"So embarrassing": NBA analyst calls out Jeanie Buss for "disrespecting" LeBron James' ex-coach amid reignited interest
With rumblings of LA Lakers' reignited interest in LeBron James' former coach Ty Lue, NBA analyst Jason Timpf revisited Jeanie Buss' disrespectful gesture towards the Clippers HC. Timpf was referring to the Lakers' interest in Lue in 2019. He was LA's second option after Monty Williams had turned the Lakers down for Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Lue was with the Clippers in an informal role. However, the Lakers reportedly blew the negotiations after lowballing Lue with a three-year $18 million deal and telling him that the team's brass would hire his staff. Lue called out the Lakers, saying that they didn't treat him "fairly" during negotiations, fuelling rumors of Buss and Co. mishandling the situation.
While reacting to reports of Lakers being "openly smitten" with the idea of signing Lue, currently the Clippers' HC, Timpf called the situation embarrassing:
"This is so embarrassing considering Lue would be the coach if Jeanie Buss didn’t openly disrespect him by lowballing him in the negotiation 4 years ago."
The Lakers eventually hired Frank Vogel, who led them to a championship in 2020 but couldn't help them past the 2021 playoffs first round and failed to book a postseason berth in 2022. However, Vogel's tenure was plagued with poor roster construction and injury issues after the successful run in 2020.
The Lakers then turned to rookie coach Darvin Ham, who led the team to two playoff berths, including a conference finals run and an NBA In-Season Tournament championship. Ham was fired after a questionable 2023-24 season, where the Lakers performed below expectations, owing to poor decision-making from the sophomore coach.
Ty Lue and the Lakers could have been excellent fits if Jeanie Buss and the decision-makers at the top didn't reportedly lowball him or force him to recruit the staff by themselves. Lue had a proven record with LeBron James as his star player and was arguably a better fit to manage a star-studded locker room.
Former Lakers and Clippers guard names Ty Lue the perfect candidate to coach LeBron James and Co
Coaching a LeBron James team is arguably the most difficult job in the world, and nine coaches can attest to that, including Ty Lue. The Clippers coach and Erik Spoelstra were one of the three to lead James' teams to championship wins and consecutive finals appearances. Lue did it emphatically by helping the Cavaliers overturn a 3-1 deficit against the 73-9 Warriors in 2016.
There aren't many coaches out there who can soak the pressure of the Lakers faithful and LeBron James. But Lue is a candidate many seem to have faith in, considering how Vogel and Ham's tenures ended.
Former Lakers and Clippers player Lou Williams also believes that Lue is the right man for the job.
"There's only one person that I could see managing (the Lakers), and I hate to say it, it's gonna be Ty Lue."
Lue's greatest asset as a coach has been man management. It was critical during LeBron James and the Cavs' 2016 finals win. He even held LeBron accountable in the penultimate contest, which fueled the four-time MVP's inspiring effort in the second half to lead Cleveland to its first championship win.