After two seasons with Darvin Ham at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers, the storied franchise has chosen to move on from the second-year head coach in hopes of finding an upgrade and someone that LeBron James feels he could play for moving forward.
With Ham officially getting fired on Friday, the coaching search has begun for general manager Rob Pelinka, with a number of candidates being mentioned as potential targets for the Lakers this summer.
The two names that seem to be getting the most buzz right now in terms of having the best chance to be the next head coach of the 17-time NBA champions are Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick.
James has repeatedly said how much he respects Lue, especially after the pair won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
That said, Lue is a logical target for the Lakers, but he is still under contract for one more year with the Los Angeles Clippers, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski believes it might not be a realistic option for the Purple and Gold, via ESPN’s Malika Andrews.
“I don’t believe it is realistic based on this: Ty Lue still has a year left on his contract, and the Clippers are determined to do a long-term deal with Ty Lue, I’m told,” Wojnarowski said.
How realistic is it that Ty Lue could be the next coach of the Lakers? @wojespn reports on NBA Today: pic.twitter.com/70gtJacoNZ
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 3, 2024
The last thing that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wants is the Lakers swooping in and stealing his head coach before the team officially makes the move to the Intuit Dome next season.
That said, it seems like a long shot at best that Lue will be coaching the Lakers next season or at some point in the near future.
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