The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions is reaching both coasts, and the LA Lakers will definitely be in the spotlight again. While coaches are being signed left and right, the Tinseltown team is taking its own sweet time.

It might be their confidence that any coach would choose them over any team-but we just saw Phil Jackson getting spurned by Steve Kerr, and that's the New York Knicks we're talking about.

There must be a reason for the Lakers' indecisiveness. USA Today confirms that they actually want their options open not just for the coach-but for the roster. Seems like LA has NOT abandoned their grand master plan after all. Sam Amick of USA Today says:

"The slow pace of the Lakers' coaching search that began April 30 when Mike D'Antoni resigned has been timed deliberately with the upcoming free agency period in the NBA, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Specifically, the idea that the Lakers could beat the odds and land the likes of the Heat's LeBron James, the New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony or any of the other superstars who may be free agents on July 1 has led the Lakers to plod through their process so as to not limit their potential options. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the search."

It seems like they took Kobe Bryant's point of view after all. Kobe wanted to have a bigger "say" with regards to the coaching choice as opposed to the previous coaches who both got fired after disastrous seasons.

Amick somewhat confirms that, too: "As the Lakers see it, it's not a necessity to have a coach in time for the June 26 draft, in which they'll pick seventh overall. And while they're not willing to let a star player pick the coach, keeping the vacancy open would allow any possible players who sign with them to offer some input into the process."

The Lakers have interviewed six coaches, but one conversation they'd like to have is with the protagonists in the ongoing Finals. Some might say it's unrealistic or delusional, but the Lakers still believe they have the mystique to bring in the big guns.