Before their victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night, Doc Rivers shot down rumors that his Los Angeles Clippers head coaching tenure was coming to an end. When asked by reporters whether or not he’d be interested in taking over the Los Angeles Lakers job after coach Luke Walton is presumably discarded in the offseason, the former NBA champion was crystal clear.
“Let me end this,” Rivers said, per CBS Sports. “[Lakers president of basketball operations] Magic Johnson and I are very close friends … but Steve Ballmer and I have a great relationship … I'm going nowhere. I'm going to be here for a long time.”
He even mentioned that he quietly agreed to an extension to remain with the Clippers.
Doc Rivers said he and Steve Ballmer have agreed to an extension. Extension originally had an out this summer, but that’s been scrapped. “This is a great place to work.”
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) March 20, 2019
While there’s no guarantee that Walton will get fired or that Rivers was the Lakers’ top choice, his resume speaks for itself and he was going to be the most sought-after free agent coach on the market. Rivers has enjoyed stunning success this season with an injury-rocked squad that traded away their best player midway through the season.
With Rivers now officially out of the mix, the Lakers will still have a number of solid options to replace Walton. Here are five of them including a current collegiate legend, two current NBA assistants and two former NBA head coaches. All five hires would presumably be made to cater to LeBron James and what he needs as this stage of his career.
5. Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo has been the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans for 24 years. Magic Johnson is, of course, a former Michigan State legend and the two became and have remained close over the years. Izzo also has a connection with LeBron and the Cavs met with the coach before James left Cleveland the first time.
Over 24 years at Michigan State, Izzo has gone 602-231 (.723) and has made the NCAA Tournament an astounding 22-straight times. In that span, he has cut down the nets as NCAA champions twice and has celebrated 16 Big Ten Conference titles.
Even though he’s 64 years old and might be at the tail end of his career, Izzo might be interested in finally taking a leap to the pro game. With not much left to prove in the collegiate ranks and with a large gap between him and Mike Krzyzewski in the all-time record books, perhaps he’d be willing to finally make the shift, especially since the quality of high-profile collegiate prospects might be changing in the near future due to the proposed elimination of the one-and-done rule.
The thought of coaching LeBron and perhaps Anthony Davis and another superstar might be enough to lure him away from Michigan State.
4. Ime Udoka
Ime Udoka has been on Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs bench for seven seasons. Recognized as a true player’s coach on the Hall of Famer’s coaching tree, Udoka’s name has come up when discussing future head coaches in recent years. Although his NBA playing career was forgettable (he averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.1 minutes over 316 contests), he made an positive impression on Popovich during his two stints as a Spur.
He’s used his experience on Pop’s bench to his advantage, learning the ins and outs of how the legend approaches the game. Here’s what he told Francis Okupa of ESPN Africa last April:
“Anybody can do Xs and Os and game plan for a team and scheme. Pops got all the bases covered, he's great in all areas but he's the best at relating to the players. Building a relationship with those players.
Obviously, showing he cares for them is a big part of it. That's the thing I'll probably take away the most, the overall relationship with players. Once they know you care about them you can coach them a certain way and they allow you to coach them, but if it was that easy anybody that has a job would be able to coach guys and that's not always the case.”
Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka have repeatedly stated that they want to rebuild a winning culture in Los Angeles. Udoka has been a part of the most consistently-dominant sports franchises in recent memory and would fit in well to that win-or-else mentality. Further, his player-focused style of coaching might sit well with LeBron, who clearly hasn’t clicked with Walton. Coaching arguably the best player to ever live has proven to be a daunting task, but a player’s coach who will cater to James would most likely be the best fit.
That’s exactly what Udoka is.
3. Frank Vogel
If you’ve watched a Lakers game this season, you probably noticed that they’ve been a revolving door on defense. Vogel, who is universally known and respected as a stellar defensive mind, has had a roller coaster experience as an NBA head coach.
After eight seasons as an assistant coach in three different spots, Vogel became the head coach of the Indiana Pacers before the 2010-2011 season when he was just 37 years old. There, he went 250-181 overall, 31-30 in the playoffs and took the Pacers to Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2012 and 2013. But, his contract was not renewed after the 2015-2016 campaign.
