Lakers Rumors: Exec Says LeBron James Would Prefer Ty Lue as HC; 'That's His Guy'
Tyronn Lue was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when LeBron James helped lead the team to the 2016 championship, and the King would apparently like to run things back with his former coach on the Los Angeles Lakers' sidelines.
"If it was all up to LeBron, he'd have Ty Lue as his coach and he would do that with the Lakers," one Eastern Conference executive said, per a Wednesday report from Sean Deveney of Heavy.
"That's his guy. Out of all the coaches LeBron has ever had, the one he singles out is Ty. Now he is in a position where he has free-agency on his side and he can maybe force the team to do something to get his guy if he gets fired."
The King has a player option for the 2024-25 season and could decline it and leave the Purple and Gold in free agency.
Yet Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported the team "badly" wants him back and would be open to a three-year, $164 million max extension. If that is the case, the front office would likely be willing to listen to the future Hall of Famer's opinions when it comes to the head coaching position.
The Eastern Conference executive said the idea that James is "pulling strings and dictating moves … gets way overblown" but also pointed out "if Ty Lue is available, I'd be really shocked if he did not push the Lakers to get him."
For his part, James said Tuesday that he remains unsure what the future holds:
Darvin Ham is still the head coach of the Lakers for now, but it would be anything but a surprise if that changed this offseason.
That same report from Charania, Buha and Amick suggested it was "highly unlikely" Ham would return following the team's first-round exit against the Denver Nuggets. It pointed to the coach's "fluctuating rotations, game plans and lack of adjustments," as well as the idea he "created discontent within the locker room."
Perhaps Lue could be a replacement, although he is the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers and leading a team that is currently in the postseason. His status with the Clippers would have to change for any type of reunion with James if it was going to be with the Lakers.
The pair enjoyed plenty of success together in Cleveland, as the Cavaliers reached the NBA Finals in each of his three full seasons as head coach. They famously defeated the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals but came up short against the same franchise the next two years.
Cleveland fired Lue following an 0-6 start the following campaign in 2018-19 after James had already departed for the Lakers.
