The Los Angeles Lakers have officially fired Luke Walton and will now be in search of a new head coach for next season. According to ESPN's Ramona Shelbourne, general manager Rob Pelinka will spearhead the coaching search.
Pelinka will run the Lakers coaching search. As @wojespn reported Ty Lue is one of the leading candidates. The expectation is they will talk to others, too, though.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) April 12, 2019
The Lakers do not have one of its top executives, as Magic Johnson recently stepped down as the franchise's President of Basketball Operations. It is one of the reasons why Pelinka is doing double duty.
According to speculations, ex-Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue and former New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams are the front-runners to land the job.
Lue was the coach of the Cavs for three seasons, and in each year, he's led the team to the Finals. He was the one calling the shots for Cleveland when they pulled off the upset against the Golden State Warriors back in 2016.
The belief around the league is that LeBron James has a significant amount of respect for Lue, and he would definitely approve if the Lakers pick his former coach to replace Walton.
For Williams' case, meanwhile, he has a connection with Anthony Davis — the Lakers' top free-agent target — having coached him while in New Orleans.
Rob Pelinka and the Lakers will be very busy within the next couple of weeks, as they continue to fill the vacancies in their front office ahead of this summer's free agency.
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