LA Lakers Rumors Roundup: 2-time NBA champion was first choice for head coach, Lakers could potentially acquire picks for the draft and more | June 4th, 2022

Former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham is now the official head coach of the LA Lakers. The team made the announcement on Friday, with Ham taking over Frank Vogel's old position. The 48-year-old coach will have to find ways to make the Lakers a much better team next season.

Meanwhile, the Lakers may have a way to get a pick in the upcoming draft. The team has also invited several prospects to a workout. One of the top names invited is the son of a Chicago Bulls legend and Hall of Famer. The Lakers have been really good at finding really good undrafted players recently.

Here is the latest LA Lakers rumors roundup for June 4th, 2022 brought to you by Sportskeeda.

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Juwan Howard was the first choice for head coach over Darvin Ham

Juwan Howard of Michigan University

The LA Lakers have officially named Darvin Ham as their new head coach for next season. However, Marc Stein of Substack revealed that the Lakers' first choice was Michigan head coach Juwan Howard. The two-time NBA champ has been in charge of the Wolverines since 2019, but was an assistant coach for the Miami Heat for six seasons.

Stein wrote:

"Michigan's Juwan Howard was the Lakers' preferred candidate among the various coaches to whom they were linked who were under contract elsewhere and thus ultimately unavailable — ahead of Philadelphia's Doc Rivers and Utah's Quin Snyder."

The veteran insider added that Howard would have gotten the job with the Lakers if he wanted it. The former All-Star has ties to LeBron James and Rob Pelinka, but turned the job down. Howard wanted the opportunity to coach his sons Jace and Jett next season at Michigan.

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Can the LA Lakers acquire a draft pick?

Rob Pelinka of the LA Lakers

The LA Lakers have been very good at finding undrafted players in the past several years. They found Alex Caruso in 2017 and unearthed Austin Reaves this season. The Lakers might have to find another gem on the undrafted pool since they do not have picks in the upcoming draft.

However, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (h/t Sports Illustrated) believes that the Lakers might find a way onto the board. Pincus noted that the Lakers can buy a draft pick for $4.4 million via trade. Pincus explained:

"Like the rest of the league, the Lakers will work out players and attend scouting sessions to try to find talent (like the next Reaves or Alex Caruso). If the opportunity comes to buy a pick in the June 23 draft, the Lakers can offer up to $4.4 million in a trade before July."

He added:

"Teams can also agree to buy a pick in June but wait until July to execute the deal with a larger cash pool of $6.3 million. L.A. may not have the appetite to spend $10.7 million to buy two or more picks, but it has the means."

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LA Lakers to conduct workouts for six draft prospects that include a Hall of Famer's son

Scottie Pippen Jr. of Vanderbilt University

The LA Lakers do not own any draft picks this year, but they are still inviting prospects for workouts. Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers have invited six prospects for a workout that includes Scottie Pippen Jr. of Vanderbilt.

Other prospects include Paul Atkinson Jr. of Notre Dame, Jamal Cain of Oakland and Hyunjung Lee of Davidson. Loyola Chicago's Lucas Williamson and Missouri State's Gaige Prim were also invited. Among the six prospects, Pippen is the only one in the top 100 prospects.

According to ESPN's Big Board, Pippen is ranked 69th overall, which means he'll likely be undrafted. The Lakers have had success finding undrafted gems like Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves. Caruso played a huge role in the Lakers' championship run in 2020, while Reaves was one of the few bright spots for the team.