The Los Angeles Lakers were left in turmoil after president of basketball operations Magic Johnson recently announced that he is stepping down.
It was unclear what the future of the others who held leadership positions in the organization would be, but that was made a little more clear when the team announced they have mutually parted ways with head coach Luke Walton.
As it currently stands, general manager Rob Pelinka seems to be running the front office and it is unclear if/when they plan to hire a new president of basketball operations.
But as for replacing Walton, some candidates have already emerged. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue is the favorite to be the team’s next head coach:
Ty Lue is a strong frontrunner for the Lakers coaching job, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 12, 2019
It is no secret that Lue is close with LeBron James after they won a championship together with the Cavaliers.
Another candidate that could be a possibility is former New Orleans Pelicans head coach and current Philadelphia 76ers assistant Monty Williams:
Sixers assistant Monty Williams joins Ty Lue as the central candidates in the Lakers search, league sources tell ESPN. Process is expected to center on them.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 12, 2019
It is a little strange that it looks like the Lakers are addressing their head coaching vacancy before their president of basketball operations.
If a president of basketball operations is put in place first, then he and Pelinka, or whoever else is running the front office can then conduct a thorough coaching search to find the right candidate for the job of bringing the Lakers back to glory.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers continue to move quickly from here, or if they take their time to make sure they get things right. As big as this offseason will be in terms of free agency and getting players alongside James and the young core, hiring the right head coach may be even more important than that.
