Although the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t officially named Ty Lue as head coach, the reporting has already begun on who will join Lue’s staff once he is officially given the keys to the team.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo reported on Monday night that former Pacers and Magic head coach Frank Vogel could join Lue’s staff, but The Athletic’s Frank Isola reports there’s an even bigger name on LeBron and Lue’s mind.
From Isola
The reports of Lue wanting to add his former colleague in Boston, Tom Thibodeau, to his coaching staff are also true. LeBron, through intermediaries, has let it be known that Thibodeau would be a huge asset to have on the bench. LeBron’s close associates were gauging Thibodeau’s interest in becoming a top assistant two weeks ago. It would be similar to the role Mike Brown and Ron Adams serve under Steve Kerr in Golden State.
However, there are plenty of reasons that may make the job of lead assistant for Lue a non-starter for Thibodeau. Thibs is still collecting money on his big contract to be the coach and run basketball operations for Minnesota, so it’s not as if he needs the money. But Thibodeau’s passion and love for the game, the stuff of legendary stories in the league, could bring him out.
As Isola noted, LeBron has reached out to Thibs to let him know that he would be a valued asset. But the question for Thibodeau is likely less about basketball and more about the perception of the Lakers, whose dysfunction is still a punchline around the league. The fact that we’re talking about a coaching staff before they’ve put pen to paper with their head coach is proof of that.
