Report: Quin Snyder ‘Wasn’t Interested’ In Lakers Job

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder “wasn’t interested” in leading the Lakers prior to Los Angeles’ hire of Darvin Ham, according to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers reportedly hired Ham, an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, as their next head coach on Friday, May 27.

Shortly after news of L.A.’s hiring of Ham broke, Woike and Turner detailed how the Bucks assistant landed the job amid a strong group of candidates.

A year after helping the @Bucks to an @NBA title, Darvin Ham is on his way to SoCal to be the next head coach of the @Lakers. 🟣🟡#LakeShow #NBA https://t.co/LA0s9TCuPV

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 28, 2022

Snyder was reportedly not a finalist for the Lakers job due to a lack of interest in replacing Frank Vogel, who Los Angeles fired shortly after the regular season ended. Despite winning an NBA title in 2020, Vogel was only in Los Angeles for three seasons.

“People not authorized to speak publicly on the matter said [Snyder] has become less interested in the Lakers’ job because of how the Vogel firing was handled,” Turner wrote in April.

Quin Snyder is "less interested" in joining Lakers due to the handling of Frank Vogel's firing, per Broderick Turner of @latimes pic.twitter.com/165Yuw5mXs

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 12, 2022

After Ham was reportedly hired, Woike and Turner said that the Jazz head coach “wasn’t interested in a move to the Lakers.”

They added that “initially, league sources thought the Lakers would chase established coaches like Utah’s Quin Snyder, Toronto’s Nick Nurse and Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers.”

Last season, Snyder finished third in NBA Coach of the Year voting after leading the Jazz to the best record in the regular season and oversaw Lakers star LeBron James’ team during the 2021 All-Star game.

Snyder previously worked for the Lakers in 2011-12 under coach Mike Brown before departing Los Angeles to coach for CSKA Moscow.

After the Jazz were eliminated from the playoffs, Snyder declined to comment on his contract status. He is reportedly under contract with Utah for another season.

Quin Snyder on whether he plans to be with the @utahjazz in the future:

"Continue to maintain that I am not going to discuss my contractual situation publicly. It's not something I want to do or am comfortable doing." #TakeNote | @kslsports

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 9, 2022

About Quin Snyder

After graduating from Duke, Snyder tested the NBA waters as a player for the Indiana Pacers but opted against a professional career.

While pursuing a graduate degree at Duke, Snyder served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers for a season, before joining Mike Krzyzewski’s staff with the Blue Devils.

Snyder was with Duke for six seasons before accepting the head coaching position at the University of Missouri, which he held until 2006.

After Missouri, Snyder spent three seasons coaching the Austin Toros, then single seasons as an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers, Lakers, CKSA Moscow, and the Atlanta Hawks before being hired by the Jazz.

During Quin Snyder's end-of season-media availability, he said the word "more" 26 times.

The @utahjazz do need "more," but how do they find it?

Here's what the coach had to say. #TakeNote | @kslsports https://t.co/TbrtezxATS

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 9, 2022

During his eight seasons in Utah, Snyder has coached the Jazz to a 636-371 record, including 21-30 in the postseason. Snyder has led the Jazz to six consecutive trips to the NBA Playoffs.