Report: Lakers add North Carolina’s Roy Williams to coaching list

This is a North Carolina thing.

If you want to see the even-keeled GM of the Lakers Mitch Kupchak get fired up, tap to him about his beloved alma mater of North Carolina losing (especially to Duke). Like a lot of former Tar Heels, he loves the place.

Roy Williams is the coach of the Tar Heels now, a guy some NBA front offices have wanted to talk to in the past. So… take it away Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

The Lakers’ interview list for a new coach keeps growing. North Carolina Coach Roy Williams was added to it most recently. It’s not the first time Williams will have been approached by the Lakers. He told them in 2004 he was not interested in coaching them after Phil Jackson’s first tour ended with the team.

This fits with the Lakers plan for finding a new coach: Go slow, cast a very wide net, figure out who is the best fit. The Lakers likely will not hire a coach until June, but they want to have one in place before the draft.

Williams has won two NCAA titles at North Carolina. I highly doubt he leaves Chapel Hill, but the Lakers will ask. Kupchak will ask.

Mike D’Antoni resigned as Lakers coach in a mutual decision last week.

Other top candidates for this position that the Lakers want to speak to include Byron Scott, George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, John Calipari, and Kevin Ollie. There will be others.