Lakers: LA Columnist Blasts Coaching Candidates; Urges Team to Hire Doc Rivers

LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke isn't impressed with the three finalists for the head coaching job and thinks the Lakers should up the ante in their pursuit of Doc Rivers.

The Lakers brand was built on bringing in big names, whether it's a big name player or a revered head coach. So when the report came down last week that the Lakers had settled on Darvin Ham, Terry Stotts, and Kenny Atkinson as finalists, many Lakers fans simply rolled their eyes that a headline name, like Quin Snyder or Doc Rivers, wasn't on the list.

Bill Plaschke is among the masses that doubt that any of the three candidates can turn the Lakers around next season. The LA Times columnist took his shot at the finalists, and Russell Westbrook, in a recent article.

"The news fell flatter than a Russell Westbrook jump shot. The options quickly lost all air, the shriveled remains floating harmlessly into the cluttered mess that is the Lakers’ summer landscape. Seriously? That’s all you’ve got? It’s considered a soft coaching market, and the Lakers are considered a hard sell, but still … that’s it?"

He brought up Stotts' lackluster playoff record in Portland, Atkinson leading four "miserable" seasons in Brooklyn, and Ham's complete lack of head coaching experience. Plaschke then pivoted to trumpeting Rivers as the right man for the job.

"They’re not built to win a championship, not so long as the aging James is paired with the brittle Davis, so they need a coach who can simply keep this tempestuous group calm and competitive and relevant until the next era begins."

The writer cited Rivers winning a championship in Boston with "free-spirited veteran superstars" and his handling of the Donald Sterling drama as evidence that Doc's has what it takes to succeed with the LeBron-led Lakers.

As Plaschke notes, Rivers is under contract for three more years with Philadelphia and team president Daryl Morey has publicly backed Rivers. With that in mind, the columnist opined that the Lakers should hold onto their picks, and send the Sixers a bag of cash in exchange for Rivers. 

"If Rivers wasn’t already under contract, here’s guessing he would be the Lakers coach by now. He still can be. The Lakers are known for doing amazing things to make seemingly unreachable acquisitions. This one would be worth the work."