The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to turn the page from the Luke Walton era.
After parting ways with Walton last week, the Lakers have apparently narrowed their coaching search down to two candidates. According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, general manager Rob Pelinka is set to meet both former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Monty Williams this week for a second time. Lue's meeting will reportedly be on Wednesday, according to The Times.
Turner also is reporting that owner Jeanie Buss will be involved in the meetings with both Lue and Williams. The Lakers met with Lue on Friday after a "good interview," according to Turner. Williams, meanwhile, is reportedly drawing interest from the Suns after the firing of Igor Kokoskov.
The Lakers have certainly had their fair share of drama in terms of personnel over the last two weeks and are looking to move towards the future.
Prior to the Lakers' regular-season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers, Magic Johnson sent shockwaves through the NBA when he announced that he was stepping down from being the team's president of basketball operations. Later in the week, the team mutually agreed to go their separate ways with Walton, who was hired as the Sacramento Kings' head coach a short time later.
It's certainly not surprising to see Lue emerge as one of the first candidates interviewed by the Lakers considering his history with LeBron James. After all, James and Lue won a championship together with the Cavaliers in 2016, so the familiarity between the two sides is certainly there.
Lue had accumulated a 128-83 record with the Cavaliers after he took over during the 2015-16 season. Cleveland fired David Blatt midway through that campaign and Lue served as his replacement before ultimately becoming the team's full-time head coach.
Prior to being promoted, Lue became the NBA's highest-paid assistant coach when he landed with Cleveland in 2014. He had also spent time with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant coach. Upon taking over in Cleveland, Lue did lead the Cavaliers to their first NBA title in franchise history in 2016 as they defeated the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
Meanwhile, Williams also has some head-coaching experience under his belt from his time with the New Orleans Pelicans. In five seasons with New Orleans, Williams accumulated a 173-221 record, but did win at least 45 games in two of those seasons.
Williams is currently in his first season as an assistant coach on Brett Brown's staff in Philadelphia. The former small forward certainly wouldn't be the first coach that was poached from the 76ers as Lloyd Pierce was hired by the Atlanta Hawks following the 2017-18 season. In addition, assistant Billy Lange accepted a head-coaching position at Saint Joseph's University earlier this season.
With the Lakers narrowing their search down to two prime candidates and with the offseason only a few months away, it's clear that Los Angeles is looking to get a deal done as quickly as possible.
