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Report: Juwan Howard’s name ‘gaining traction’ as candidate for NBA coaching vacancies
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Juwan Howard has only been the head coach at the University of Michigan for one season, but the former NBA assistant could be a potential candidate to make a leap back to the professional game.
On Monday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Howard’s name is “gaining traction” as a potential candidate for jobs around the NBA. He spent six seasons as an assistant coach on Erik Spoelstra’s staff with the Miami Heat from 2013-19.
Howard replaced John Beilein as the head coach at Michigan following the 2018-19 season, when Beilein took the head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, after a rocky start to his coaching career at the highest level, Beilein opted to resign during the NBA All-Star break.
ESPN Sources: A possible NBA coaching candidate whose name is gaining traction within front offices: Michigan coach Juwan Howard. Howard has an obviously strong resume as a player and later an assistant under Erik Spoelstra. He interviewed for Lakers, Cavs before taking UM job.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 24, 2020
In Howard’s lone season as the head coach at Michigan, the Wolverines finished a 19-12 record, which included a 10-10 mark in the B1G. Michigan was undoubtedly headed to the NCAA Tournament before its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Howard was not only a former star player at Michigan, but was proving to be an excellent recruiter at Michigan. While his team hit some bumps in the road during the 2019-20 campaign, there’s no doubt he was bringing some of the top talent in the country to Ann Arbor.
It’s something to keep an eye on as jobs in the NBA become available now that the playoffs are underway.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB