The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly on the cusp of hiring Tyronn Lue to replace Luke Walton as the team's head coach, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise considering Lue has long been considered the frontrunner.
In addition to the latest Lakers head coaching news, The Athletic's Frank Isola reports that LeBron James' camp has already reached out to Tom Thibodeau to join the team as a top assistant coach. However, there could be some issues given the fact that Thibs is still owed money from the Timberwolves, coupled with the belief that he'd prefer his own head coaching gig.
Isola writes that LeBron's camp has let Thibodeau know that he would be a "huge asset to have on the bench."
"Thibodeau, however, is owed a lot of money from the Minnesota Timberwolves and the feeling is that he would prefer a head coaching job. Thibodeau has the resume and income to be patient. Plus, after dealing with an unstable management group in Minnesota, Thibodeau may be taking a wait-and-see approach with the 'new-look' Lakers."
Thibodeau, 61, joined the T'Wolves in 2016 as head coach and President of Basketball Operations. Though he led the team to their first playoff appearance in 13 years, he was fired in January after the team started the season 19-21.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Lue also inquired about Thibodeau being his top assistant.