The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason has reached peak chaos with the news that Ty Lue wouldn’t be head coach. Fans are planning to protest, and you have to wonder if this summer of free agency is going to be a rough one for the purple and gold. As if LeBron James didn’t have enough challenges to deal with in La La Land, there’s also this little nugget that made it’s way around the Interwebs on Thursday. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith was told “nothing is out of bounds” with the Lakers and that people were telling L.A. owner Jeanie Buss to trade James. I'm told people in Hollywood have told Jeanie Buss to trade @KingJames! pic.twitter.com/PzaOvC3uF0 — Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) May 9, 2019 The trade rumors surrounding LeBron James explained by @stephenasmith the only way he knows how. 😂 pic.twitter.com/x9Ypv4vd3j — Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 9, 2019 Wha!? Seriously!? Can you imagine! ? It turns out some people can. As usual, when there’s any discussion or rumor of a trade possibility, NBA fans flock to ESPN’s Trade Machine to make a deal happen. And, as usual, we collected them. Check out some of these absurd deals: 1. LeBron to the Blazers So IF the Lakers do actually explore a LeBron trade, their biggest holes are SG and C. And they don’t want to start from square one again. Hey, @BillSimmons what does the Picasso of the Trade Machine think about this one? pic.twitter.com/irANfRvgXe — Just Fred (@fredtastical) May 9, 2019 The Lakers probably say “no” to most of these, but this isn’t the worst. 2. The Rockets get the move that FINALLY pushes them over the top @Lakers we’ll throw in our post-championship window 2022 and 2023 firsts WHO SAYS NO??? pic.twitter.com/gIkn1TFEdn — Official James Harden Stan Account (@ToysRUsGiraffe) May 9, 2019 3. “I’m coming home AGAIN” I mean… if the ESPN trade machine says it’s a successful trade, it’s bound to happen, right? pic.twitter.com/DTkncTBAqu — Derek (@Underdog017) May 9, 2019 LOL. 4. Boston Bron LeBron for Tatum-Hayward and 2 or 3 first rounders? Who says no? Let's Cersi Lannister this whole damn league! #Celtics #Lakers https://t.co/gdALj8QBpZ pic.twitter.com/nK0NyWX1fi — Ryan Leach (@Leach24) May 9, 2019 This is a decent starting point. 5. Taking his talents BACK to South Beach Um, no thanks. 6. Taking his talents BACK to South Beach, Part II 7. Bring him to Anthony Davis and not the other way around Lakers should trade LeBron to New Orleans! pic.twitter.com/6O9UOSOItZ — IllBay58 (@Iam6Will9) May 9, 2019 This would be hilarious after what happened earlier this year. 8. The King plays for The GOAT If Jeanie Buss really wants to show LeBron who is boss and embarrass him, I have the PERFECT trade for her and the Lakers #GreatSuccess pic.twitter.com/oLZzZ9CV1f — Nicholas Wilson (@NickWilsonWFNZ) May 9, 2019 James playing for Michael Jordan would be unreal. 9. James for Steph I played a little on the trade machine IF LeBron is to be traded from LA. Found some options, but not many will give the team a projected increase in Ws. Due to his large contract, most deals would have to involve high end talent. I’m not sure teams would be willing to accept pic.twitter.com/VX3kE3znM0 — Ian Mumm (@FiveOnFiveHoops) May 9, 2019 I’m focused on that first deal in which James joins the Warriors in exchange for … Steph Curry. This would melt social media down in a matter of seconds.<doc-sep>There are only 30 head-coaching jobs in the NBA, and Tyronn Lue has one again. That ought to be a happy occasion—especially because his last job ended unceremoniously. Now, not even a year later, he has another opportunity—though what kind of opportunity is another matter entirely. According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers have all but landed on Lue as their new head coach. That probably shouldn’t be surprising. There was back-channel signaling that LeBron James would be “at his happiest and most engaged” with Lue on the bench. James played for Lue in Cleveland. Or, rather, Lue coached James when LeBron let him. They won a championship together. Then LeBron made his way west to Los Angeles and left Lue behind in Cleveland. Lue started the 2018-19 season 0-6 and was promptly fired. The timing was weird. The explanation was weirder. Cleveland general manager Koby Altman said he expected the Cavs—without LeBron, and with an opening season starting lineup that included George Hill, Rodney Hood, and Cedi Osman—to “overachieve.” Without Lue, they overachieved their way to a whopping 19 wins. It was a bad spot for Lue and he was lucky to get out of it—though maybe he should have just gone and put his feet in the sand and read a book on a beach somewhere rather than diving back into murky waters. Lue will become the Lakers’ sixth head coach in the past eight years. The club has had a losing record in each of the past six seasons, and they haven’t made the playoffs since 2012-13, when they got swept in the first round by the Spurs. By any measure, this is the worst extended stretch in the organization’s otherwise storied history. Juwan Howard and Jason Kidd reportedly interviewed for the job, as did former Sixers assistant Monty Williams, who was hired on Friday to take over the Phoenix Suns. For a while there, it looked like the Lakers job would be a two-man race between Williams and Lue. But Williams took the Suns job, and league sources told me it’s because Williams preferred Phoenix over Los Angeles. That might be spin, but the fact that people were even talking about it said quite a bit about how far the Lakers have fallen in terms of perception and prestige. The Lakers are an iconic franchise; the Suns are dysfunctional and working there means possibly encountering goat shit in your office. Call it a toss-up on which gig is better these days. Predictably, the Lakers leaked that Lue was their first choice and the best choice and they love him so very much. How much Lue will actually love working there is a more complicated question. These are, finally and officially, LeBron’s Lakers now. Lue knows full well what that means. He went 128-83 with James in Cleveland and helped