The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to fill their void at head coach following the resignation of Mike D'Antoni, and while several former coaches are reportedly interested in the job and the Lakers have a list of names they are considering, the team reportedly hasn't contacted any of the possible replacements yet.
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According to ESPN, the Lakers are planning to do a round of phone calls to potential coaches soon but team brass won't be meeting for a personal sit-down interview with any coaches for at least another month.
"The Lakers have still not reached out to any of the names they are considering, according to a team source familiar with the coaching search," ESPN Los Angeles reported. "They are expected to commence a preliminary round of phone interviews soon, but will not schedule any sit-down sessions until later in the month."
Kobe Bryant Demands Input In Lakers Search For New Coach
The NBA draft lottery is taking place on May 20 and reports indicate that the Lakers could be waiting to see what pick they actually have before hiring the next head coach. Los Angeles also may have to consider if the coach will get along with Kobe Bryant for the next two seasons.
Bryant has openly stated that he wants to be involved in the decision-making process after the team has neglected to seek his opinion or approval of their last two coaching hires. It remains to be seen if the team will conference with its superstar before making any decisions, but Bryant likely won't hold his tongue regardless.
Bryant reportedly didn't care too much for D'Antoni during his run at the helm and even expressed the fact that he didn't really care one way or the other once D'Antoni announced he resigned because the team wouldn't pick up his 2015-16 option and he didn't want to be a lame duck coach answering the same questions about his job status as he did this year.
Bryant did admit D'Antoni had to deal with a lot of adversity, including injuries to himself and other veterans.
The injury-riddled Lakers suffered through their worst season ever under D'Antoni in 2013-14, stumbling to a franchise-worst 27-55 record and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
While there is a lot of pessimism coming out of what was a lost season, Los Angeles fans should be optimistic for this offseason as the team will enter 2014-15 with a lot of cap space, a quality draft pick, a healthy Bryant and, perhaps most importantly, a new head coach.
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