The first head coaching job to open up this offseason was with the Los Angeles Lakers. They fired Frank Vogel after three NBA seasons on the job earlier this week as they failed to qualify for the postseason.
The 2021-22 season was a major disappointment for the Lakers, who came into the campaign with sky-high expectations surrounding their new Big 3 of LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook.
Vogel wasn’t responsible for putting the ill-fitting roster together, but he is the first person to go as a result of it.
There are going to be a ton of names linked to the Los Angeles Lakers’ job. While the leash is short, as Vogel was fired only two years after winning the NBA championship, it is still a marquee job in the basketball world.
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One person we know that won’t be taking the job is Brad Stevens. Stevens is wrapping up his first year in the front office of the Boston Celtics after spending nine seasons on the sideline as head coach.
“No. Not entertaining,” Stevens told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” on Thursday about the possibility of him pursuing the Lakers job. “First of all, I have no idea what my future holds. I’m in one of those positions where someone decides to move on from me and this is the world we live in.
“I’m definitely not leaving to go to the Lakers. I know that for a fact.”
He made it crystal clear that he will not be taking the Lakers’ job, and who could blame him? Brad Stevens has a good thing going on with the Celtics, as he helped construct the roster that is entering the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston has built up a strong supporting cast around their two young All-Stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as the future looks bright in Beantown.
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Thus far, Quin Synder of the Utah Jazz, Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers, Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors, and Mark Jackson have been linked to the Lakers opening.
Brad Stevens doesn’t believe he is someone that the Lakers would reach out to, and cited that his Boston Celtics roots run too deep to even consider joining the purple and gold.
“I have not been a person they will reach out to anyway,” Stevens said. “They’ve got a lot of good candidates. They have a lot of better candidates than me I’m sure.
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“How about the fact that I’ve lived in Boston for nine years and everything in my closet is green. That is enough. Isn’t that a little bit of a rivalry? Come on,” Stevens said.
We have certainly seen and heard players and coaches downplay a move only to have it occur later on. But, it sounds as if Steven is committed to the Boston Celtics and they won’t have to worry about him leaving anytime soon, especially for a spot with the Los Angeles Lakers organization.
