The Lakers are now officially eliminated from the playoffs, and all talk has turned to next season, specifically how the team can improve.
And it starts and ends with the head coach, as Luke Walton has been on the hot seat since the season began, with it now scorching.
Walton’s record as head coach of the Lakers over the past three seasons is 93-144, and that’s not going to get it done for one of the most storied franchises in the NBA. As such, it’s clear the team will be moving on from him, especially since he was never really LeBron James’ guy from the getgo.
So the talk turns to who will replace Walton at season’s end — be it Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson or Tyronn Lue. Apparently, according to a report from Marc Stein of The New York Times, it’s T Lue, which he wrote in the most recent edition of his newsletter:
Who, then, will the Lakers hire? The name most frequently cited in league coaching circles is the very available Tyronn Lue.
Lue, of course, is a former Laker who is better known for having coached LeBron James for 2 1/2 seasons in Cleveland.
The presumed acceptance he would have from James, who is about to begin his first postseason as a spectator since 2005, would appear to give Lue with a significant advantage over the rest of the field.
That does make sense, as Lue played for the Lakers, and coached James in Cleveland — winning a title during that time.
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