Stephen A Smith Discusses Lakers Coaching Choices

Stephen A. Smith follows the situation in the Los Angeles Lakers and he has something to say about Lakers’ head coaching choices.

LeBron James was a fan of Mark Jackson, but he won’t join the team as the next head coach. Darvin Ham seems like a good option.

Smith wouldn’t bet on these candidates. He believes that the Lakers made a big mistake. Yes, Smith has a lot of respect for those people, but he doesn’t see them as good coaching options for the Lakers. The team is coming off of a bad season and Frank Vogel had to go. Many thought that Jackson would coach the Lakers next season, but things didn’t go the way everyone planned.

“I want to be very respectful and honest when I say this. I don’t like any of these choices, none of them. All three of these coaches deserve to be head coaches in the NBA; this is not about them. I’m saying that the nonsense we witnessed this year in Los Angeles, the new head coach of that franchise has to be somebody of that cache to galvanize that front office, the fans to the point where the players feel compelled to capitulate to the coaches wishes,” Smith said on a recent episode of NBA Countdown.

Lakers made unexpected coaching choices, one coach turned down the opportunity

LeBron wanted Jackson and even showed his appreciation for the coach. However, Jackson left the battle and LeBron would love to move on with Ham.

Eric Pincus from Bleacher Report noted that LeBron wants Ham. “He’s the guy LeBron wants,” Pincus reported.

Ham doesn’t have experience as a head coach but LeBron likes him. This is a big deal for Ham and any other coaching candidate.

ESPN Sources: Michigan coach Juwan Howard recently declined a Los Angeles Lakers overture on the franchise’s head coaching job. Howard is coaching his two sons — Jace and Jett — in Ann Arbor.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 22, 2022

It’s interesting to note that Juwan Howard wasn’t even interested in coaching the Lakers. He even turned down their offer. Adrian Wojnarowski from ESPN was among the first to report it. Howard wasn’t a top option for the team, but he had the courage to walk away from the opportunity. Fun fact? He and Pelinka played together at Michigan.