Desperate times call for radical measures?
Since LeBron James joined the Lakers in 2018, the franchise has let go of three coaches — Luke Walton, Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham. Several of the coaches they previously interviewed for the vacancy, like Kenny Atkinson and Tyronn Lue, have once again surfaced as possible candidates to take on arguably the most thankless job in all of sports.
The Lakers are running out of options in their bi-annual coaching carousel.
It’s why former Lakers coach Byron Scott feels the time is right for LeBron James to pull a Bill Russell and take over for Ham.
“Ty Lue ain’t coming, [Steve] Balmer isn’t going to let him go from the Clippers to the Lakers,” Scott told FS1’s “Undisputed” on Wednesday. “My recommendation for the next Lakers coach — out of the eight or nine names I’ve heard — is LeBron James. Make him the coach. I’ve got nothing but love and respect for LeBron, he’s one of the best players to ever play this game. But it’s obvious to me that he’s making a lot of decisions in this organization — from a coaching and player standpoint. So if you’re gonna allow him to make those decision, sit on the bench and make those decisions as well. Be the head coach.”
Scott’s radical take riled up social media on Wednesday, with many advocating for James to truly consider the idea. NFL legend James Jones feels that Scott, just like himself, is “being salty” because he’s tired of seeing James getting coaches fired and not taking accountability for the same.
.@89JonesNTAF: I think Byron Scott is feeling like me…
“LeBron done got all these coaches fired… You coach! You don’t dribble the ball off your foot. You get AD some shots!” pic.twitter.com/cyJDEHUDHB
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) May 8, 2024
If James does take on the head coaching role, he will become the 41st player in NBA history to undertake the double duty. Lenny Wilkens was the longest-tenured player-coach, spending four full seasons in the role and another 28 full seasons as a head coach, winning a championship with the SuperSonics in 1979
