As the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching search continues after the team and Luke Walton parted ways, there’s a report that indicates the franchise is nervous about hiring Tyronn Lue, the ex-NBA guard who guided a Cleveland Cavaliers team to a championship in 2016 with a player named … LeBron James.
Per New York Times NBA scribe Marc Stein, the Lakers’ brass will interview 76ers assistant Monty Williams, the Heat’s Juwan Howard (who played with James when they were both on Miami’s roster) and Lue. “Buzz (is) circulating in coaching circles,” wrote Stein, “that Williams has a stronger-than-expected shot at the job because some in the Lakers’ organization may fear hiring Lue would be giving LeBron too much control.”
If that’s really the case, then the Lakers need to realize something: It’s too late. LeBron already has all the control.
Signing LeBron James at this stage in his career meant giving everything over to him. Despite the fact that the Lakers might believe they can woo free agents because of their history, locale and prestige, he’s the name that’s the magnet for stars. Do you think the Lakers wouldn’t consult James about playing with a name they’re considering signing? Do you think he would have signed with a team that didn’t allow him to give input into the future? No and no.
Short-term, that lack of control backfired for the Lakers. Because James was there, Magic Johnson very publicly worked on dealing for Anthony Davis, a trade that fell through and reportedly alienated the young players who were nearly shipped out. Johnson suddenly resigned as the Lakers’ disappointing season ended, and you have to wonder how much of the pressure on him came from the fact that he had to make James happy this summer.
Long-term? In exchange for that lack of power, you get a team that can compete right away with stars who want to play with Bron.
That also includes having a head coach who will make James comfortable and who knows there will be points where he’ll cede control to the forward.
Any attempt to hire a coach who will wrestle that control away from James is a really bad idea. Just ask former Cavs coach David Blatt, or Walton — who James reportedly ignored at times — or Lue, In a funny way, perhaps hiring Lue is the perfect fit, a coach who’s already experienced how to handle a player who’s more like a player-coach.
Being concerned about giving James too much power is pointless. The quicker the Lakers accept that it’s all in LeBron’s court, the faster they can get to putting together a winning team and coaching staff around him … with his help, of course.
