Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder has been bandied about as a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers’ current vacancy.
Utah is coming off a first-round exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Playoffs and seems to be headed for an off-season of change after another disappointing postseason run.
As for Snyder, he reportedly has one season remaining on his current contract with the Jazz. It’s led to widespread speculation that a move to Southern California could be in the cards.
The 55-year-old Snyder was asked about these rumors in his season-ending press conference with reporters on Monday. He refused to discuss Los Angeles’ reported interest in him and his own contract status in Salt Lake.
“My family loves it here. The experience continues to be a great one. Beyond that, I continue to maintain that I’m not going to discuss my contractual situation publicly.”
Quin Snyder on contract status with the Utah Jazz
Snyder’s presser seemed to have a tone that he will return to the Jazz in 2022-23. He talked about changes that will need to be made during the summer and some upgrades they might have to make.
The backdrop here is interesting in that rumors have suggested Utah will break up the core two of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert during the summer. The Jazz are coming off yet another premature playoff exit with a rumored rift continuing to exist between the two All-Stars.
Related: Ideal Rudy Gobert trade scenarios from the Utah Jazz
Los Angeles Lakers head coach search, Quin Snyder and the waiting game
Coming off a 49-loss season, the Lakers fired head coach Frank Vogel. Since then, they have conducted multiple interviews with candidates to replace the championship-winning head man.
That list includes former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson.
With the Sacramento Kings having opted for Mike Brown over Jackson in their search for a new head coach, the latter becomes a real possibility.
Meanwhile, other suggestions conclude that Lakers’ brass is playing this close to vest until it gets clarity on whether Quin Snyder or current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers will become available. Of this group, Snyder might be the best possibility.
- Quin Snyder coaching record: 372-264, six consecutive playoff appearances
To put this into perspective, Los Angeles has earned all of two playoff appearances since the end of the 2012-13 season.
There’s certainly some sense that the Lakers must get this right. LeBron James is in the back end of his prime. Anthony Davis continues to be an injury-plagued enigma. Acquired last summer, Russell Westbrook was a disaster in his first (and likely only) season with the Lakers.
For general manager Rob Pelinka and Co., it will be all about finding the right head coach for the job. That it so say, someone who can coexist with a big personality in King James while not taking on a submissive role that has defined head coaches who worked with James in the past. If he becomes available, Quin Snyder might be the best bet. At this point, that seems highly unlikely.