogel after a disastrous 2021-22 season that saw the team finish with a 33-49 record and miss the playoffs. Several high-profile names were linked with the vacancy in recent weeks, including the Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers and the Utah Jazz’s Quinn Snyder, but it appears that the LA team opted for a less glamorous name.

The post Lakers Considering Terry Stotts, Kenny Atkinson, and Darvin Ham for Head Coaching Vacancy appeared first on SportzBonanza.

If you thought that the Los Angeles Lakers are done with their organizational shakeup, think again. Three days after Magic Johnson stepped as Lakers’ president of basketball operations, the team announced that they have mutually parted ways with head coach Luke Walton.

“We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years,” – said Lakers’ GM Rob Pelinka in a team statement. “We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward.”

Walton leaves the Lakers after a disappointing season in which he led the team to 37-45 record and extended the franchise’s postseason drought to six seasons. The 39-year-old posted 98-148 record during his three seasons long tenure as the team’s head coach.

“I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers,” – said Walton in a statement. “This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family.”

According to sources close to the situation, Los Angeles Lakers are considering several names as a potential replacement for Luke Walton, but former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers’ assistant coach Monty Williams emerged as the most favored candidates.

Lue, who left Cavs early in the season, has good chances of landing the job due to the fact that he previously coached team’s biggest star LeBron James to an NBA title in Cleveland. He also has connections with the franchise, having played for the Lakers between 1998 and 2001. 

Williams, on the other side, is a well-respected name in NBA circles and has previously served as a head coach with New Orleans Pelicans between 2010 and 2015.

The post Luke Walton Mutually Parts Ways with LA Lakers appeared first on SportzBonanza.