He entered his first head coaching job in 1990 as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, replacing Pat Riley. In 1991 his team, led by Magic Johnson and Vlade Divac, beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals and he led his team to the NBA Finals against the Chicago Bulls but they lost in five games. He made the playoffs in his second season in Los Angeles, but lost in the first round. He then joined the Milwaukee Bucks as head coach prior to the 1992–93 season and remained with them until the end of the 1995–96 season, in a dual role as vice-president of basketball operations and head coach. He relinquished his head coaching duties after a mediocre tenure to operate as the general manager, until accepting the job of head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers in 1997.