NBA Rumors: Lue Deal Fell Apart Because Lakers Wanted Jason Kidd Onboard

The Los Angeles Lakers already have a new head coach in Frank Vogel although there are some who are interested to see how he can co-exist with LeBron James. It is no secret that the three-time NBA champion has been known to work well with only select coaches, a reason why most were under the impression that Tyronn Lue was the best option the Lakers weeks back.

As most know, original stories claimed that Lue and the Lakers were unable to iron things out with the former wanting a five-year deal but the Lakers were only willing to hand him a three-year deal. That eventually led to the hiring of Vogel as the Lakers needed a head coach to prepare for a busy NBA offseason. All this starts with the 2019 NBA Draft where the Los Angeles Lakers will be selecting fourth. Much of this was covered in a previous post.

With Vogel on board, the head coaching vacancy has finally be resolved. However, there are some who are left wondering if contract longevity was really the only reason behind the failed talks involving Lue. And the Los Angeles Times came out with a curious article shedding some more light on possible other reasons why the talks bogged down.

In that report, there were disagreements between Lue and the Lakers. One of those included the composition of his coaching staff had he been hired. Vogel was to be originally part of that but Lue was not on board having Jason Kidd. The Lakers wanted the 46-year-old on the coaching staff but the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach was not keen on the idea.

So the big question now is why Lue was not willing to take Kidd onboard as an assistant coach. Head coaches are normally given the freedom to hire their own coaching staff but the Lakers may have stepped in after things fell apart with Luke Walton last season. It will be interesting if Vogel can make things work with the Lakers top brass taking an active role.

As for Kidd, he has been credited more of developing younger players. Some of those players are now shining brightly with the Milwaukee Bucks, the last team the retired NBA star coached. Could he weave that same magic with the likes of Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart or Kyle Kuzma? That is perhaps what most are waiting for – especially the Lakers top brass.