The Los Angeles Lakers are deep into the hunt for their next head coach after the unceremonious firing of Frank Vogel. Could a former Brooklyn Nets coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant be their guy?

That's emerged as a true possibility given the latest report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

ESPN Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers have received permission to interview Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson for the franchise’s head coaching job. Atkinson has already interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets’ job.

Kenny Atkinson spent four seasons as the head coach of the Nets, helping lift them out of their dark days as a bottom-feeding team in the Eastern Conference. One aspect that the Lakers could definitely use from Atkinson was his ability to extract the best out of the limited talented available to him on the Nets roster.

Given Brooklyn's limited draft picks during his tenure, he was able to guide them to an improbable postseason run in the 2018-19 season, turning former Lakers lottery pick D'Angelo Russell into a one-time All-Star.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0UU0CKAmHj9Lay7lx4uXP3?si=ff171d048005430f

Atkinson then went on the become an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2020-21 season then the Warriors for the current campaign.

The Hornets have also interviewed Kenny Atkinson and seem to be targeting a handful of the same names as the Lakers are in the open market.

Given that LeBron James likely has just a few seasons left in the tank, who the Lakers select as their next play-caller is of utmost significance. Their choice could be the difference between another stinker of a season or them raising banner number 18 into the rafters.

Does that sound like hyperbole? Yes it does. But when it comes to the purple and gold, nearly every decision is of dire consequence, for better or worse.