end the city’s interminable, five-decade-plus championship drought. There were unquestionably good times. There were also times, lots of them, when James took over in-game huddles and Lue was marginalized, or the two were seen screaming at each other on the sideline. At one point a couple of years ago, Lue got so frustrated that he told LeBron to “shut the fuck up.” Good for him. He shouldn’t let anyone walk all over him except Allen Iverson. In fairness, friends and coworkers argue. It happens. Sometimes it’s good to just get it out. The bigger issue here for Lue is what, exactly, he’s getting himself into by getting back into business with LeBron and the Lakers. Lue won two championships with the organization as a player back in 2000 and 2001, but this is not your Kobe-stan older brother’s Lakers. For starters, LeBron will turn 35 next December. He is still the King, but he plainly does not command the court the same way he did even as recently as his final days in Cleveland. James played just 55 games this season, by far the fewest of his career. In his absence, the Lakers looked like they’ve generally looked during the past several seasons: young and lost. Which brings us to the most pressing question facing the Lakers these days: How do they fix that problem, and who exactly is in charge of the fixing? When Magic Johnson quit his job as president of basketball operations in an unexpected and bizarre impromptu press conference that lasted nearly 45 minutes, it was a pretty strong signal that the Lakers were not quite functioning properly. Johnson didn’t tell owner Jeanie Buss he was resigning even though he has often described her as his sister and his friend. Instead, he told the TV cameras first, and then urged reporters to break the bad news to Buss on his behalf. In the chaotic aftermath, we learned that there was tension between Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka. Johnson reportedly wanted to fire Pelinka, and Pelinka reportedly saw Magic as an “absentee executive” who was rarely around to do his job. When he was in the office, Johnson was fingered as the failed architect of a botched trade designed to send, oh, everyone and everything to New Orleans in exchange for Anthony Davis. When that didn’t work out, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and other would-be Pelicans realized they were being dangled as trade bait, at which point Magic told everyone to stop treating the players “like babies”—a line that Buss passive-aggressively rebuked him for at the Sloan Analytics Conference in March. We also found out that Buss accidentally CC’d Johnson on Pelinka’s emails that were critical of Magic. Given all that, you’d expect Johnson and Buss to give each other some space for a long while. Maybe forever. Instead, they recently went to dinner and mugged for a picture like nothing ever happened. I wonder whether Pelinka got an accidental CC on the dinner invite. With Johnson gone, there’s been some confusion about who, exactly, is really and truly in charge of the Lakers.<doc-sep>In the midst of six teams being included as the teams that could land LeBron James if he leaves the Los Angeles Lakers was the Chicago Bulls. Getting a haul on the trade market this summer that would include the Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James would clearly be crucial for the Chicago Bulls in becoming an immediate title contender in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James is still a huge name in the NBA that sits among the premier talents in the game today. Just because LeBron will be 35-years-old when the 2020 NBA Playoffs arrive doesn’t mean that he couldn’t be extremely effective for a team like the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls also need help with veteran leadership in the locker room. Mainly, there is no one better at commanding a team and distributing the ball around in the NBA now than LeBron. Bringing LeBron into the mix instantly makes the Bulls title contenders, like it should’ve done for the Lakers. LeBron would also have an easier road to getting to the NBA Finals once again with the Bulls in the East than he has with the Lakers out West. That could shuffle this summer with so many big names hitting the free agent market. But, the East appears to be the path of least resistance for LeBron to win a title, like he had with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Funny enough, the Cavs and Bulls are two of the teams that are mentioned among the favorites to land LeBron if he actually hits the trade block this summer. With all the turmoil in Laker Land, the Knicks and Clippers are only +700 to add LeBron James next season while the Cavs and Heat are not far off. The Lakers remain the favorites. pic.twitter.com/ubPolG74W9 — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 9, 2019 The latest odds for LeBron, if the dysfunction of the Lakers front office really does have an impact on his stability on the West Coast, has him likely going back to the East. The Los Angeles Clippers were also mentioned with the teams that he could start out the 2019-20 regular season with if not the Lakers. The teams out of the East that were included in those odds were the Cavs, Bulls, New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Indiana Pacers. All of those teams were either rivals of LeBron when he was playing with the Heat or the Cavs in the East or teams he played for or almost played for at one point or another. However, there was at least some level of stability that was brought to the Lakers organization when the confusing and indirect coaching search finally came to an end over the weekend. That could help LeBron was to stick around in Los Angeles a bit longer. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, LeBron James was not influencing the coaching search the Lakers were putting on. The coaching search did wind up with former Pacers and Orlando Magic head coach Frank Vogel as the man to lead LeBron and the Lakers. Could that wind up in LeBron wanting out and coming to a place like the Windy City to join the Chicago Bulls? If we’re being realistic, probably not, but this is still an interesting subject that emerged lately.