Amick: Monty Williams is rock solid, the Pop effect in playoffs and ongoing coaching searches from Lakers to Kings

PHOENIX — The goal, in essence, is to find yourself a Monty Williams.

So while he may not have hit any of those shots himself in Game 2, when his Suns had a 75.7 percent true shooting mark that was the second-highest all-time in the playoffs, the inspiring role he continues to play with this special group is undeniably massive. And always with a dose of humility.

“We have good players,” Williams said afterward when asked about the night of historic Suns offense. “I’d love to sit here and tell you I move the chess pieces around, (but) we have good players who knock down shots.”

Meanwhile, in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Charlotte, the search for a coach of his caliber continues. The Kings, who briefly considered Williams as an option in the 2019 offseason before then-general manager Vlade Divac moved quickly to hire Luke Walton, appear likely to fill their vacancy sooner than the Lakers or Hornets. A decision between the three finalists, sources say, is expected by the week’s end.

Former Orlando and Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford has interviewed and so has former Golden State coach and ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. Sources say Mike Brown, the Golden State associate head coach whose team is tied, 1-1, in its West semifinal series with Memphis, spent informal time with Kings officials on Wednesday and has his formal interview on Thursday.

As Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer noted on Tuesday, there is indeed a strong sense from sources close to the situation that Jackson is the preferred candidate of Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. But the Kings insist there’s a level playing field, and that second-year general manager Monte McNair will be given the leeway to make the final decision.

Considering Ranadive denied Joe Dumars’ attempt to become McNair’s new front office boss this week before his exit to the league office, there is recent evidence that the Kings owner is showing internal support for his GM. Only time will tell if that is the case with this hire.

Still, it’s worth noting that Jackson has been on Ranadive’s radar in ways that go beyond their shared time with the Warriors (Jackson was the coach there when Ranadive was a minority owner). On Dec. 16, 2014, when then-Kings star DeMarcus Cousins was in the midst of a bout with viral meningitis that had already cost then-Kings coach Michael Malone his job, Jackson had a covert meeting at Sleep Train Arena with Cousins and Kings officials for nearly two hours.

The meeting led to all sorts of questions about whether Jackson was being considered as the replacement for Malone, who was Jackson’s top assistant with the Warriors. In the end, though, the Kings opted for George Karl.

As for Brown, he has ties with influential Kings assistant general manager Wes Wilcox. During Brown’s time as Cleveland’s head coach from 2005 to 2010, Wilcox rose through the Cavs ranks from scout to assistant coach to director of player personnel.

Who will … Phil … the Lakers’ head-coaching vacancy?

Speaking of teams that missed out on a chance to hire Williams before his ascent, the Lakers are part of that club too. We’ll never know if he would have led them to a championship as Frank Vogel did in 2020, but there was a time in that same summer of 2019 when it looked very possible that he would be roaming their Staples Center/Crypto sidelines.

But Williams headed for Phoenix, the Lakers’ negotiations with Ty Lue went sideways and Vogel emerged as the man for the job. And now, yet again, they find themselves looking for the right coaching fit. 

As always with the Lakers, the palace intrigue comes into play. To that end, let’s revisit the Phil Jackson discussion that resurfaced this week by way of an ESPN report.

As we wrote in early March, the Zen Master matters again in Lakers Land. That was the case last season when owner Jeanie Buss welcomed his perspective on everything from Vogel’s performance as coach to the challenging Russell Westbrook dynamics surrounding his struggles. And now that the Lakers are in the market for another coach, with Milwaukee assistant Darvin Ham and Toronto assistant Adrian Griffin among the known candidates, it should surprise no one that Jackson’s view of this important decision is still being taken into account.

Make no mistake, there are powerful people close to the Lakers who aren’t thrilled with the reality that Jackson’s voice is being taken into account when he has no formal position with the franchise. Like it or not, though, Buss has relied on this sort of informal counsel from people she trusts for years now. That was the case with Kobe Bryant before his passing and had everything to do with the choice to hire his former agent, Lakers vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, in February 2017.

As Buss told Lakers beat writer Bill Oram in February, Magic Johnson remains a resource similarly despite his messy exit from the team’s front office in April 2019.

