The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly interviewed former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts for their head coaching position on Tuesday.
ESPN Sources: The Lakers interviewed former Blazers coach Terry Stotts for franchise’s head coaching job in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Two more assistants will meet with LA in near future — Golden State’s Kenny Atkinson and Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 25, 2022
Stotts, who coached Damian Lillard in Portland, reportedly is “intrigued” with the idea of coaching Russell Westbrook in Los Angeles next season. Westbrook, who has a player option for the 2022-23 campaign, really struggled to mesh with the roster in his first season in Los Angeles.
Terry Stotts is intrigued with potentially coaching Russell Westbrook and believes he can help him be more effective and comfortable with his role than he was last season https://t.co/IhmHHBss0m
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) May 25, 2022
Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game in the 2021-22 season while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc.
It was reported that Los Angeles would need to part ways with at least one first-round pick to move Westbrook this offseason, so it appears Stotts is operating with the thought that Westbrook will be back in Los Angeles if he lands the head coaching position.
Westbrook is expected to make north of $47 million on his player option next season, so finding a viable trade partner may not be in the cards for Los Angeles without severely downgrading the roster.
If that’s the case, Stotts will be tasked with finding a way for LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook to coexist on offense in the 2022-23 season. The Lakers failed to make the playoffs with the trio in the 2021-22 campaign, but Davis and James both missed significant time due to injury.
Stotts is one of the candidates for the Lakers’ head coaching position and has a strong resume in his coaching career.
During his time with the Blazers, Stotts compiled a 402-318 record and led the team to the Western Conference Finals in the 2018-19 season.
