The Los Angeles Lakers‘ senior management has plans to travel East to meet with Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams between Games 2 and 3 of the Sixers’ playoff series, league sources told ESPN.
General manager Rob Pelinka is spearheading the Lakers’ search, which includes Williams and former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Ty Lue as central candidates in the process, league sources said.
The Lakers will interview Miami Heat assistant coach Juwan Howard and Lue this week, too, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. The Lakers received permission to interview Howard, sources told Shelburne.
Howard, who will also meet with Cleveland for its head-coaching opening, was a college teammate of Pelinka’s at the University of Michigan. The Sixers-Nets series has off days on Tuesday and Wednesday before resuming Game 3 in Brooklyn on Thursday.
Williams returned to coaching this season as Brett Brown’s top assistant. He spent the previous two years in the San Antonio Spurs‘ front office after the death of his wife, Ingrid, in early 2016.
Williams left the Oklahoma City Thunder as associate head coach in the aftermath of his wife’s death. He and his children relocated to San Antonio, where Williams had extended family.
Before his time with the Thunder, Williams coached the New Orleans Pelicans for five seasons. He reached the playoffs in his first season (2010-11) and his last (2014-15).
He won a gold medal as part of Mike Krzyzewski’s USA Basketball coaching staff at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
The Lakers' job became available on Friday, when the franchise and former head coach Luke Walton agreed to part ways.
Williams went 173-221 in five seasons with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, from 2010 to 2015. This is his first season back on an NBA bench after taking several years off following the death of his wife in a car accident.
