A Familiar Face Will Help Lakers Choose Next Head Coach

The next Los Angeles Lakers coach will have quite the challenge on his hands. And the team has assembled quite the committee to make sure they get this choice right. A search committee that starts with a legendary Lakers coach himself.

"Phil Jackson having input on Lakers coaching search" 👀

— Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN)#NBATwitter #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/GfSc0yeYHm

— 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙉𝘽𝘼 (@_Talkin_NBA) May 3, 2022

NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Today that 11-time championship coach (5X with the Lakers) Phil Jackson is front and center in the selection committee. And this will not be a quick process. 

"One person who is certainly significantly involved is Phil Jackson. He's got a voice in this... They're moving deliberately, they're not doing 7, 8, or 9 candidates all at once. They're kind of going down a list and taking their time with it... I think that process is going to take a bit."

Jackson was also involved, says Woj, with choosing the last Lakers head coach, Frank Vogel. Vogel won a ring in LA with the Lakers in 2020, but was fired after the just-concluded tumultuous regular season, with the team on the outside looking in at the playoffs. 

The 76-year-old Jackson won five championships with the Lakers; a three-peat with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant from 2000-2002, and another pair of titles with Kobe and Pau Gasol in 2009-10. 

Photo Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports