Following a Monday report from the Los Angeles Times that Roy Williams is a candidate to become the next head coach of the L.A. Lakers, the future of the 11-year Tar Heel coach became the talk of Chapel Hill. While the threat of the Hall of Famer leaving for the NBA is minimal at this point, it’s still debatable whether or not his name being tied to the Lakers job right now is a good thing.
During his radio show on Tuesday, David Glenn gave his take on the situation by pointing to another coach on Tobacco Road whose name has come up in similar conversations in the past. In 2004, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reportedly turned down a five-year deal worth $40 million to coach the Lakers.
“The NBA flirtations were absolutely, positively partly designed to get something that he asked for, was told he might not be able to get and said ‘oh, really? Well let me just return that phone call to the NBA and see how our negotiations here at Duke go,'” the radio host said.
“It is not entirely a bad thing for Roy Williams’ name to be tied to the Lakers job, and I have a feeling [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak knows that, too.”