Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie reportedly plans to visit the Los Angeles Lakers in the upcoming weeks. In addition to Ollie and a list of other head coach candidates, the Lakers reportedly want to talk with North Carolina coach Roy Williams.
Ollie, fresh off the Huskies' 2014 NCAA championship win, is reportedly willing to consider making the leap to the NBA.
"Source close to Kevin Ollie says he plans to visit with the Lakers in coming weeks about head-coaching job," Bill Reiter of Fox Sports tweeted on Monday. "Meeting not yet set up but expected."
Stealing Ollie away from his alma mater may be difficult, even for the Lakers. The UConn coach and the university are already in the middle of negotiations to double his salary to around $2.6 million annually, according to ESPN.
"Kevin knows he's hot right now," one source told ESPN. "He's not thinking about leaving right now."
Ollie denied on Friday he and the Lakers were discussing the team's head coaching vacancy.
The Lakers, determined to cast a wide net to find a replacement for Mike D'Antoni, also reportedly want to speak with Williams.
"Another name to add to the Lakers' list of coaching candidates: North Carolina's Roy Williams," Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweeted on Monday. "They plan on talking to him...eventually."
Williams, winner of two NCAA championships, has a 724-190 record as a head coach and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Other names reportedly on the Lakers' list of coaching candidates include Kentucky's John Calipari, Europe's Ettore Messina, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott and Oklahoma City guard Derek Fisher.
The Lakers also appear interested in Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. Los Angeles plans to request permission from the Bulls to interview Thibodeau, according to ESPN.
