Lakers News: Patrick Beverley Can’t Hide Excitement With Ex-Coach Announced as One of the Candidates by Former Team

Grey clouds are looming over the Lakers and their future. After an incredibly devastating first-round defeat at the hands of the Nuggets, they face what could be their most important offseason in recent history. Several key decisions need to be made regarding LeBron James’ future, and above all, the person who will fill Darvin Ham’s shoes. The newest report suggested a completely different name, and Patrick Beverley could not help but share his two cents.

Many names are in the fray for the gig, and the Lakers’ search should end soon. Candidates like Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick, and potentially Ty Lue are all under consideration. During Ham’s two-season stint, he led the Lakers to victory in 90 out of 164 games. That includes trips to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and the inaugural in-season tournament. However, failure to progress deeper into the postseason seemed to be his undoing. According to Forbes’ Evan Sidery, “The Lakers will interview Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori for their head coach vacancy.”

This decision has bemused many Lakers fans. However, Bucks’ Patrick Beverley has vouched for his old pal Nori. The two of them met during Beverley’s stint at the Timberwolves. He couldn’t hide his excitement, as he commented via his official X account. He wrote, “This right here tho”. Several fire emojis accompanied his message. However, the Lakers need to act fast because they missed out on hiring a big name.

The Phoenix Suns recently revealed that Mike Budenholzer will take over as their new head coach. Another contender for the Lakers’ coaching job was Charles Lee, an assistant from the Celtics. But guess what? The Charlotte Hornets beat them to it and named Lee their new head coach.

Who could be the Los Angeles Lakers’ next head coach?

It’s been more than a week since Darvin Ham’s been gone, but they still haven’t made up their minds. Jovan Buha of The Athletic is of the opinion that the Lakers’ process could take another “six to seven weeks”. The goal is to have a head coach before the 2024 NBA Draft. A primary reason behind this delay could be the ideal person’s availability.

Both, Micah Nori (with the Timberwolves) and David Adelman (with the Nuggets) are still busy guiding their teams through the trials and tribulations of this postseason. So interviewing them at such a time could be tricky. From the outside, either look like extremely experienced assistant coaches.

Micah Nori has been putting in the hours since 2009. Now, he’s onto his third season with the Twolves, but he’s lent his expertise to teams like the Toronto Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Nuggets, and Detroit Pistons. On the other hand, David Adelman has been the Nuggets’ assistant coach for the last seven seasons. However, there is a common connection between these two Lakers candidates as well. He began his journey as a Player Development coach with the Minnesota in 2011.

Interestingly, there’s another caveat to anyone who picks up the job. Since Phil Jackson’s retirement in 2011, they’ve had seven names take up the head coach title, and none of them have lasted more than three seasons. Only Frank Vogel and Luke Walton managed to make it to their third season.

According to various insiders, Nori and Adelman are the frontrunners for the vacancy in LA. Who do you think will take it? Let us know in the comments below.