“To me, he’s still working with us,” she said. “In terms of his support, his wisdom, his insight, I freely call on him as needed.”

Other Lakers items

• If LeBron James ultimately decides against signing an extension with the Lakers in August, sources say Buss wouldn’t see his desire to play out the final season of his contract as a reason to consider trading him. Without an extension, James’ current deal will expire after next season (in which he’s owed $47.1 million).

It’s a natural question to ask in these sorts of situations, as the notion of James leaving the Lakers empty-handed by signing elsewhere in the summer of 2023 would be less than ideal. Still, all signs point to the year-by-year approach being considered acceptable by the Lakers — so long as the relationship with James is still in a good place.

The more important factor here, it seems, is James’ level of trust and happiness in their partnership. It’s seen internally as the key to their shared future together — an essential element of James’ superpowers if you will. It’s a different story if he’s discontented.

As I wrote in mid-April, James may want to leave his contractual options open. He has made it clear that he wants to play with his son, Bronny Jr., if and when he enters the NBA (in the summer of 2024 at the earliest). But from Buss on down, it appears the Lakers won’t be demanding any sort of long-term commitment from James as some sort of protection against being traded.

• I’m starting to wonder if the Lakers might not trade Russell Westbrook this summer after all. And no, not just because Oram made a compelling argument on Monday as to why they should think twice about it.

When the decision was made to fire Vogel, sources say his handling of Westbrook and the inability to find a way to make him a more productive part of the program were among the factors that played a big part. There was a strong sense that it was on Vogel to make the Westbrook experiment work, and the fact that it didn’t led to questions about whether Westbrook had been put in a position to succeed. That sure smells like the hope of a Russ revival to me.

And how’s this for a tidbit to tie this thread up: Phil Jackson is known to have been a fan of Westbrook’s throughout his career. Sources say Phil Jackson has no interest in taking on this coaching job (or any other) himself — let’s just stop that rumor right here — but his view of Westbrook is relevant. As we’ve established, Jackson’s voice matters again.

More Monty and the everlasting Gregg Popovich influence

Just because Pop isn’t in the playoffs for the third consecutive season doesn’t mean his influence isn’t still being felt. Far from it, in fact.

As longtime San Antonio sports anchor Don Harris pointed out on Twitter on Tuesday, six of the remaining eight coaches in the playoffs either played for the Spurs legend or started their coaching career under him.

Williams: Played for the Spurs from 1996 to 1998, and was a coaching intern in the 2004-2005 season when they won the title.

Philadelphia’s Doc Rivers: Played for the Spurs from 1994 to 1996, when Popovich was the team’s general manager and vice president of basketball operations.

Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins: Was a Spurs coaching intern for the 2007-08 season, then worked as an assistant coach and head coach for San Antonio’s D-League team, the Austin Toros, from 2008 to 2013.

Boston’s Ime Udoka: Played for the Spurs from 2007 to 2009 and again in the 2010-11 season; he was a Spurs assistant coach from 2012 to 2019

Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer: Was a Spurs assistant from 1996 to 2013.

Golden State’s Steve Kerr: Played for the Spurs from 1998 to 2001 and again in the 2002-03 season.

Williams, who dropped a vintage Popovich “appropriate fear” reference after Game 1 that sparked this discussion, chatted about his mentor’s impressive coaching tree before Game 2.

“He’s done a lot for (coaches) — he and (longtime Spurs executive) RC (Buford) — but in particular Pop,” Williams began. “They’ve created opportunities for people to figure out what they want to do. Whether you played or you didn’t play, that place has always been somewhat of an opportunity school, if you will. When you get there, they don’t tell you what to do. You’re invited to join and see if you want to do it and then look at all the options. And that’s what Pop told me. 

“He’s like, ‘Look … you’ve got to figure it out. I can’t tell you what to do.’ And they just laid it out for me and said, figure it out. He’s done that for, I don’t know, countless people. And it’s changed a lot of lives. I wouldn’t know what to do if I had to start on my own. The (daily routine) of a coach had to be laid out for me. I had P.J. Carlesimo, Don Newman, Brett Brown and RC to keep the foot in my tail every day when I was amiss. There were a few choice words that I can’t say to the listening audience, but it helped me with the direction.”

(Photo of Monty Williams: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)