Damian Lillard's former coach for the Portland Trail Blazers, Terry Stotts, appears to be in pole position to land the head coaching job for the Los Angeles Lakers. According to reports, Stotts took a major step towards becoming LeBron James' next head coach on Tuesday as he flew to Los Angeles for an interview with the Lakers brass.

This comes via ESPN's NBA guru Adrian Wojnarowski:

ESPN Sources: The Lakers interviewed former Blazers coach Terry Stotts for franchise’s head coaching job in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Two more assistants will meet with LA in near future — Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham.

It is worth noting, however, that the Lakers gig is not guaranteed for Stotts just yet. He was the first to interview among the three finalists, which also includes Kenny Atkinson and Darvin Ham. It remains to be seen, though, if Stotts' advanced interview puts him at an advantage over his competitors.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7LkPmnLI6ocyR5HfvBHxid?si=379a304102734b04

Whoever ends up landing the job will have his work cut out for him. It's no easy task managing such a star-studded team in an extremely high-profile setting. Needless to say, there will be a ton of pressure on the Lakers' next head coach.