LeBron James 'could push' to reunite with former head coach

Darvin Ham's future with the Los Angeles Lakers is far from secure. He failed to build on his team's Western Conference Finals appearance last season, and the Lakers showed no signs of building an identity this year. Furthermore, his consistent chopping and changing of the starting lineup reportedly irked senior roster members.

According to an Eastern Conference executive who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy on Sports, LeBron James could push the Lakers front office to poach Ty Lue from the L.A. Clippers if Ham is relieved of his duties.

“If it was all up to LeBron, he’d have Ty Lue as his coach and he would do that with the Lakers,” the executive said. “That’s his guy. Out of all the coaches LeBron has ever had, the one he singles out is Ty. Now he is in a position where he has free-agency on his side and he can maybe force the team to do something to get his guy if he gets fired."

Lue and James won a championship together in 2016. Lue is also viewed as one of the smartest coaches in the NBA, especially in terms of Xs and Os and in-game adjustments. He would likely develop an identity for the Lakers and get them playing at a high level. Of course, it would help that Lue would walk into the team with the back of its best and most influential player.

Whether the Lakers would be able to acquire Lue is another story. The Clippers would undoubtedly play hardball. Their head coach has another year left on his contract after the front office triggered the one-year extension in his deal. 

James' future is also unknown after he refused to comment on whether he will remain with the Lakers next season. However, if he does and Ham is fired, it will be interesting to see which direction the front office goes in terms of the next coaching hire. 

Lue would undoubtedly be the ideal candidate. Unfortunately for the Lakers and LeBron, he may be one of the only coaches that's out of reach, at least in the upcoming offseason.