Golden State Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams has declined the Los Angeles Lakers’ offer to take the same position, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk and Dave McMenamin.
The Lakers had previously received permission to interview the longtime coach but details from their meeting have not been reported. Adams has coached recent Lakers signees DeMarcus Cousins and Quinn Cook in Oakland.
Adams is known as one of the best defensive coaches in the league and has been credited with the scheme the Warriors have run with great success during their current run of five straight NBA Finals appearances.
The Lakers hired Frank Vogel after firing former Warriors assistant Luke Walton as their head coach. They have, so far, added Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins to Vogel’s staff. It’s assumed that they will hire at least one more assistant to fill out their staff before the season begins. Vogel has traditionally had smaller staffs in his stops with the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.
Losing out on Adams is a blow given he may be the most respected assistant coach in the league. However, the Lakers need an offensively-tuned assistant more than a defensive one. They will now likely turn focus towards finding someone who can help Vogel implement an offensive system around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
