Evan Turner makes case for Mike Budenholzer to be Lakers next head coach

The Lakers’ search for a new head coach will include many names, experienced and not. Evan Turner recently made a compelling case for Mike Budenholzer to get the job.

Nearly a week after firing Darvin Ham, the Lakers’ search for a head coach appears to still be in the preliminary stages. The reports on candidates interviewed have been minimal (read: non-existent) and there has been nothing more than candidates the team might be interested in and might or might not be available.

It’s left fans and media alike to hypothesize who the team could or should be interested in. One of the top names on that list is Mike Budenholzer.

As one of the only coaches on the market with an NBA title in their pocket, it’s not hard to suggest Coach Bud should be on the Lakers’ radar. But on his most recent episode of “Point Forward” with co-host Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner made an even deeper and interesting case for why Bud should be the Lakers’ choice.

“I’m randomly a Budenholzer fan, I’m not gonna lie. I think Budenholzer, former hooper, obviously he went to several different teams and won at a high, high level, like multiple 60-win teams, won a chip and all that. I think his X’s and O’s are really good. Budenholzer has a way of communicating with people and to deal with Bron, you have really be able to deal with Bron. Not so much minutes but you just have to be a confident individual and Bron has to be able to trust you.

I think there’s certain coaches where he’s like ‘Nah, you don’t play with this man’s ATOs’ or ‘You don’t play with this’ or ‘You don’t play with that.’ I think at this latter part of Bron’s career or whatever’s going on, I think you need a great mind and a great offensive mind and really tailor-make a system for Bron where he doesn’t really have to carry the load or torch or you get equal-opportunity playmaking. I don’t know if D-Russ is going to come back but you still got Austin Reaves, you still got a couple playmakers you can make it happen with. Also, too, you sit there and look at the lob game with AD and stuff. I feel as though Budenholzer has enough IQ to really set up a system that’ll really be efficient for Bron and really be able to help him really carry the load.”

Bud is going to be in high demand, as highlighted by his link to the Suns job after Phoenix parted ways with Frank Vogel on Thursday afternoon. In fact, Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN would go on to call him the frontrunner for the job.

Perhaps that forces the Lakers to move a little bit quicker, but at the very least, it’ll make their ears perk up a bit. In their defense, Bud is not the type of can’t-miss prospective coach without his faults. He certainly had his faults in Milwaukee that led to his firing.

Whether or not Bud ends up being the Lakers guy, though, doesn’t take away from Turner’s larger point. The next head coach for the Lakers will likely be the last head coach of LeBron’s career. It needs to be someone who has a certain gravitas to them in which they are respected when they walk in the door.

That doesn't mean it can’t be an assistant, but in order to get immediate buy-in not just from LeBron but from the team as a whole, he’ll need to be relatable and respected.

Coach Bud checks those boxes, but he isn’t the only one. And unless the Lakers start moving quickly, he won’t be on the market much longer anyway.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.