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Lakers Rumors: Quin Snyder Source of 'Serious' Interest After Jazz Playoff Exit
April 29, 2022
Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder is reportedly on the Los Angeles Lakers' radar in their search for a new head coach.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers have "serious" interest in Snyder after firing Frank Vogel.
Snyder has one year remaining on his contract with the Jazz, but it isn't guaranteed that he will be back with the organization on the heels of another first-round playoff exit this season.
The 55-year-old Snyder has spent the past eight seasons as head coach of the Jazz, posting a 372-264 record with six playoff appearances.
Each of those playoff appearances have come in the past six campaigns, but playoff success has largely eluded Snyder, as the Jazz have not made it past the semifinals during his tenure.
This season, Utah was eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks in six games despite Dallas being without superstar guard Luka Doncic for the first three games of the series.
It marked the end of a hugely disappointing season for the Jazz, who were expected to make a far deeper run with a roster headlined by Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson.
While all of the aforementioned players are under contract for next season, a shake-up could be forthcoming because of a lack of playoff success. That could even include a coaching change.
If that comes to fruition, the Lakers would perhaps represent the most attractive landing spot for Snyder because of the presence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
With James and Davis both missing significant time because of injuries over the past two seasons, the Lakers have fallen well short of expectations.
The duo led L.A. to a championship to conclude the 2019-20 season; however, the Lakers had a first-round playoff exit last season and failed to reach the playoffs this season with a disappointing 33-49 record.
Making significant changes to the roster prior to the 2022-23 season could prove difficult with James, Davis and Russell Westbrook (assuming he exercises his player option) taking up much of the Lakers' salary cap.
The biggest change L.A. can make is a coaching change, and that is already guaranteed to happen on the heels of Vogel getting let go.
It is likely that the Lakers will have tons of interested candidates to sift through, but given the fact that Snyder has taken a team to the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, he figures to be of particular interest if he does indeed become available.