Michigan's Juwan Howard declines interest from Lakers as serious candidate for coaching job, per report

Michigan coach Juwan Howard has declined interest from the Los Angeles Lakers to be considered as part of their ongoing search for a new coach, according to ESPN. Howard will instead remain with the Wolverines as scheduled for the upcoming 2022-23 college basketball season.

Though Howard did not express interest in the Lakers job, ESPN reports that "his candidacy would've moved quickly" to a formal offer from one of the NBA's most iconic franchises had he been open to coaching in the league next season.

Howard plans to remain in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he will coach his sons next season. Jace will be a junior at Michigan, while younger son Jett will be a freshman.

There are several strong connections to the current Lakers franchise for Howard, which likely made him an intriguing candidate both for the front office and key members of the roster. Former college teammate Rob Pelinka is the Lakers general manger, and LeBron James was a teammate of Howard's while he was a player and later an assistant coach with the Miami Heat.

Prior to taking the Michigan job in 2019, Howard interviewed to become the Lakers coach after six seasons on the Heat bench.

But even with all that familiarity, Howard has reportedly put an end to the possibility of moving onto the Lakers before it ever materialized into serious discussions.

Howard has a 61-32 record in three seasons as a coach, guiding Michigan to the Sweet 16 in each of the last two years and getting to the Elite Eight in 2021 after winning the Big Ten championship. But while this past season ended in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, it did present some unique challenges for Howard.

Preseason top 10 expectations were lost early in the campaign, and life on the NCAA Tournament bubble got even trickier when Howard was suspended five games for striking a Wisconsin assistant coach. Howard returned for the postseason, and Michigan -- as a No. 11 seed -- was able to knock off No. 6 seed Colorado State and No. 3 seed Tennessee on its way to the Sweet 16 where the Wolverines fell to eventual South Region champion Villanova.

Howard started having his name linked to NBA job openings after the 2020 season, his first as a coach, and has remained a coach of interest in each of the two offseasons since with the Boston Celtics inquiring as to his availability last year.

Any time Howard is asked about the NBA, he has been adamant that he has no interest in professional basketball right now, reiterating his commitment to his current role at Michigan. As long as he's still in college and Michigan is regularly making the NCAA Tournament, these NBA overtures will likely continue.

Comments

Bill Russell Once Explained Why He Didn't Bother With Celtics Fans: "When I Was A Star, The Fans Called Us The 'Boston Globetrotters' Because The Celtics Had Black Players."

While the NBA is a beacon for freedom and tolerance in America, things didn't start off that way. In a place like Boston, during the 50s and 60s, racial tension was a pretty serious problem, and superstar big man Bill Russell had to deal with it on a game-to-game basis. Today, it can be hard for us to imagine just how difficult being a black basketball player really was back then. Fortunately, we have some clips: "The number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of an NBA team having black players. Out there, the star was Bob Cousy. No matter what I did, Cousy was the star. I remember I had a game where I had 25 points, 25 rebounds, 10 blocks, and the Boston Herald said I was lucky to play with Cousy." Unfortunately, the media didn't give Russell his respect back then. Despite being the best player on the court, and on his team, Cousy and others always got the spotlight. Even the fans weren't very accepting of Bill: "I didn't...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Sixers' James Harden backs teammate Joel Embiid for MVP: 'He deserves it, man'

James Harden has been a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for less than two months, but that's been more than enough time for him to appreciate the brilliance of Joel Embiid. The duo is expected to help the Sixers compete for a championship, but Harden believes another trophy should be on its way to Philly this year. In an interview with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Harden backed Embiid for MVP, saying "he deserves it, man." "I've only been here for a few weeks, but I already see his mindset," Harden said. "He wants to win. Some guys just want numbers, but he has both. He has the mentality of winning, and he scores the ball at a high level. I think he's prepared himself, especially coming off last year, for this year to be one of his best years." This has indeed been one of Embiid's best years. He's averaging a career-high 29.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.4 blocks while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent f...

Crossover World

Search This Blog