Report: Michigan's Juwan Howard more interested in coaching his sons than the Los Angeles Lakers
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Monday that he expects Michigan Wolverines head basketball coach Juwan Howard to emerge as a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job in the next several weeks. However, it appears there’s more interest from the Lakers side than is coming from Howard’s camp, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, a former Michigan guard and teammate of Howard, said he doesn’t have a list of candidates quite yet, but Turner reported a few names to keep an eye on.
“The most intriguing coaching names they likely will consider are Utah’s Quin Snyder, Toronto’s Nick Nurse, Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers and Michigan’s Juwan Howard, but all of those coaches are under contract,” Turner wrote.
“Steve Clifford, the former coach with the Orlando Magic, Terry Stotts, the former Portland Trail Blazers coach, and Darvin Ham, an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, are names that have been mentioned among league insiders.”
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In January 2021, Howard signed a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2025-26 Michigan season. The former Michigan All-American was hired by the Wolverines in the spring of 2019 following John Beilein‘s departure to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s been in Ann Arbor for three seasons. He went 19-12 in his first season, with the postseason being canceled, won the Big Ten and reached the Elite Eight in 2021 and brought his team to the Sweet 16 this past March. Howard has won five NCAA Tournament games since being hired by his alma mater, three more than any other Big Ten coach during that span.
Not only has Howard seen success since becoming Michigan’s coach, he’s working with his sons. Guard Jace Howard is set to be a junior on next year’s team, while his youngest son, Jett Howard, is a four-star, top-50 recruit who will enroll this summer and be a freshman for the Maize and Blue.
Coaching Jace and Jett has been in Howard’s plans, and it doesn’t appear that’s changed even with the Lakers job opening up.
“According to people familiar with Howard’s situation, he wants to continue coaching his two sons, Jett and Jace, who both play at Michigan,” Turner continued. “Howard interviewed for the Lakers job that eventually went to [Frank] Vogel in 2019. Howard was an assistant coach for six seasons with Miami and won two championships as a player with [Lakers forward LeBron] James and the Heat.”
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Howard has shot down NBA rumors each of the last two seasons, saying he wasn’t “exploring, seeking or listening.”
What Are The Lakers Looking For?
Pelinka met with the media after firing Vogel, who won the team the 2020 NBA Championship, and explained what he’s looking for in his replacement.
“In terms of what this team needs right now, we feel like with, obviously, superstars on our team, we want a strong voice that’s able to inspire the players to play at the highest level of competition every night,” Pelinka said.
“And I think that’s going to be one of the resounding qualities that we look for in terms of holding everybody from the top player on our team to the 15th man to a degree of accountability. And that’s going to be one of the many characteristics that I think jumps out today.”
While Howard may be a fit for that criteria, the Michigan coach might not be an option for the Lakers.
