The Los Angeles Lakers and the Charlotte Hornets, among others, have vacancies for the position of head coach. While an old acquaintance is supposed to help with the search in LA, an ex-Laker might take the helm with the Hornets.
To ESPNinformation, Charlotte has begun interviewing suitable candidates and is also considering hiring Mike D’Antoni. He already worked with the Lakers with Mitch Kupchak, who now acts as general manager for the Hornets. D’Antoni’s employment is being “seriously” considered and he is credited with promoting point guard LaMelo Ball.
There should be a meeting between D’Antoni and the Hornets, but this also applies to numerous other candidates. Among them are the assistant coaches Kenny Atkinson (Golden State), Darvin Ham (Milwaukee) and Sean Sweeney (Dallas), all of whom are still in the playoffs with their teams. Atkinson led the Nets to the playoffs as head coach in 2018-19. Ham has been part of Mike Budenholzer’s coaching staff for years and has already been named as a candidate for several vacancies. Sweeney is given great credit for the strong Mavs defense.
D’Antoni was twice named Coach of the Year, and in nearly 1,200 league games he has a 672-527 (.560) record for Denver, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles and Houston. Most recently, he was part of Willie Green’s coaching staff in New Orleans in an advisory role. The Hornets parted ways with Borrego following the season, who had led Charlotte to the play-in tournament twice in a row.
Lakers seek head coach: Jackson “significantly involved”
Some names are already circulating at the Lakers regarding the successor to head coach Frank Vogel, including the aforementioned Ham. First of all, however, the question arises as to who should make the decision at all. According to Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN be Phil Jackson in the search “significantly involved”.
This was already the case when Vogel was hired in 2019. The decision will now also be made as a group. Jackson had led the Lakers to five championships between 2000 and 2002 and 2009 and 2020, but has not held an official position in LA since leaving in 2011. Jackson had been in a relationship with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss for 17 years. His time in New York was less successful than in Los Angeles. He served as the Knicks’ President of Basketball Operations between 2012 and 2015, following the worst season in franchise history (17-65) that chapter was over.
