LeBron James and the Lakers’ loss in the first round of the playoffs has had a spiraling effect on the organization. After losing the series in just five games to the Nuggets, the Lakers immediately went into restructuring mode. The first major victim of the move was Darvin Ham, the now-former head coach of the franchise for the last two seasons. And now, that he is gone, the LA franchise desperately needs a replacement. Shockingly enough, however, according to former NBA veteran Byron Scott, the replacement is already in the Lakers camp.
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On the latest episode of UNDISPUTED, Scott said, the Lakers are trying for Ty Lue but that will likely only end in disappointment because the Clippers won’t let that happen. There are a few other interesting names in contention as well, including JJ Redick, for the jackpot spot.
But the three-time NBA Champion believes that nobody is more prepared for the role than one, James. Scott even took subtle shots at the Lakers star by stating that he’s the one really running things inside the camp, so he might as well make it official.
He said, “I got nothing but love and respect for LeBron. I love him. I think he’s one of the greatest players that ever played this game, but it’s obvious to me, at least, that he’s making a lot of decisions in this organization from a coaching standpoint to a player standpoint.”
.@official_bscott says LeBron should be the Lakers next head coach pic.twitter.com/hCoqabF6be
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 8, 2024
While this may seem like a wildly outlandish option (which it absolutely is), it has been done before in the NBA, albeit a very long time ago. The great Bill Russel did it and was even inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
So, can LeBron really pull this off? Maybe not.
It’s too tough a job to shoulder an entire team as a player alone. Adding the burden of being a coach as well could result in nothing short of a disaster. But, while he may not be up for the job, James will hope the Lakers pick a head coach soon. After all, with the LA having no one in the position right now, he hasn’t exactly been the media’s favorite personality recently.
Michael Wilbon has had enough of LeBron James’ antics
Ham was the 10th coach in LeBron’s career. It may not sound too odd at first, but this isn’t a good look for a player of his stature.
It shows that perhaps LeBron is incapable of staying loyal to a leader. Additionally, it also only backs up the narrative that James is unwilling to bend to the will of anyone else, something that was never going to go down well with anyone in the NBA community. And sure enough, analyst Michael Wilbon had something to say about it.
He said, “Let me just say this: If you [LeBron] want to be the GOAT, and you want to tell everybody you’re the greatest player of all time, then take accountability like one. Do that.” Even though Wilbon acknowledged that his take might be biased since he had a good relationship with Ham, his point reflects the thoughts of most fans around the league at the moment.
As things stand, the Lakers have quite a few candidates to pick from for the hot seat. However, one has to think that just about every one of them will be worried about how much they will need to bend to the will of LeBron James.