He quickly found his next head coaching job with the Orlando Magic, but went just 54-110 over two seasons, dealing with an injury-ravaged roster with Bismack Biyombo as their highest-paid player. He is currently a free agent.
What might appeal to the Lakers front office is Vogel’s fiery attitude and demanding nature when it comes to his players. Then-rookie Jonathan Isaac revealed that Vogel would not allow his team to quit or lose their ferocity during games with the Magic, even when they faced insurmountable deficits.
Jonathan Isaac discussing Frank Vogel: “I think Frank did well in terms of his positivity and his relentlessness. There was a lot of times where he saw us give up, he saw us not play to the best of our ability. And he wasn’t having it.”
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) April 12, 2018
The current situation in LA can be characterized as a mess. LeBron is disjointed from the rest of the team. Certain guys simply do not try on the defensive end of the floor and there has been a lack of urgency all year long. Since the trade deadline debacle, the team has been all out of sorts.
While Vogel’s time in Orlando suggests that he might not get another chance as a head coach, he had a horrendous roster to work with.
If the Lakers make the moves they’re expected to make this offseason and if the front office surrounds LeBron and company with free agents or draft picks that fit into Vogel’s system, there’s no reason that he couldn’t succeed in Hollywood. He’s one of only a few potential candidates with over a decade of NBA coaching experience and that could end up benefiting him.
2. Juwan Howard
Another current assistant coach and former NBA player that has received some attention recently is Juwan Howard. Howard won two titles alongside King James in South Beach back in 2012 and 2013 and played a whopping 19 seasons in the Association. Now in his sixth season with Erik Spoelstra’s Miami Heat coaching staff, he has interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies, including with the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks last offseason.
Most importantly, James’ familiarity with Howard and his presumed system and culture would be a pleasant reminder of his days in Miami. After all, Howard’s coaching experience has come alongside former Heat assistant David Fizdale (who LeBron is a huge fan of) and under Spoelstra and Pat Riley. Howard’s hiring would most likely be made solely to appease James, but as seen before, when LeBron is happy, special things can happen.
1. Tyronn Lue
When the Cleveland Cavaliers fired Tyronn Lue just a couple weeks into this season, LeBron’s message was clear:
T Lue thanks for the memories and more importantly our partnership bringing a 🏆 to that deserved city/fan base. U know how to find me 🙏🏾
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 28, 2018
Lue famously took over the Cavs head coaching job for David Blatt midway through the 2015-2016 campaign and led LeBron, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and company to Cleveland’s first-ever NBA title that season. He then guided the team to the Finals in back-to-back years after that before being fired, presumably due to the post-James rebuild and directional shift.
Catering to LeBron will be the name of the game if the Lakers expect to contend in the near future — with or without marquee free agent signings or blockbuster trades.
Former NBA player and current CBS Sports analyst Raja Bell believes Lue is the only person the Lakers should pursue:
“There's only one candidate in my opinion and it's Ty Lue. You can make an argument that any of those other guys are as good, or if not better, coaches than Ty Lue. But there's only one guy that's got LeBron experience and there's something to be said for bringing a guy in and for him having to acclimate to LeBron's demands and to the way LeBron wants to play ball. That's a certain style.
Coaches come in with their style. You know that if you drop T-Lue in that locker room with LeBron, it works. T-Lue can give up and concede some of the stuff he may want to do. LeBron might be willing to do the same for T-Lue. But, at the end of the day, they've done it before. If you're the Lakers and you're rolling into next season you do not want to waste 20, 25 games trying to figure out if LeBron works with your coach again. So, I am going out and I am getting the guy that I already know, without a doubt, works with LeBron and that's T-Lue.”
While Lue’s real impact as a head coach was uncertain, one thing was clear: he gelled well with LeBron. Los Angeles’ title hopes start and end with LeBron and whether or not they want to admit it, they need to make him happy. Lue’s hiring would most likely accomplish that difficult task.
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