Report: Juwan Howard wants to stay at Michigan to coach his sons

University of Michigan head coach Juwan Howard reportedly wants to continue coaching his sons rather than leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching position.

Howard was one of the candidates that the Lakers interviewed in 2019 before they eventually hired Frank Vogel.

“According to people familiar with Howard’s situation, he wants to continue coaching his two sons, Jett and Jace, who both play at Michigan,” the Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner wrote. “Howard interviewed for the Lakers job that eventually went to Vogel in 2019. Howard was an assistant coach for six seasons with Miami and won two championships as a player with [LeBron] James and the [Miami] Heat.”

The Lakers are looking for Vogel’s successor, but it appears unlikely that they’ll be able to pry Howard from the college ranks.

In his three seasons as Michigan’s head coach, Howard has compiled a 61-32 record and was named the Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year in the 2020-21 season.

Michigan took a bit of a step back this season, but the Wolverines still beat Colorado State University and the University of Tennessee in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines were eventually eliminated by Villanova University in the Sweet 16.

The Lakers moved on from Vogel following the end of the 2021-22 regular season. Vogel led the Lakers to an NBA title in the 2019-20 season, but the team has struggled the past two seasons.

Part of that is due to injuries to James and Anthony Davis, but the Lakers were unable to even make the play-in tournament in the Western Conference this season.

With Howard likely off the board, the Lakers will focus their coaching search on some other big names, such as Quin Snyder and Nick Nurse, this coming offseason.