Lakers Rumors: Juwan Howard Was LA's Top Head Coach Choice Before Hiring Darvin Ham

For the second straight time in their search for a new head coach, the Los Angeles Lakers did not get their top choice.

Per NBA insider Marc Stein, Michigan's Juwan Howard was the Lakers' preferred option to replace Frank Vogel.

The Lakers announced on Friday the hiring of Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their new head coach.

As Los Angeles was in the midst of its coaching search, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the team did reach out to Howard in an attempt to gauge his interest in the job, but he declined in order to stay at Michigan.

According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers never presented Howard with a formal offer, but it likely "would've moved quickly to that stage" if he showed interest.

When the Lakers hired Vogel in May 2019, it came after a lengthy coaching search in which they also spoke with Tyronn Lue and Monty Williams.

Wojnarowski said on an episode of his podcast (h/t Kevin Zimmerman of ArizonaSports.com) that the Lakers were "surprised" when Williams took the Phoenix Suns job because they "never really" took it seriously as a possibility.

Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin reported Lue turned down the Lakers offer that May in the range of $18 million over three years because he wanted a five-year deal with a "salary commensurate with a championship resume."

Lue wound up agreeing to a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers in October 2020.

Howard recently finished his third season as Michigan head coach. The 49-year-old played for the Wolverines from 1991-94 as a member of the Fab Five recruiting class. He spent three seasons as LeBron James' teammate with the Miami Heat from 2010-13.

After retiring as a player, Howard joined the Heat as an assistant coach from 2013-19.

The Lakers are hoping Ham can provide them with a quick turnaround. They missed the playoffs last season with a 33-49 record. Ham won an NBA title during the 2020-21 season as an assistant on Mike Budenholzer's staff with the Milwaukee Bucks.