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

The Los Angeles Lakers didn't get their top choice for a new head coach for the second year in a row.

Michigan's Juwan Howard was the preferred choice of the Lakers.

Darvin Ham was hired by the Lakers as their new head coach.

The team reached out to Howard in an attempt to gauge his interest in the job, but he didn't want to leave Michigan.

If Howard showed interest, the Lakers would have moved quickly to that stage.

The Lakers had a lengthy coaching search in which they spoke with Tyronn and Monty Williams.

The Lakers were surprised when Williams took the Phoenix Suns job because they didn't take it seriously.

The Lakers offered Lue a five-year deal in the range of $18 million over three years, but he turned it down because he wanted a bigger raise.

In October 2020, he agreed to a five-year deal with the Clippers.

Howard has been Michigan's head coach for the past three seasons. A member of the Fab Five, the 49-year-old played for the University of Michigan from 1991-94. He played for the Miami Heat from 2010-13.

Howard was an assistant coach for the Heat from 2013 to 2019.

The Lakers want to get a quick reply from Ham. They didn't make the playoffs last year with a 33-47 record. As an assistant on Mike Budenholzer's staff, Ham won an NBA title in 2020.