More is going on with the NBA coaching carousel than the Lakers getting rejected by Dan Hurley and now trying to find a path forward. Here are the latest reports from around the league regarding coaches.
• The Lakers aren’t the only team with a quality roster trying to find a new coach, so are the Cleveland Cavaliers — and they are going after some of the same people. New Orleans assistant and former Hornets head coach James Borrego is set to meet with Cleveland on Tuesday, Marc Stein reports. Borrego is also one of the guys in the mix in Los Angeles.
James Borrego is scheduled to meet with the Cavaliers about their head coaching vacancy in Cleveland today, league sources say.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 11, 2024
Borrego is also back at the forefront of the Lakers' search after Dan Hurley passed on L.A.'s offer to stay at UConn.
More: https://t.co/A6ycVmnZ8Y
Borrego’s offensive mind would be a good fit with Cleveland, although what their roster will look like next season will start to be answered when we find out if Donovan Mitchell will sign an extension to stay with the Cavaliers once free agency opens.
• Darvin Ham is headed back to Milwaukee as the lead assistant on Doc Rivers staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports. Ham was the lead assistant with the Bucks for years under Mike Budenholzer (now in Phoenix), he returns to Wisconsin after two seasons as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, leading them to the Western Conference Finals but not winning over the team’s stars (particularly Anthony Davis).
• Former Cavaliers assistant Greg Buckner also is joining Rivers’ staff in Milwaukee, reports Stein.
• Budenholzer, for his part, is bringing former Pac-12 Coach of the Year (I’m old enough to remember when that was a conference) Mike Hopkins to his staff.
ESPN Sources with @Petethamel: Former University of Washington coach Mike Hopkins — a two-time Pac-12 coach of the year — has agreed on a deal to become an assistant for the Phoenix Suns. Hopkins joins Mike Budenholzer’s new staff after three decades in college basketball. pic.twitter.com/GPKdKOXn4B
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2024
