LOS ANGELES - Rudy Tomjanovich reportedly met with Lakers owner Jerry Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak for two hours on Tuesday about the team's vacant head coach position, but he apparently left without an offer, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Kupchak told the paper that he would discuss the job with others, but that he had not contacted a high-profile candidate other than Tomjanovich and former Lakers coach Pat Riley.

According to the Times, Tomjanovich would probably cost the Lakers about $6 million a season, his salary when he stepped down as coach of the Houston Rockets more than a year ago.

The paper also reported that Riley was out of the running to replace Phil Jackson because he was asking for too much to leave the Heat, where he is president and about to come into perhaps 20 percent ownership of the franchise.

"That's over," a Lakers team official told the Times. "That's not happening."

The Lakers hope to hire a new coach within a couple of weeks, with Kupchak saying he plans to interview more than one candidate and fewer than 10.

“We are in the process of trying to narrow down the coaching candidates and select a coach for this team,” Kupchak said. “I would hope this would happen sooner than later.

“I can’t say that could happen in a day or two. That probably means a couple weeks. We don’t want this to linger into July or August.”

The Times reported that the Lakers have told assistant coaches Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons that they also will be head coaching candidates, as well as ex-Seattle, ex-Milwaukee coach George Karl.

Kupchak said he believes the Lakers will be in position to win next season although Kobe Bryant is an unrestricted free agent who may or may not be back and Shaquille O’Neal has requested a trade.

“I don’t think we want to take the chance that we’re going to experiment with an unproven coach,” Kupchak said. “I’m not ruling out the possibility that our coach could be an assistant coach on our team or another team.

Tomjanovich, 55, coached the Rockets to championships in 1994 and 1995. He left as coach following the 2002-2003 season after 33 years with the organization.

After fighting bladder cancer, Tomjanovich is reportedly in good health.

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