NBA Rumors: Tyronn Lue Reveals Plans If Taken In By Lakers, Waiting On Williams

LeBron James Tyronn Lue — LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers and head coach Tyronn Lue talk while playing the Indiana Pacers in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on April 29, 2018 in Cleveland. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Tyronn Lue is one of the favorites to become the next Los Angeles Lakers head coach and it looks like his level of preparations is something to check out. One of the notable things in his master plan is to include Tom Thibodeau, someone who has been known to hold close ties with Jimmy Butler.

Lue is an obvious favorite since he is a former Los Angeles Laker and handled LeBron James when both were with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both were part of the Cavs during the 2015-16 NBA season and the 41-year-old is (partially) credited for the franchise's first NBA title. Lue was named the head coach on January 2016, taking over from David Blatt mid-season.

Most believe that Blatt deserved part of that credit since he did hold up the fort before his dismissal. Lue could have doused water on those doubts in the 2016-17 NBA season although the best he could do was lead the Cavs to the NBA finals. Cleveland got swept by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Regardless, the fine print in all of this is that he has proven he can handle James. But of course, he needs to prove to the Lakers top brass that he can handle the team as a whole. Based on a report from The Los Angeles Times, it looks like he may have mustered enough to do just that.

One thing that Lue planned was to add Tom Thibodeau as his top assistant. With the Lakers also looking to make a splash in NBA Free Agency, one player that comes to mind is Jimmy Butler. The 29-year-old has made it known that he wanted to play for LA and Thibodeau could be a huge influence. Unfortunately, the latest on Thibs is that he doesn't seem interested in working as an assistant to Lue.

“I’m told for Thibs it’s not the direction he wants to go. He still wants to be a head coach in the league but it shows you the kind of lengths guys are gonna go here to try & impress this @Lakers ownership group and get this job.”@wojespn | @ESPN _ pic.twitter.com/TG7OcbKaAr
— ShowtimeForum (@ShowtimeForum) April 27, 2019

Regardless, the Lakers final verdict on who will be the next head coach remains up in the air. Other names are in the mix: Monty Williams, Jason Kidd and Juwan Howard. Of the three, it looks like the Lakers are in no hurry. But it looks like Williams, a coach that other teams are also pursuing, is at the top as well. One of the teams is the Phoenix Suns, the Bleacher Report noted.

According to Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers could be stalling as they wait for a definitive answer from Williams. The Lakers are apparently not in a hurry, meaning seeing the next Lakers head coach may take some time.