ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, reported that Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver met with Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams in Philly on Wednesday. He went on to add that Williams remains the Suns top target to become their next head coach, but no offer has been extended yet from Phoenix. He also noted that Williams remains in talks for the Los Angeles Lakers job, vying with Ty Lue.
From this report, it seems the Lakers may have narrowed their coaching search down from Jason Kidd, Juwan Howard, Willams and Lue to simply just the latter two candidates. If that’s the case, Williams receiving an offer from Phoenix in the coming days could put Lue in the driver’s seat to become the next bench boss for the Lakers. Lue compiled a 128-83 record as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-19.
Lue is the last coach to help lead LeBron James to an NBA championship doing so in 2016 with the Cavs. Reports have also surfaced in recent days that LeBron would be happiest and most engaged with Lue on the sidelines in Los Angeles next season. For this reason, Lue’s championship pedigree, and the fact that he’s a former Laker, it seems the momentum has certainly shifted in his direction as this coaching search continues to unfold. But if there’s anything we’ve learned about the Lakers over the last several years, anything and everything is still possible.
