Report: Kurt, Linda Rambis Overruled Buss Family on Lakers Hiring Tyronn Lue

Former Los Angeles Lakers player and current adviser Kurt Rambis is reportedly "playing a major role" and "emerging as a powerful voice" in the Purple and Gold's search for their next head coach after they couldn't reach an agreement with Tyronn Lue.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the news Wednesday, while Nick Wright of FS1 noted Rambis and his wife, Linda, convinced the Lakers not to hire Tyronn Lue even though owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka signed off on the hiring.

Earlier Wednesday, Wojnarowski reported negotiations between Lue and the Lakers had "reached an impasse without a deal."

Dave McMenamin of ESPN noted the two sides did not agree on the salary and length of the deal:

Wojnarowski and McMenamin added more context to the developments, pointing out Linda Rambis is close with Buss. They also noted Pelinka and Kurt Rambis interviewed Jason Kidd for the head-coaching position and "became convinced that he should be a key member of a Lue coaching staff."

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Lakers' attempts to force assistant coaches on Lue was one of the things that "led to a breakdown in talks," although Wojnarowski and McMenamin added "it isn't believed that Lue had objections to Kidd joining his staff."

While Linda Rambis' role in the process may stand out because she is the team's executive director of special projects, ESPN's Amin Elhassan said "some agents and GMs around the league have dubbed her the shadow owner of the Lakers" (h/t Dan Feldman of NBC Sports).

She has reportedly been quite influential in the developments with Lue, who would have rejoined LeBron James after they won a championship together as head coach and star player with the Cleveland Cavaliers.