Late Sunday night, immediately after the regular season ended, it was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Frank Vogel had coached his last game with the Lakers. And it’s now being reported that Los Angeles already has its eyes on a potential replacement.
The Lakers will target Raptors coach Nick Nurse this offseason, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Nurse is under contract with Toronto for the next two years, and it’s unclear if he would even be interested in joining the Lakers.
However, if he were interested, Los Angeles would have to engage in trade talks with Toronto. Nurse, 54, coached the Raptors to an NBA title in 2019 and was named Coach of the Year in ’20. Toronto enters the NBA Playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Michigan’s Juwan Howard is also a name to watch this offseason as the Lakers look for a new coach, per Charania. Howard coached the Wolverines to a Sweet 16 appearance this past season and was interviewed for the open Lakers job back in 2019. He was also teammates with LeBron James while the two played for the Heat.
It’s worth noting Vogel has yet to be fired and James told reporters he has not been told that he was being fired as of Monday. The Lakers finished the disappointing season 33–49 after talks of being championship contenders this past offseason. Significant changes will be coming to Los Angeles this summer.
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