Discussions between the Los Angeles Lakers and former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Ty Lue broke down on Wednesday, despite previous reports indicating that the Lakers were ready to make an offer to Lue for the team's head coach position. Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said that their failure to get Lue has negatively impacted the team, and now Lakers president Jeanie Buss is reportedly even being told to trade LeBron James.
"Nothing is out of bounds right now," Smith said, in the clip below. "We don’t know what the hell is going on in Los Angeles. You’ve got folks close to Jeanie Buss imploring her to trade LeBron James. He does not have a no-trade clause, and now you haven’t given him the coach that he wanted."
It was a huge coup for the Lakers when James signed with the team, so right now it does seem unrealistic that Buss would be willing to trade him. However, he does not have a no-trade clause in his contract, meaning it could very well happen in the future. James likely isn't happy that he's not getting Lue as head coach, especially considering their established relationship from their time together in Cleveland.
Last month, Magic Johnson resigned from his position as president of basketball operations for the Lakers, which James addressed on the most recent episode of The Shop. "My right hand comes to me and say, 'Magic just stepped down.' I'm like man, get the fuck out of my face, you bullshitting. I go check my phone, I look at it, the shit happened," he said. "Personally for me, I came here to be a part of the Lakers organization, having the conversation with Magic. So, it was just weird for [Magic Johnson] to just be like, 'Nah, I'm out of here." Clearly, all is not well in Los Angeles.
