Lakers Coaching Watch: Evaluating Lue’s fit in Los Angeles

The Luke Walton-LeBron James experiment barely lasted a season – and now, the Los Angeles Lakers are knee-deep in a search for their new head coach.

It’s a search that is complicated, pressure-packed and full of unknowns.

James enters the second year of his contract after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005. While he has a summer to recover and recharge, he also inches closer to turning 35, a number that now sounds significantly older than it did just one year ago. With a packed roster of free agents this summer, the Lakers have no time to waste. Securing a head coach that can manage James, attract high-level talent and handle nonstop scrutiny is the first step in moving on from what was a disastrous 37-win season.

As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst outlined, coaching James is no easy task. Finding a candidate that checks off all the boxes is near-impossible, which is partly why the Lakers are taking their time in making a decision. We do know that four candidates have been identified: Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams, former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, Miami assistant coach Juwan Howard and former Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd.

This past week, the LA Times reported that Williams and Lue had second round interviews with the Lakers search committee, which includes owner Jeanie Buss, general manager Rob Pelinka, president of business operations Tim Harris, director of special projects Linda Rambis senior advisor Kurt Rambis and Buss’ two brothers, Joey and Jesse. Reportedly, after holding conversations that lasted over three hours, the group left feeling impressed with both candidates. Williams came across as “very likeable” and “forthright” throughout his interview, while Lue impressed the group with his basketball IQ and sincerity.

The Lakers have plenty to evaluate as they go through the search process.

Is there a candidate that can seriously entice a superstar free agent to Los Angeles?

Who can command respect in a franchise that is steeped in basketball history, in front of a crowd full of expectations and in a locker room of personalities that appear to be barely hanging on?

And finally, which coach would have the best working relationship with James? The Lakers roster will certainly look different come training camp in October, but the pressure in coaching James is always heavy regardless of who surrounds him.

When it comes to earning James’ respect, Lue already has that covered. Despite taking on plenty of blame during his three seasons as Cleveland’s head coach, Lue held a record of 128-83 and led the Cavaliers to three consecutive Finals appearances. James isn’t usually one to publicly praise his coaches, but after signing with Los Angeles and learning Cleveland fired Lue just six games into the 2018-19 season, he made sure his voice was heard.

"He put us in position to win, he put us in position to succeed," James said. "And more importantly, he gave—all the onus was on the players. He gave us the responsibility to go out and do what we needed to do to win ball games. And that led us to—while he was at the helm—three Eastern Conference Finals, three Finals, one championship."

Not only is Lue experienced with the drama that comes with coaching James; he also knows how to lead amidst dysfunction. He was thrown into his first head coaching job after David Blatt was fired midseason and managed key playoff matchups as the Cavaliers went on to beat the 73-win Warriors for the 2016 championship. Throughout three seasons, he calmly led a team that at times seemed more concern with drama than they did with winning, and like James, he even began to master how to handle the media.

When James is on your team, the path to the Finals is a whole lot easier; but it isn’t always seamless. Owners clash with management, stars demand trades and yes, chicken tortilla soups are thrown. Lue experienced it all and still came out earning unwavering praise from players and staff. After an unexpected exit by Magic Johnson and messy front office email exchanges, the Lakers need a coach who can stay afloat even when the other pieces might be crumbling. While the Lakers consider Lue’s rapport with James, they will also need to evaluate his shortcomings. Poor, undisciplined team defense was a persistent pattern that haunted Lue in Cleveland and played a significant role in his eventual firing. In the two 82-game regular seasons he was head coach, the Cavaliers had the 21st and 29th ranked defense in the league. There was constant miscommunication, laziness on switches and road trip lolls.

When it comes to defense, James has made his message loud and clear. It’s a trend that began in Cleveland and that has carried over to Los Angeles: he’ll play defense during the regular season, but only on his terms. As he approaches his 17th season, James can lead in plenty of ways, but defense isn’t expected to be one of them. The Lakers next head coach needs to know how to inspire team defense, even with a lackluster James jogging up the court after a turnover. Lue couldn’t do it in Cleveland, why should Buss and Pelinka believe he can do it in Los Angeles?

In today’s NBA, conferences matter. This same logic applies to Lue and the Lakers. While James adjusts to the talent-heavy juggernaut of the West, Lue would also be stepping into a new realm. Although he served as an assistant coach for one season under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles, his coaching experience largely resides in the Eastern Conference. Even with the Warriors potentially facing a breakup this summer, the competition on the West Coast continues to rise. In the East, defensive breakdowns and regular season losing streaks might have cost Lue and the Cavaliers homecourt advantage; in today’s Western Conference, it costs a trip to the playoffs entirely.

Finally, Lue faced some scary health issues during his time in Cleveland. He missed a total of three weeks due to lack of sleep and chest pains. Leading up to his decision to step away from the team, it was determined his symptoms were also the result of anxiety. While Lue used the scare as a wakeup call to make significant lifestyle changes, it was a reminder of just how stressful coaching a LeBron-led team can be.

When James made his move to Los Angeles last summer, Walton reached out to Lue for advice on how to coach the three-time champion.

“People get this whole thing built up like he’s hard to coach. It’s not. LeBron’s not the problem,” said Lue. “It’s the outside tension that’s the problem. Just put added pressure immediately on the coaches, on his teammates. Now everything you do is under a microscope. … So it’s going to be a totally different change for the Lakers. They’ll be able to handle it.

Who knew that one year later, it would be Lue under the microscope, with the Lakers asking: Can you handle this?