<doc-sep>According to Bovada, the Cleveland Cavaliers possess 10-1 odds of being LeBron James' team for the first game of the 2019-20 season. LeBron James hasn't demanded a trade. At least not yet. But given the apparent dysfunction surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers, some have begun to call for the 4-time MVP to request a trade from his current team, while ESPN's Stephen A. Smith going as far as to say that some in the organization have already suggested to owner Jeanie Buss that she should be the one initiate a deal. Either way, James' future with basketball's most famous franchise suddenly seems cloudy. And while the betting odds suggest it's most likely James will remain in Los Angeles, they've also begun to entertain the possibility that he'll open the 2019-20 NBA season on a different team. Hours after the Lakers reached a public impasse with former Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue in their coaching search, Bovada released odds for which team James will be on when the next NBA season begins. At -600, the Lakers are a heavy favorite to keep the 15-time All-Star, with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers listed as his most likely suitors at +700. Behind the Knicks and Lakers are James' two former teams, with the Cavs and Miami Heat each given +1000 odds of reacquiring the 3-time NBA champion. For the gambling uninitiated, a bettor would need to risk $600 to make a $100 profit off James remaining while the Lakers, while a $100 bet on him joining the Knicks or Clippers would payout $700. Successful $100 bets on either the Cavs or Heat, meanwhile, would result in a $1,000 return. Other teams listed in Bovada's latest round of odds include the Chicago Bulls (+1500) and Indiana Pacers (+1800). For what it's worth, such odds are often only created for entertainment purposes or in order to draw attention to the online sportsbook offering them. But it's interesting, nonetheless, that these odds are being offered and that Cleveland has been given the third-best chance of landing James should he be moved. Asked last summer about the possibility of a return to the Cavs at the end of his career, James told WKYC's Amani Abraham he wouldn't rule it out. "I don't close [any] chapters," he said. "I don't [close any] doors."<doc-sep>
Cavs reportedly get ‘culture driver’ as next HC in U of M’s John Beilein by Dan Gilinsky There was tons of drama surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2018-19 season and it’s continued into the offseason, as reportedly owner Jeanie Buss is being advised to trade LeBron James. Factoring that into the equation, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been listed among the top four in betting odds for where James would play the first game of next season. Saying the Los Angeles Lakers are a mess would be an understatement, and apparently some close to team owner Jeanie Buss are telling her to trade LeBron James, per ESPN’s Stephen A Smith, just further detailing the organization’s lack of direction. The Lakers have been a mess filled with drama from trade rumors revolving around their young players (which combined with James’ reported groin injury), derailed their season, according to Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times. Additionally, Magic Johnson abruptly stepped down as the team’s president of basketball operations recently, h/t The Athletic’s Bill Oram. Saying that things have been less then ideal for the Lakers so far since they’ve added LeBron would be an understatement. If the Lakers were to actually trade James, they would be back-peddling to a youth movement once again; who would have envisioned that last summer? For now, the Cleveland Cavaliers are tied with the Miami Heat for having the fourth-highest betting odds revealed by basketball insider Adam Zagoria of where James will play the first game of next season (the Lakers still have the highest odds). With all the turmoil in Laker Land, the Knicks and Clippers are only +700 to add LeBron James next season while the Cavs and Heat are not far off. The Lakers remain the favorites. pic.twitter.com/ubPolG74W9 — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 9, 2019 While it may seem unlikely a trade would happen with the Lakers just signing him last offseason, when you consider everything currently going on, it probably can’t be ruled out. As far as the Cavaliers, it’s probably the longest of long-shots this would happen in the offseason for a number of reasons. LeBron, while he’s still great, probably wouldn’t warrant a boatload for a trade return for L.A., according to FS1’s Chris Broussard in an appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” because many believe James is not nearly what he once was, which was clearly the NBA’s best player. From the Cleveland Cavaliers’ and general manager Koby Altman‘s perspective, it doesn’t make sense to give up any significant assets, because James will be 35 next season and in his 17th season (per Basketball Reference), and for as great as James is, it’s fair to wonder how much he has left. If the Cavs win the lottery, I can’t see them under any circumstance entertaining any trade including a young Zion Williamson for an aging James. Would they even want to give up Collin Sexton, who had a great rookie season from a scoring standpoint (16.7 points per game on 48.0% effective field goal shooting, per NBA.com) and seems to be a nice building block for Cleveland, among several other key young pieces, such as Cedi Osman and/or their first (if it’s not Zion) lottery pick? That’s unclear, and even if the pick isn’t first overall, it’s hard to see the Cavs giving that up for an aging James. Want your voice heard? Join the King James Gospel team! Write for us! It would be cool to have LeBron back, because he means so much to the city, region, and was the key reason the Cleveland Cavaliers won their only championship in franchise history in 2016. From an organizational standpoint, though, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to give up significant young pieces for an aging superstar, if the Lakers did decide to trade him.