The LA Lakers want to make a splash with their head coach hire and names like John Calipari, Kevin Ollie, Derek Fisher and Tom Thibodeau are all in the mix for Los Angeles to interview and pulling one of those names could push the team towards making a trade for Kevin Love and other players for Kobe Bryant as he rebounds from another injury season.
The Lakers had the worst season in recent memory for the franchise and now they are without a head coach after Mike D'Antoni resigned and that came after the Lakers did not want to offer him more security past next season. The fit with the head coach was never right and now he is gone and this makes the decision not to hire Phil Jackson back look like a major mistake and with the Clippers franchise in turmoil, the tenants of the Staples Center look like a mess right now. Of course the Clips are in the playoffs, but the front office is a bit of a mess right now with the Sterling situation.
Mike Krzyzewski was always a potential target, but ESPN.com reports that the team will not pursue him and now names like Calipari, Ollie and Thibodeau are in the mix since the team wants to make a splash with the hire. ESPN.com reports that the team will ask permission to speak with the Bulls coach and this comes after Bryant was injured last season and now the franchise is looking to make a big turnaround heading into 2014 and 2015. The team is a complete mess right now and they are expected to pursue free agents like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony while also looking at a potential trade for Kevin Love.
The Lakers went just 27-55 last season, but the skies ahead are brighter, as the team has no salary cap commitments long term apart from Bryant and that means they could be in the mix for big names later down the line. ESPN.com reports that Kevin Durant has a close relationship with Ollie and the team could try to use that as a way to get Durant when he is a free agent in 2016. The Lakers have a ton of questions as they do this search and they are hoping to sign a big name to start turning the franchise around.
D'Antoni resigned from the team and now they are hoping to bring in someone like Calipari, who has been mentioned in connection with the job in the past. The team is also looking at Byron Scott and Kurt Rambis, while Derek Fisher is a realistic option if he wants to retire after the Thunder season ends. Fisher has a relationship with Bryant and that would follow what the Knicks are trying to do with Steve Kerr and the Nets did with Jason Kidd.