Lakers Rumors: Tyronn Lue, LeBron James want Tom Thibodeau

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve potential candidates for Tyronn Lue’s staff if he is hired by the organization, as he and LeBron James reportedly want Tom Thibodeau to come aboard.

There have been a lot of Los Angeles Lakers rumors in recent days about the team’s head coaching position. While there hasn’t been anything official yet, all signs are pointing toward former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, Tyronn Lue, getting the job.

Lue was fired after the Cavaliers began the 2018-19 season with an 0-6 record. With LeBron James no longer in town, the Cavaliers decided to start cleaning house, which included moving on from Lue.

With Lue reportedly heading to Los Angeles, there will be a new coaching staff following him. One of the gripes with Luke Walton, while he was head coach, was that he did not diversify his coaching staff under him.

Walton, whose only head coaching experience was as an interim head coach for the Golden State Warriors when Steve Kerr was on leave during their 73-win season, didn’t add many experienced assistants to his staff. He instead filled the coaching staff out with Arizona alums or people who had ties to the Lakers’ organization.

It was one of the shortcomings Walton had as head coach. Brian Shaw was the only experienced assistant he had, and Shaw was a disaster as a head coach with the Denver Nuggets. That is something that won’t happen again with Lue.

During his first head coaching tenure with the Cavaliers, Lue had experienced assistants in Jim Boylan and Larry Drew. If he has his way with the Lakers, the trend of experienced assistants being on his staff will continue.

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According to Frank Isola of The Athletic, Lue wants to add Tom Thibodeau to his coaching staff as an assistant. In addition to Lue, LeBron James reportedly wants Thibodeau on the staff as well.

"The reports of Lue wanting to add his former colleague in Boston, Tom Thibodeau, to his coaching staff are also true. LeBron, through intermediaries, has let it be known that Thibodeau would be a huge asset to have on the bench. LeBron’s close associates were gauging Thibodeau’s interest in becoming a top assistant two weeks ago. It would be similar to the role Mike Brown and Ron Adams serve under Steve Kerr in Golden State."

Thibodeau has built his reputation as a coach on his defensive prowess. However, there are uncertainties about whether or not Thibodeau would want to become an assistant coach again.

Thibodeau’s last two stops in his coaching career were as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. With the Timberwolves, Thibodeau also had control over player personnel as the team’s president of basketball operations.

The Lakers could also see Thibodeau as a way to help recruit this summer. He has coached Jimmy Butler in the past and according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, the two are still close. In addition, Thibodeau was an assistant coach on Team USA from 2013-2016, giving him a chance to work with some high-profile players.

This will be something to keep an eye on if and when Lue is hired as head coach. You can expect the Lakers’ coaching staff to look a lot different under him than it was under Walton.

Will Thibodeau be a part of that new-look staff? We will have to wait and see what happens in the coming weeks once the organization begins filling out their staff.