The Los Angeles Lakers may be one of the most recognizable franchises in all of sports, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that their vacant head-coaching position is more desirable than the job the Cleveland Cavaliers have to offer.
According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, just the opposite is true.
Windy:
– Cavs job is more attractive vs Lakers. This is based on convos with coaching candidates. Living in CLE vs LA is different but Cavs have a better team and play in the EC competing is easier. Cavs would also outpay for HC vs. the Lakers.
— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) June 11, 2024
The Cavs are being heavily linked to James Borrego and Kenny Atkinson in their coaching search. According to Windhorst, the Cavs will have to deal with some competition from the Lakers for Borrego.
The Lakers may be scrambling now after their dream of landing college basketball coaching star Dan Hurley collapsed on Monday. While the Purple and Gold have some superstar talent, beautiful weather and an iconic franchise history working in their favor, they remain without a coach several weeks after firing Darvin Ham.
One NBA assistant coach had some brutal things to say about the reality of the Lakers job.
“It just isn’t a good job,” the coach told Lakers Daily’s Anthony Irwin. “They negotiate as if it’s some grand honor to coach the Lakers, but the reality is you’re looking at a couple years before you’re going to get scapegoated. That’s obviously the case with most coaches, but the Lakers in particular don’t seem to value the position.”
Factors such as pay, roster quality and the makeup of the Eastern Conference compared to the Western Conference are also working in Cleveland’s favor against Los Angeles, according to Windhorst.
This figures to be an important offseason for the Cavs, who are hoping to land a quality head coach and also sign star guard Donovan Mitchell to a contract extension. Checking both boxes would give Cleveland plenty of reasons for optimism going forward.
In the 2023-24 season, the Cavs finally won a playoff series for the first time since 2018, but they bowed out in the second round when they ran into the top-seeded Boston Celtics. The Celtics will likely be a thorn in the side of other Eastern Conference contenders for years to come, but if the Cavs have a productive offseason, they’ll likely feel good about their overall direction.
Cleveland made a lot of progress during J.B. Bickerstaff’s stint with the organization, even if it wasn’t always perfect. Now, the franchise is hoping its next skipper will help it take the next step — and it seems like the Cavs may have an edge over the Lakers when it comes to landing a top candidate.
