"LeBron is tampering" - Lakers fans thrilled as Ty Lue & JJ Redick emerge as head coach frontrunners for LA

Lakers fans react to news that JJ Redick and Tyronn Lue are frontrunners to replace Darvin Ham
Lakers fans react to news that JJ Redick and Tyronn Lue are frontrunners to replace Darvin Ham

Darvin Ham remains as the LA Lakers head coach but his job has been under fire since the regular season. Despite the team finishing outside of the top six and landing in the Play-In, he was able to keep his job and coached the team through their first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets.

At this point, the writing is seemingly on the wall saying that Ham's time is done with the Lakers and his possible replacements are already emerging one by one. As per reports, JJ Redicka and Tyronn Lue are frontrunners to replace Ham.

Lakers fans seem happy with Redick and Lue emerging as the candidates to become the team's newest head coach as evidenced by their reactions on X.

"Lakers fans waiting for this moment," @FastBreakPhenom tweeted.
"We will gladly take either one thank you," @lakersloop said.
"Give me both," @LADEig added.

Other fans decided to give their opinions on who the front office should hire between Lue and Redick.

"Lakers win the chip if Tye Lue joins," @mustkn0w thinks.
"Give JJ a shot, Lue has had enough shots," @OKIEGUY27 pointed out.

Meanwhile, one fan decided to make a joke about LeBron's relationship with these two frontrunners.

"Lebron is tampering ain’t no way," @kvngslayer400 teased.

Tyronne Lue is currently the head coach of the LA Clippers but he was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when they won a title in 2016. Meanwhile, JJ Redick and LeBron are co-hosts of the 'Mind the Game' podcast.

Also read: Lakers coach odds: Top 5 most probable candidates to replace Darvin Ham


Lakers have replaced their head coach several times since the 2012-13 season

The coaching turnover in the Lakers organization has been swift. In the 2012-13 season alone, they went through three coaching changes which started with Mike Brown who was replaced by Bernie Bickerstaff after only five games.

Bickerstaff, who was an interim, was replaced by Mike D'Antoni after five games as well. The team went 45-37 and were eliminated in the first round.

D'Antoni coached the team until the end of 2013-14 and was replaced by Byron Scott afterward. Scott inherited a beleaguered and injury-plagued roster from D'Antoni and the team was never able to get things going under him, prompting the front office to replace him again after just two seasons.

Luke Walton was then hired as the team's head coach after he showed plenty of promise from being the Golden State Warriors head coach when Steve Kerr was unavailable. However, his stint in LA was not as good as the team never made it into the Playoffs. He was replaced after three seasons.

In 2019-20, Frank Vogel was brought in as the new head coach, and in his first season, he helmed the team as they won the Bubble Championship. The team failed to follow that up with another deep Playoff run in Vogel's second season as they were eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. His third year as head coach was even worse as LA failed to secure 40 wins and was left without a playoff berth.

He was then replaced by Darvin Ham. In both of Ham's seasons, LA was a Play-In team. They successfully stormed all the way through to the Western Conference Finals the first time where they were swept by the Denver Nuggets.

This season is still fresh in the minds of the players, the organization, and the fans as they once again fell to the Nuggets in the opening round.

Quick Links

App download animated image Get the free App now