Los Angeles Lakers interviewed former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stots about coaching the franchise on Friday, ESPN sources said.
Stots joins the Lakers search process as a candidate with a history of playoff consistency, offensive creativity and the ability to build relationships with his star players. Prior to his dismissal in 2021, Stots reached the Western Conference playoffs in his last eight consecutive seasons – including two trips to the conference semifinals and a place in the 2019 conference finals.
So far, the Lakers search process has been methodical. The organization has interviewed coaches on a wave of one or two at a time, sources said, avoiding the traditional format of interviewing multiple candidates before shortening the list for follow-up interviews.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is the main person in the search for the organization, but a commission has been set up to scrutinize the candidates. In addition to Pelinka and owner Ginny Buss, adviser Kurt Rambis and former Lakers coach Phil Jackson are also important parts of the talks, sources said.
The Lakers also approached Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darwin Ham and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin to discuss the discovery, sources said.
After missing the 33-49 playoffs, the Lakers fired Frank Vogel in April.
Stoats left Portland as the second most profitable coach in the history of the franchise, including a 402-318 record in his nine seasons as coach of the Blazers. He had short stops with the Atlanta Hawks (2003 and 2004) and Milwaukee (2006 and 2007), where he had four seasons below 0.500.
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