Juwan Howard has reportedly turned down interest from another NBA team.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Howard declined a Lakers "overture" to become the franchise's next head coach. While the Lakers are said to have never made a formal offer, Wojnarowski adds that his "candidacy would've moved quickly to that stage" had he expressed interest.
The Lakers parted ways with head coach Frank Vogel following a disappointing 2021-22 season that saw them enter with the second-best odds to win the championship and fail to make the Play-In Tournament.
News broke this week that there are three finalists for the opening: Darvin Ham, Kenny Atkinson and Terry Stotts.
MORE: Meet the three finalists for Lakers head coaching job
Why Juwan Howard turned down Lakers opportunity
According to Wojnarowski, Howard elected to remain at the University of Michigan, where he will coach his two sons, Jace and Jett, next season.
ESPN Sources: Michigan coach Juwan Howard recently declined a Los Angeles Lakers overture on the franchise’s head coaching job. Howard is coaching his two sons — Jace and Jett — in Ann Arbor.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 22, 2022
Howard took over as Michigan's head coach in 2019. In his three seasons at the helm, the Wolverines have compiled a 61-32 record. In 2020-21, Howard led the program to its first Big 10 championship since 2014 and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, earning him AP and Sporting News Coach of the Year honors in the process.
Before accepting the Michigan job, Howard interviewed for the head coaching opening with the Lakers in 2019 and reportedly impressed the franchise. Howard was an assistant coach with the Heat at the time.
Howard reportedly received interest from the Celtics for their head coaching opening entering this season, only he declined their "overture" as well. Ime Udoka eventually got the gig.
Howard has a relationship with both Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and superstar LeBron James. He was teammates with Pelinka at Michigan and won two championships with James in Miami.
The No. 5 pick in the 1994 NBA Draft, Howard played 19 seasons in the NBA. In addition to winning two championships, he earned an All-Star and All-NBA Third Team selection in the 1995-96 season with averages of 22.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
