Nick Nurse emerges as one of the top Lakers targets / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP-Scanpix Credit AP-Scanpix

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to fire head coach Frank Vogel. Among the franchise's top targets for the position is Toronto Raptors bench boss, Nick Nurse, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Toronto Raptors / Schedule

Toronto Raptors Atlanta Hawks118-108 Toronto Raptors Philadelphia 76ers119-114 Toronto Raptors Houston Rockets117-115 New York Knicks Toronto Raptors105-94 Philadelphia 76ers Toronto RaptorsSat22:00

Nurse, who led the Raptors to a championship in 2019, signed a multi-year contract extension in 2020 and has two years left on his deal.

It's unclear whether he will be attainable or whether he would have interest, but the Lakers are hoping the former Coach of the Year is an option, via the report.

To acquire Nurse, the Lakers would need to receive permission from the Raptors and likely engage them in a prospective trade.

As stated by The Athletic, over the next several weeks, expect several other candidates to emerge, including University of Michigan coach Juwan Howard, who interviewed for the opening in 2019.

After being eliminated from the playoffs last week and finishing the 2021-22 campaign Sunday with a 33-49 record, Vogel is expected to be fired as coach of the Lakers, one of the NBA's most high-profile teams. ESPN is reporting that the team will inform Vogel of his dismissal on Monday.

He was hired in 2019 to a three-year deal after Tyronn Lue turned down an offer to coach the Lakers.

After defeating the Miami Heat in six games to win the NBA championship in 2019-20, Vogel's team lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of playoffs in 2020-21.

Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.