The Lakers And Tyronn Lue Reportedly ‘Reached An Impasse’ Over Contract Negotiations


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Once the Phoenix Suns decided to hire Monty Williams to be their next head coach, all signs pointed to former Cleveland Cavaliers skipper Tyronn Lue taking over the Los Angeles Lakers. Questions would assuredly exist about Lue, namely whether he got hired for being the best coach or for being the guy who knows LeBron James the best, but based on his track record, he’d be a good hire.

But because this is the Lakers we’re talking about, something extremely weird had to happen in their quest to make Lue their coach. That came on Wednesday afternoon, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the two sides ran into a wall during negotiations.

If your first thought it “that’s weird,” well, you’re right. It is extremely odd that this would happen, because it’s had to imagine what direction Los Angeles would turn in if Lue fell through. We did, however, get a little more information about why this impasse was reached. Wojnarowski brought word that a few issues, including whether or not Jason Kidd should be an assistant, popped up.

The issue with assistants popped up again in a report by Marc Stein of the New York Times, although he did not specifically mention Kidd.

It’s important to stress that it’s totally possible Lue gets the job and this all sorts itself out, but this is a twist straight out of left field in the Lakers’ hunt for a coach. We’ll be sure to keep you updated if this manages to take yet another unexpected turn.